Selling custom Halo armor to the Pawn Stars is out of this guy's Reach

@EMH
Yeah well duh, that's what pawn shops do. They low ball you so they can make a huge ass profit.

@EMH book a trip to comic-con and put it up for sale while there,

@EMH

Its a pawn shop, they gotta get it for as low as possible. If there dumb enough to agree, thats there fault.

Besides, Pawn Stars is probably the best pawn shop show on. Those hardcore pawn people are crooks at best.

@EMH

Ehh, I really can't see it being worth more then $500 myself. Or, thats all i would offer.

@EMH

You go to a pawn shop and you get cold hard cash at a negotiable price. Your other options are a professional auction, where profit is uncertain and you pay 30% to the house regardless, or eBay, where you probably won't meet your reserve.

Its the price of convenience and guaranteed money.

@EMH

well IT IS a pawn shop

He once told a costumer that "he buys as retail not as a collector"... and he has a very good point. You also have to take in consideration that these duded are PROFESSIONALS (in ever sense of the word) they rarely take anything in of they don't at least see 50% profit. Why? because they can.... they don't need your junk and a new batch will walk through that door at any moment. Are they mean about it? probably

@EMH
I find eBay far more egregious in scams than the cast of Pawn Stars. eBay+Paypal fees are just heinous considering what they actually do. Which is next to nothing.

@EMH What a dumb comment OP. How much should they pay for things? What profit margin is acceptable to you?

They make an offer, you can take it or walk away. That's not a scam. If dude thinks the suits worth more he can walk (he did), but every point the pawn guys made was valid. There isn't any money there for them, they aren't a charity for people with student loans.

@Mmmmz

I get so tired of seeing comments like yours that are incredibly ignorant of actual business expenses.

First, PayPal's fees are in line with what other credit card processors charge. Don't like those fees, you have the power to use your own credit card processor on eBay.

As for eBay, do I wish that fees were lower? Sure, but the fees are there to provide a service. Don't like them, go sell on Amazon...oh wait, Amazon and eBays fees are incredibly similar. And Amazon requires that you use their payment processor. Well, just go open a website. Oh wait, a quality business website requires that you pay monthly fees and have a dedicated merchant account to process credit cards.

Don't like to pay any fees at all? Then use Craigslist and get whatever you can locally for an item. I love CL, but it's not always the best or most convenient market for all goods. For many goods, paying some percentage to Amazon or eBay pays returns in getting top dollar for what you want to sell.

@Burritoclock

What a pleasant comment...

Anyway, I can see your point, but 10% of the Ebay value is a bit absurd. It may also be my hatred of the fact that this show is even popular and on the History Channel that is affecting my opinion on their offers.

@Mmmmz I agree with Mmmmz.

Also the only Halo outfits I see worth their high price tag were the one Bungie themselves gave their blessing to sell. Anyone know what im talking about?

@EMH

You cant talk trash about Pawn Shops without talking trash about GameStop/EB Games.....I mean they are basically a specialized Pawn Shop...

@MarkHawk

www.nightmarearmorstudios.com/

@Courtney

But don't they force you to accept PayPal to list items on eBay? And doesn't eBay own PayPal? They're basically double dipping on the fees.

@EMH
You may think its "valuable", but sorry, no. If you watched the episode, you would have seen that this guy was like 5'2" , and the only other person that would fit in his crappy styrofoam suit would be a little kid.

@EMH video game shit isnt valuable though. there is no market for it what-so-ever. who in the hell would he sell that to out of a pawn shop?

@Vidikron

You have to use PayPal for new accounts, but once an eBay account is established in good standing, you do have the option of using your own merchant credit card account through a reputable credit card processor (basically the big ones that also supply retail). That's really only an option that is available for established businesses, given the cost of opening up a merchant account. If you have a merchant account, you can also run credit cards over the phone. I do that all the time for people who don't want to use PayPal.

You can't advertise that you take checks and money orders anymore, but lots of people still use them.

Amazon absolutely requires that you use their payment processor. Period. End of story. Last I knew, Google requires that you use Google Checkout if you sell apps on the Android Market. Apple requires that you use them as a payment processor for the AppStore. Valve requires that you use their payment processor for Steam. Most proprietary markets require that you use their processor. eBay may have very limited options, but at least there are options.

I've been a major eBay seller/buyer for years. I've also got experience with Amazon, CL and dedicated retail websites. There are many things that I am critical of eBay/PayPal about, but as far as paying for the services they provide, I really feel that they are in line with their competitors. I would love to see more legitimate competition in those markets, but I'm just not sure where that would come from at this point.

@EMH

You guys are morons. Why would they buy it for what they would sell it for? Do you think pawn shops are charities? They need to factor in profit plus how long it's going to take up space on the shelf.

Furthermore, there are laws preventing pawn shops from ripping people off too much. That's why there are episodes where people ask for a certain price and the staff actually offers more because it's more valuable than that person thought.

If people think the offer is too low, then they are free to walk (which many do because like the other idiots on here, they think a pile of plastic that is custom fit for a small man is worth $2,000).

@Courtney

Ignore that bit about Valve, just remembered they do allow PayPal. And I'm not honestly sure about how their whole payment method works, and given the limited number of "vendors" they have, there may be a custom deal with each one.

@Courtney

I believe there are also specific categories that you are required to accept PayPal. I think I was on one of those that last time I used eBay because I seem to remember being required to use PayPal and I wasn't a new member.

Anyway, I rarely use PayPal these days beause they're fees are simpy too high. The listing fees, PayPal fees, and 10% off top can really put a dent in you expected returns for some items. I find it more profitable to simply hit Craigslist these days. You'll have to wade through some scammers hitting your inbox, but they're easy to spot and you come out with more money at the end.

*their fees

@EMH
Well these guys just arent the kind of people who would see the value in it, plus they are trying to make a profit.

@EMH really valuable only if you can find someone interested in paying that much for what's most likely gonn abe a halloween costume.

@Faenix Wait wait wait, SHOWS?! There's more than one show about pawn shops out there? My god TV really has gone down the shitter in the last decade.

@EMH Lol, what kills me is the fact that he (Rick) regularly says things like, "It scares the hell out of me, I'm getting beat up for ______ these days and almost losing money!" When the show is "#1 on cable!" and costs probably next to nothing to produce, so how much are all of these morons getting to act like spoiled sarcastic jackasses on camera? (Not even mentioning what HC/Discovery makes off of it) So I don't want to hear them crying the blues about how little they make. Then they cut to a shot of them playing like 5 year-olds with the keys to daddy's car on their boats and ATVs.

@EMH
Pawn Stars is the most watched show on cable tv. How does that make you feel?

@Faceless Troll lol I was going to make the same comment.Now they need to have a bail bonds show and run a tandem with "Cops"-Cops arrests the perp,perps family goes on bailbonds show gets an estimate then goes on pawn shop show to sell goods for quick bail money so the perp can get a chance to star on Cops again.

@KillerSlinky Lemmings blindly follow other Lemmings over clifs to a painful death also, how does that make you feel?

@Faenix The best PawnShopShow? You mean there is more of this crap? In what point in History, did History decide that instead of showing shows about History it was better to do reality shows. There is a reason I don't watch Animal Planet anymore.

@EMH

90% of the stuff you could sell for more on ebay. Pawn shops typically are for people who need money "RIGHT NOW" and thus are a scam if you are looking for anywhere near a decent price for your stuff.

@Faceless Troll
There is one called Hardcore Pawn, and its in your regular crappy pawnshop where people are trying to sell broken amps for crack money.

@EMH

Welcome to the world of retail. You buy stuff at wholesale cost, and charge the consumer wholesale + markup in order to pay for your costs of business (lights, rent, staff, etc) and hopefully turn a profit in the end. They would probably put a $600 price tag on this, and would probably accept a $400-$500 offer.

The costume is brilliant, and is worth thousands /to the right buyer./ The people who browse pawn shop shelves aren't looking for homemade Halo costumes. They're looking for jewelry, appliances, or musical instruments (typically--the shop on the tv show might attract a different clientele since they specialize in antiques). If you want to sell this for big bucks, go to ebay, or better yet, some convention (gaming, comic, w/e).

@EMH
I used to work at a pawn shop as the tech expert. I was told to advise the buying department of prices based on a quarter of what I'd expert to sell the device for. So the guys for this would be expecting to sell the costume for between $400 and $800 based on the price they were offering.
The seller should have known to go to straight to eBay (or comic-con, game-con, E3 etc)

@SomeGuyXG3 how hard is it to get a girlfriend lol

@humpy That's what i thought when i saw it.He knows he can get more on ebay or something.

@kvn7918

Think of all the free publicity this guy just got, though.

@CaptainProtonX

Im hoping she's still hot. the shows not that old.

@eat it
Well, he was obviously looking for a quick chunk of cash, which is why he went to a Pawn Store.

@DevilSei

Or he wanted to be on TV, which is why I think most people go there. Apparently they have a line that goes out the door and down the street in order to get in, and their sign now has an "As Seen On TV" on it (both of which they make sure not to show on camera).

@EMH

No, the as seen on TV is clearly visible in a ton of episodes.

@blessrok Whattt, Rick doesn't low ball that low. He's pretty resonable. They aren't generally thinking, "Oh wow it's worth X, I'll buy it!" They have to think on what people normally pay in his store for those type of things. And then offer a price where he can make a decent profit, for the amount of time they would have to hold it.

@blessrok

The general rule of thumb is that Rick will offer ~40% of what retail is. Meaning he can sell it at 80% of retail and double up. Now if he sees something that he just thinks is super cool and wants in the store, he might push 60% I think I even saw him at like 80% one time.. I honestly didn't even believe it. Must have just really liked the piece personally and wanted it.

@Softserve A lot of historic items do come in there from time to time. Like the diving helmet from the 20's or the mini civil war era cannon, and there was a Stardust hotel and casino black jack table that came in once (if you're up on Las Vegas history then it was pretty cool)

@Softserve
Think about it this way.
With the rise of Amazon, EBay, and Craigs List... pawn shops are becoming outdated! So, The History Channel is just making a show in advance because they know Pawn Stores are quickly heading the way of a fossil.