I tried to buy a gold necklace tonight and keep my cash local instead of buying online.
A friend told me that this Superpawn had a good selection of chains so I stopped here first.
After 10 minutes waiting by the jewelry section I headed over to the pawn area and tried to flag down a rep. In an office I saw 3 employees standing and talking while one woman was giving a massage to a guy sitting down.
There was a line of 2 people waiting to pawn items with 2 reps waiting on them and 2 other people milling around. Not a soul in the jewelry area.
Unable to get anyone's attention I called the phone number on the door. I hear the phone ringing and the lady who was giving the massage answers. I tell her I want to buy a gold chain and ask if I could get someone to help me in the jewelry section and she replies "you will have to wait in line sir".
So I have to wait in the pawn line to buy jewelry? Its abundantly clear why no one else was shopping for jewelry. Lesson learned. It actually did look like they had a nice selection of chains but apparently its more for decoration than sales.
This is actually the 2nd time I have had this sort of experience at a Superpawn. The last was at the one off Buffalo near Trader Joes and Kmart there. I wanted to buy some bullion coins on display and could not get anyone to help me. My guess is they make so much money off the pawns, by the time the item hits the counter for sale they could care less.
Their prices are usually absurd anyways, unless you can haggle them down. You can often buy new for what they charge for old and used items. Today I was willing to spend a bit more if I found the right gold chain but like everything else, its now easier to just buy online and avoid the hassles.