Looking for a quick loan to pay an unexpected bill or just need money? Look around your house because you may just have something worth some money like your laptop.
More than 30 million Americans use pawn shops each year, and pawn shops take high-end items like laptops to get people a quick loan.
If you’re thinking about pawning a laptop, you might have questions about how the whole thing works. Here’s everything you need to know to do it safely.
Protecting Your Data
Before you take your laptop to any pawn shop, you need to protect all your information. You should start be recovering your operating system and removing all passwords, photos, and videos. Set everything back to the original factory settings, which should make the computer act like it was just turned on for the first time. It’ll remove all your added programs and files.
You should do this whether you plan to come back for the laptop or not. It’s hard to predict the future, and if you don’t make it back, you don’t want someone getting a hold of all your personal information. Double check that all your stored passwords are gone before you head to the pawn shop just to be sure.
Cleaning Your Laptop
In addition to cleaning the internal drives, you need to also clean the outside of your computer to make it look as good as possible. Use damp cloths to wipe down any marks-nothing wet! Clean up the screen and mouse pad.
Use a keyboard cleaner to make sure none of the keys are sticking and there is no buildup. You’d be surprised how much stuff can get in between those keys.
Pawning Versus Selling
You have a choice of pawning or selling your laptop. If you pawn the laptop, you are giving the pawn shop your laptop as loan collateral. You will get a loan for the amount of the laptop appraisal.
You need to pay back this loan and interest by a specified date or the pawn shop keeps your laptop. You will get your laptop back if you pay the loan by that date.
Selling your laptop is pretty much what it sounds like. The pawn shop will appraise your laptop and you decide if you agree with the price. You can take that amount or try to negotiate, but most pawn shops have a good idea of the current prices.
How Much Money Can I Get
This is a pretty gray area depending on what you have. It depends on the condition of your laptop, how new it is, and how powerful the processor is. Big brands like Alienware and MacBook Pros may get you more money if they are in good condition.
Remember technology changes quickly, so the newer your laptop the better. You could get anywhere from $50 for older models to $600 for higher end, newer models.
Other Tips
Be sure your laptop is fully charged. The last thing you want to do is walk into a pawnshop with a dead battery. Also, do not forget your charger-you may not be able to pawn without it.
Interested in Pawning a Laptop?
If you are thinking about pawning a laptop, contact Las Vegas Pawn today. We specialize in pawning high-end items like electronics, jewelry, and gold to get you the cash you need fast.