15 Items That Were Likely Stolen And Illegal That People Tried To Sell At Pawn Shops Before
It seems like you can find pretty much anything at a pawn shop.
When Reddit user u/Manas_Das24 asked, "Pawn shop owners, what was the most illegal thing a customer brought to your shop?" a bunch of crazy answers rolled in.
Here are some of the most memorable responses to the thread. Take a look:
1.To start, a police walkie talkie:
"[A] buddy of mine worked at a pawn shop for a few years. They had a guy try to sell them a police walkie talkie, like straight stolen from a car but with the battery taken out. They told him to get f*cked and called the cops. I believe they picked the guy up a few hours later."
2.A bunch of laptops previously owned by a school district:
"Employee not owner. A guy brought in a stack of like 15 laptops that all said property of [insert city] Public School right on the top of each one. He then threatened to shoot me when I told him to get out."
3.A sawed off shotgun that was also covered in tape:
NBC / Via giphy.com
"My dad's friend works at a pawn shop in a sh--ty area and has had some crazy [stuff] come in. Mostly stolen guns and tools, but the story he likes to tell is when a homeless guy tried to sell a sawed-off shotgun covered in tape. They called the cops, and the guy tells them he found it in the park."
4.A cellphone that was clearly not theirs:
"Literally had a customer come in and say, 'Hi, I’ve just stolen this phone off my sister. How much will you give me for it?'"
5.A collection of human teeth:
"Employee here, not an owner. I don't know if it's necessarily illegal, but one time [a] guy brought me a handful of human teeth with bloody roots and gold fillings. He wanted me to extract the gold. I said, 'No thanks, bro.'"
6.A vintage gun:
"I'm not an owner, but I once saw someone try to sell a vintage 1940s concealed firearm to the pawn shop. This was illegal as heck, and the owner had to turn him down."
7.An actual nuclear waste container:
"Not an owner, but my friend who works at a pawn shop told me this: One day someone came in with a toxic waste container. Like an aluminum REAL DEAL NUCLEAR WASTE CONTAINER. They had to call Homeland Security."
8.Illegal drugs:
NBC / Peacock / Via giphy.com
"My stepdad's brother owned a pawn shop through most of the '90s in my crime-ridden town. He'd be offered drugs daily."
9.A machine from the local locksmith:
"A locksmith machine, the one that makes key copies. We didn't know it was illegal until we tried to put it out for sale."
10.Tools with someone else's name on it:
"Not an owner, but had a guy bring in a bunch of tools that had names wrote all over them. Every tool had a different name, and the guy's name wasn't on any of them. I knew instantly that I'd be getting a call that it was all stolen."
11.A hospital wheelchair:
"Not a pawn shop owner but was in the pawn shop when this happened. Someone brought in a wheelchair with the tag for the local hospital on the back. Example: 'Property of Somewhere Hospital.' The pawn shop owner told them to leave it and get out. They did, and he called the non-emergency line. The police came and picked it up and took it back to the hospital, or that's what they said they were doing."
12.Chips from a nearby casino:
"Casino chips. It happens more often than you think."
13.A company-issued computer:
"Not an owner, but I got a call from a pawn shop saying that one of my at-home employees tried to sell her work computer.
It has my company's logo and contact info right on it, plain as day. How stupid can some people be?"
14.Even more guns without serial numbers:
ABC / Via giphy.com
"Bag of guns missing serial numbers and a sawed-off shotgun."
15.And finally, a bong that was still in use:
NBC / Peacock / Via giphy.com
"A guy came in with a bong that still had drugs in it, and the guy was stoned AF."
What item would you add to this list? Share your thoughts in the comments!
DEFYTV / Via giphy.com
Note: Some responses have been edited for length and/or clarity.
