Went to a pawn shop thinking it was the best place to buy gold… regret it

I thought I was being clever by going to a pawn shop to buy gold. It’s local, there’s no shipping, and I figured I could negotiate better than buying online.

Big mistake.

First off, they were vague about purity. I asked for documentation or proof and just got a shrug and “it’s real, we test everything.” Prices weren’t even that great once I did the math—some items were way over spot price. And when I asked about refunds or exchanges, they laughed.

Lesson learned: the “best place to buy gold” probably isn’t the same place people go to hock a stolen microwave.