The inside of the store was an eclectic mix of everything. I shopped online and at chain stores, and this pawnshop was vastly different from those heavily curated experiences. I tried to head straight back to the counter, but I got distracted by some Japanese style swords posted on one wall. I didn't know the difference between the real thing and wall hangers, but they looked cool. There was a mannequin in a purple fur coat just underneath them, and then over across the way I saw one of those robobartender things that had been popular a couple of years ago.

Eventually though I made it to the glass counter in the back and nodded at the big guy behind the counter. He was maybe 5 feet tall and pushing 350 pounds, and I could hear him breathing before I was in speaking range.

He pushed the rest of a sausage biscuit into his maw and swept the wrapper off the counter before he hit me with his customer service A game.

"What you need, young feller?"

"Morning. I've got one of those retro Nintendo VR rigs I don't need, kinda wondering what I could get for it. "

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"Wanna pawn it or sell it?"

I fished the rig out of my bag and sat it on the counter just left of the grease spot so he could check it out. "Sell it, if the price is right. "

"50 bucks. "

"Nevermind, man. " I wasn't sure what it was worth, but 50 bucks was a joke. He'd picked it up to check it out before I could get it back and held up his hand in a stop gesture.

"Whoah, hey this is actually turns in. Is it a repro?"

"Original, you can check the serials. It's just in really good shape. I figure a serious collector might want it. "

"Naw, a serious collector wants a DS or one of those old switches maybe. This is close though." He waived his hand over an activation disk to turn a desktop on, and scrolled through a couple of screens that were too blurry for me to see because I was on the wrong side. "I'll go 650 if the serials don't come back stolen."

"Can you do 8?"

"I can do 650."

"Uh..." I knew this kind of place would negotiate, but I'd never really haggle before. I decided to try a different track. "650, and those Japanese swords. "

"The katana set? Nope. I'd do 400 and the swords."

"Need the cash more than the swords. 600 and the blades. "

"Can't do it, those are the real deal. Tell you what, you just looking to chop watermelons or something, I'll do 600 and a machete and camp knife set. "

I didn't know what the hell is do with them, but having him throw something in made me feel like I'd won.

"Deal."

"Alright, stick your hand in the scanner hear and it'll print out the paperwork."