I recently read another blogger's post about going pawnshopping in his area with a friend of his. He said that when they pulled up to the first shop, there was a drug bust going on right outside. He suggested that this was typical pawn shop activity and that he was not surprised at all. He went on to say something about how the only reasonably priced items he saw that day were the guns, which were "probably used in a murder".
Those of you who have sold firearms for a business or even bought from a business should know how wrong that statement is. Pawn shops share a close relationship with the ATF, just like any other firearms dealer. After going through a week-long, annual inspection conducted by them there should be no doubt in anyone's mind that the firearms have a clean history and have not been used in any major crimes.
I also hear a lot of people talk about how everything in a pawn shop is most likely stolen. This is far from the truth, as most local governments have a "banned list" of people that have been convicted of theft in the past. These lists are distributed among the pawn shops in the area and the penalties for doing business with them are steep.
There are numerous programs in place across the country to help people recover their stolen items. In Nebraska, where my shop operates, we are required to take down a list of items we take in, along with the pledger's fingerprint and serial numbers for the items they bring in. Every morning we mail the previous day's pawn forms with all of this information to the crime analysis lab. Most state's will have a program like this, or at least similar to it.
As pawnbrokers, we cannot stress enough the importance of keeping a record of serial numbers for the items you own. If something is stolen from you and finds it's way to a pawn shop, reporting the serial number almost always ensures the item is found by the police and proper procedure can take place to get it back in your possession. I've found a company based out of Kansas that has a program in place that I think should be adopted everywhere. Check it out, Record It & Report It.
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4 comments:
I have owned a pawn shop for 10 years: I mostly do cars trucks, atv's and musical instruments I am located in Paducah ky i am called aace auto pawn most of the shops have went broke out of 14 shops only 3 of us remain
ace auto pawn cash loans on anything that flys floats or drives 415-987-6706 located 622 south 6th street
i love Pawnshops! you can definitely get great deals there. it's all a matter of knowing your stuff. you can also barter. don't ever pay the sticker price. they'll almost certainly come down.
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