Pawnshop 101

Hey all, and welcome to my first post! I know you're probably not as excited as I am, but we'll get you there. ;)

I have the privilege of working in one of the most stereotyped businesses in America, the pawn shop. I've worked for the same company for over three years now and for some reason thought that everybody else's perception of the business would change with mine. How wrong I have been. I recently got married to a gorgeous young lady and had to explain what I do to a whole other group of people. Her family would ask me where I work, I'd tell them a pawn shop and it was always the same response: "Oh, how...nice."

My goal here is to familiarize people with pawn shops and how they work while having a little fun relaying the more odd stories of an everyday life at a pawn shop. This might expand into more someday, but I won't get too far ahead of myself.

At this point in America's life, the economy isn't faring too well. There is an abundance of high interest loans, cash advances, and credit card debt that is bringing the economy into what more than a few people are calling a recession. People are looking for a quick buck and getting caught in extremely high interest cash advances that will ruin your credit if you don't pay it back.

This is where the pawn shop can help you. Throw out those pictures in your head of the old scurvy guy sitting behind steel bars, smoking a cigarette and telling the police where they can shove it. That is very rarely what you'll find on the inside of the pawn shop. In fact, it's usually quite the opposite. At my store, cleanliness and organization are highly prioritized and most people are surprised when they walk in for the first time.

This is a brief description of how a pawn shop works. Let's say you're in need of some money. The dog (or cat for the "off" people out there) got hit by a car and has a broken leg that needs immediate attention (of course, for PETA's sake, the dog is all right in the end). You've now got an emergency vet bill to pay, but what if the gas tank is on empty or the baby needs diapers? That's where we come in. You bring us an item (what kind of items shops accept varies by the shop), we tell you how much we can give you on a loan and the rest is up to you. The interest rate and paperwork will vary on the shop and local laws that apply, but I'll give you a run down of how we do it as an example.

Let's say you brought in some dvd's that we loaned you $50 on. For us, it's a four month loan at 15% a month (a heck of a lot lower than cash advance rates). That means the monthly interest charge will be $7.50. If the loan was done today (03-04-08) the due date would be 07-04-08. If you picked them up before 04-04-08, it would only cost you $57.50 (the $7.50 would roll over on the 4th of each month). That's it! Now you can fill up the tank, get diapers, and still get your dvd's back with your next paycheck. For us, loans range anywhere from $5 (gallon of milk, or...erm, pack of smokes) to $5,000 depending on what you bring in and how much you need.

So, what happens to you if you don't want/can't afford to come back for your stuff? NOTHING! We don't affect your credit and we don't care if you have horrible credit. It's all good with us.

What if you don't need money? You can still benefit from a friendly relationship with your local pawnbroker. Don't forget, there's deals to be had at every pawn shop!

My goal for this blog is to give you honest, straightforward facts about pawn shops and the advantages of utilizing our services. I'm not as naive as to say all pawn shops will work like I say, as I'm sure there are those out there that come close to fitting the worst stereotypes. But, if you have a bad experience your first time at a pawn shop, don't let that stop you from checking out others. Be sure to check back soon for more good stuff!