The truth about PAWN SHOPS !
topstuf
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Yesterday in a thread, there were some slurs against pawn shops.
Now I know some are ignorant of what pawn shops are and do.
I was a pawnbroker.
To get my license I had to have a squeaky SQUEALY clean criminal record. At that time in California, pawn licenses required a $100,000.00 "proof of financial capability" amount to even GET the license. That hundred grand could NOT include your real estate or other assets.
I understand that now the licensing requirement can be satisfied with a $20,000.00 bond. Bonding companies don't just hand those out without checking risk of doing so.
HOWEVER the... "public" ...persists in calling every antique store, junk shop, used stuff store and other places that buy stuff "PAWNSHOPS"
They are NOT ..pawnshops.
I belonged to the local pawnbroker association. We all faced this erroneous public perception of what our business was.
Yes, people who can't manage their finances come to pawnshops Some are dopes, some are just "in a bind."
Yes, SOME pawnshops will buy stolen goods. They soon lose their license and can not call themselves or advertise that they are a "pawnshop"
Our records were sent to the police DAILY!
Yes, we were checked for compliance regularly.
If any "pawnshop" started operating in a shady manner, our association would see to it that their license got pulled.
We could buy OR make ...LOANS... on personal property. (Including coins) That is the MAIN difference between a used junk place and a PAWNSHOP..... LOANS
Not just any place can take items and ..LOAN... money on them. They can BUY stuff, but NOT make loans that require holding the property for the "pledgor" and keeping it safe until they either redeem or lose the property due to non payment of the pawn loan.
And..YES...I had "fake" trinket coins on cheap chains for sale. In the display case with the other TRINKETS
The other cases held the COINS!
Coins from AG to top of the grade. And expensive. Many other of my coin dealer colleagues also had pawn licenses. It was a smart thing to do. 
Other regions may have looser requirements for licensing and behavior. I don't know. But I DO know that every time I see a thread slurring PAWNSHOPS I will link this post to ....hopefully... educate them to the point of knowing what they are talking about.
Comments
Understood, I read the post and have heard similar comments about coin dealers also. Of course there are shady operators in any business line. General statements are neither truthful or helpful.
Mark
How much can I get for this bunch of silverware and old coins in this pillowcase?
Thanks for the insight.
Only thing I know is what I see on TV that’s why Chumley is my Dawg!
I'll stick with Murray the Fence. Lol
Give Me Liberty or Give Me Debt
I see your point, but in any industry where tangible assets are involved, for every 97-98 honest dealers, there are some who screw over unsuspecting sellers and take advantage of them by whatever means necessary short of inflicting physical harm, and some will even go that far. As a coin dealer who has been in business for over 25 years who also operates out of the home and sets up at coin shows, I visit people either in the privacy of their homes, residential or nursing, or in banks and offices, who either like their collections appraised or wish to sell them. As a life member of the ANA, CSNS, and ILNA, I am obligated to conduct my dealings in a fair and honest manner. And even if I was not a member of these organizations, I still would do my business honestly and ethically. I know better. Reputation is important. I have heard from some collectors in my travels over the years the horror stories of some dealers taking advantage of them because the collector either don't know what they have or fed wrong information from the dealer himself. We as dealers must govern ourselves and others, because that important word - "reputation" - is what either helps or hurts us depending on our dealings.
Regarding pawn shops - like coin shops and dealers, there are a lot of good ones and some bad ones. Considering that industry is more regulated than coin shops or dealers. I do dealings with one in Charleston, IL, where he also sells electronics and firearms. I visit him about once a month to see what he has. He has a selection of coins but getting him to sell at below Greysheet prices where he can still make a profit is a lot like pulling teeth with rusty pliers. I just don't buy much from him for that reason, but at the same time I must understand that he has a business to run. He is open a few days a week. Truth be told I pay a little bit more on coins and currency than him when dealing with collectors. Coins to him are not a primary item that he sells, as firearms is his main focus.
Again, I understand where you're getting at, and thank you for the info.
@topstuf , you mentioned the other thread, the one I posted, I know there were some downing pawnshops, not all pawnshops are the same, I have seen many honest brokers that I have never had a problem with. The post I made was about a true "Pawn Shop" not a junk store as you were implying, the coins in the display case that were fake were not with any jewelery where they could be mistaken for something to hang from a chain, these were being sold as genuine 2.5 Peso Gold and 5 Peso Gold Mexican coins.
I have no problem with you taking offense with some of the remarks made in general by some in the thread, but you are wrong to twist what I posted to fit your needs.
Fighting the Fight for 11 Years with the big "C" - Never Ever Give Up!
Member PCGS Open Forum board 2002 - 2006 (closed end of 2006) Current board since 2006 Successful trades with many members, over the past two decades, never a bad deal.
You could have posted that they were actually being identified as genuine coins while on display for sale.
It was covered in the thread.
Fighting the Fight for 11 Years with the big "C" - Never Ever Give Up!
Member PCGS Open Forum board 2002 - 2006 (closed end of 2006) Current board since 2006 Successful trades with many members, over the past two decades, never a bad deal.
But not in the OP. Ok, now I see.
One man's junk is another man's treasure.
I prefer to treasure hunt for coins at pawn shops because not all pawnies are as knowledgeable as coin dealers. There are however many pawnies that are collectiors (i.e. Pawn Star Rick).
Give Me Liberty or Give Me Debt
I have to concur with you on this one, derryb. Not all resellers or sellers of tangible assets are knowledgeable. It's all based mostly on experience and also education. In my case I learned coins and currency from being a collector first from others who have been on both sides of the table. In any trade or field you never stop learning. Continuous study and improvement is key. Let's keep in mind that pawn shops and coin dealers, whether brick and mortar or otherwise, have the same objectives - to earn a living and to make money on their items. I have a page on Facebook under Doran Coins and I sometimes state the inner workings of a dealer such as myself for the purpose of education. I only divulge just enough information to cut through the stuff and fluff. It may sound on some of the posts like ranting and raving but it is not.
In the previous post here on the forum I give my input on my experiences with pawn shops. In perspective antique shops, pawn shops, and coin shops are pretty much the same creature difference being what they sell or buy. The education and attitude of those working in these shops will determine the outcome. Just my two cents worth.
We have antique shops here, but no pawn shops. I do recall, when I lived in WA state, that there were pawn shops in Seattle...I never dealt with them. The antique shops here have sections that dealers rent from the establishment and they sell through them. There are no loans. As far as I know, nobody tries to bring stuff in to sell. @topstuf ...Thank you for the explanation about pawn brokers. I was not aware of how stringently regulated they are. Cheers, RickO
I worked at a Pawn Shop for a number of years and here in Ohio they are: very strictly regulated, everything is computerized, we were/are unable to take a Pawn or make a purchase without valid identification, reports were sent to the local PD weekly, the State could come in at any time for an audit, etc.
most people don't even know what a "Pawn" is. in a nutshell, it's a short term collateralized loan.
Very interesting and steep requirement to entry for the OP. There are no doubt large differences state to state, and county to county. The pawn license should not give the owners permission to just be low ball buyers but that is what I usually see. Of course a pawn shop is more complicated than a gold buyer.
Just like anything else, there are the good and the bad. I collect vintage watches. There was a pawn shop that I would go in to. I have a bought a couple things from them. One day they had a vintage watch I was gonna buy. I was told that all their watches were running when they came in and they guaranteed it worked. I took it home, opened it up and half the parts were missing. No way it could have ever worked. I took it back and they just told me I should have bought their insurance to get a store credit refund. Lol I took it as a loss. A couple months later, I did the same thing, same pawn shop and same guarantee. Watch didn't work and was missing parts. Took it back and got the same response as before. I then told them that they have lost my business for good. Haven't been back since.
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Somewhat unrelated to the thread. An old movie, "The Pawnbroker", is a must see. Rod Steiger was excellent in the movie.
The pawn license should not give the owners permission to just be low ball buyers.
for the most part Pawn Shops aren't "buyers" as I stated above, they make a short term collateralized loan against an item they hold till the debt is paid off. as a rule of thumb, we would assess the value of an item, the item's likelihood to sell in a reasonable time frame and a price we might expect to sell it for: then we would make our offer. that was typically one-third to one half of the value. remember, the "value" of something isn't what customers want to pay, they always tended to offer us a free ride on your lowball express.
you see, logger7, the tracks in the Pawn business run both ways!!
another seldom mentioned point in these "hammer those dishonest Pawn brokers threads" --- customers routinely point out any defect, no matter how minute or cosmetic, and always revel in disparaging items amongst themselves while browsing. the stuff is all used!! it's all part of the game, I guess. we tell customers we can offer them more for their items if they are clean, yet they always bring them in like they just got done using them. then if they forfiet the item we have to take time to clean it up prior to putting it up for sale. time is money, right?? it's silly, really.
I will admit that on the other hand we always had really good customers who understood how everything works and they were nice to see walk in the door. overall, perhaps in excess of 75% of the store traffic was either a PITA or just the curious walking through.
it is a tough business to be in, but entertaining nonetheless.
Question for the pawn brokers here---what percentage of the pawned articles are redeemed by their owners?
Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.
Don't buy it, the pillow case is stolen!
Varies by the state of the economy. High redemption in good tmes or with quality goods and low redemption in recessions. Builder's tools especially reflective of economy.
if I still worked there I could tell you, everything is stored on the master PC.
I enjoy shopping at pawnshops but wouldn't ever sell to one. One local pawnshop to me is not very knowledgeable on coins and they let me pick through their bucket of 90%. They usually have a nice variety of WLH, barber coinage, SLQ's etc. I have filled up several dansco's and many rolls of full date barber/slq and other coinage and have snagged a few key dates as well, all at melt.
Pawn shops are also a decent place to buy used tools if you know what to look for...
Like some eBay buyers, maybe?
Pawnshops and other stores with random item are great ways to look for items of value and at times can be a place you can only find other items. Any day you walk into one you will find something of interest. It takes a lot of work to price what you receive and what you sell. Great place for those with athletically inspired kids to get equipment you may not otherwise be able to afford.
Best place to buy !
Bronze Associate member
Never thought I’d see a thread in defense of pawn shops.
We have gambling in my state. Deadwood SD has everything except sports gaming but that on the ballot now with them saying they need it to compete. Area is also littered with video poker places too (the crack cocaine of gambling) and there is practically a pawn shop for every one of those. We have high drug addiction, especially meth, and now even heroin making gains eating up our town and native nations and pawn shops are obviously part of that cycle.
A few people I know who have worked in pawn here say they don’t want your stuff, just the interest on the loan. That people will pay over and over monthly to not lose the items before throwing in the towel. Then the warehouse is just filled up with basically free stuff they have to get rid of.
I just stay out of pawn shops cause they feel gross. For me it’s the local thrift stores that are for value hunting. People donate stuff to charity. The money goes to support the mission, daycares, and nursing homes right in our area. That feels better. Or at the risk of sounding even more judgmental, if I’m fortunate at the the moment to afford collector coins I’m fortunate enough to buy tools new that aren’t stolen.
Never thought I’d see a thread in defense of pawn shops.
Pawn Shops are like everything else, a bad experience by a single individual in a single shop is reported as an indictment on the entire industry. not much can be done about that. also, like everything else Pawn Shops serve a useful purpose and aren't for all people.
what I find extraordinary is that people who go to Pawn Shops and tend to have bad experiences that they want to report went there to try to get the deal of a lifetime.
Don't forget that a LOT of pawn shop anecdotes come from the movies.
It sells. Who wants to watch a movie where a guy takes a Sawzall into a shop and borrows $15 against it?
Nope. STOLEN SWAG That's what movies need.
The other source of misinformation is from people who are ignorant of what pawnshops ACTUALLY do but cooking up "cool" stories about shady deals gives them a certain feeling of street savvy.
It's way simpler. It's a business like a bank but you can lose a watch instead of a house.
I almost said "car" but we pawned OODLES of cars. GREAT items! High value, wide demand, usually redeemed.
+1.