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February 2nd, 2010
From The T and D Dot Com:
By RICHARD WALKER, T&D Staff Writer
Tuesday, February 02, 2010
A quick-thinking Orangeburg businessman took an artillery shell off the streets that he says had enough explosives to destroy a house.
David Marshall, manager of Broughton Pawn Shop, notified police after a patron brought an artillery shell into the shop for identification.
“He said he had an artillery shell he’d found,” Marshall said. “He said he was at a construction site about two years ago and found it.”
The projectile was collected Friday by the Orangeburg Department of Public Safety and State Law Enforcement Division. It was taken to a police practice ground in the county and detonated.
“A friend in Elloree called and said he heard it,” Marshall said. “He said it was something.”
Marshall, a former Marine artillerist, said when the patron called him about the shell, he told the man to bring it in for identification.
“I wanted to get it off the streets,” he said. “I’m glad we got it in here.”
Marshall said the shell — which arrived in a five-gallon plastic bucket — turned out to be a 105 mm howitzer projectile bearing a proximity fuse, a device that detonates a projectile when built-in sensors have determined the intended target is near.
Described as about 1.5 feet tall and as big around as a grapefruit, the shell had the ability to destroy a house, Marshall said.
Considering the destructive potential of the round, a Ft. Jackson explosive ordnance disposal unit was asked to come to Orangeburg. However, it would have taken several hours before a team could be dispatched.
The device was then taken out by city and state officials and set off.
Marshall didn’t get a chance to ask where his patron found the shell. When it was identified, the man ran out of the store.
Marshall said some pretty unique things have been brought into the shop but none as unique as what arrived Friday.
“Never an artillery shell. Never,” he said. “Thank God it’s gone.”
T&D Staff Writer Richard Walker can be reached by e-mail at rwalker@timesanddemocrat.com or by telephone at 803-533-5516. Discuss this and other stories on-line at TheTandD.com.
Tags: Artillery Shell, pawnbroker, pawnshop, Times and Democrat
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January 29th, 2010
No doubt the finest book ever on the history of pawnbroking in the US! Brand New and Available right here. IN HOCK
Tags: consumer credit, History Book, In Hock, Pawn Loans, pawnbroker, pawnshop
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January 29th, 2010
From St Catharines Standard
Posted By REUTERS
Mexicans are lining up at pawnshops to hock their jewelry, family heirlooms — and in one case a harp fashioned from a shark’s jaw — in more evidence Mexico is struggling to recover from a deep recession.
Maria del Refugio Garduno, a 60-year-old widow, pawned her watch for 400 pesos ($31) after her son lost his job last month, sending her household’s finances into a tailspin.
“I had to come here just to be able to buy some medicine,” Garduno said at a pawn shop in the capital, Mexico City. “Our money just isn’t going far enough.”
Across the country, unemployment remains near its highest level in 14 years even though Mexico’s recession technically ended in the third quarter with a big industrial rebound.
The government thinks better jobs data from December shows Mexico has turned a corner in terms of employment, but even the finance ministry expects only a partial recovery from last year when the economy likely shrank about 7%.
Loans made at Nacional Monte de Piedad, Mexico’s largest chain of pawnshops, rose about 20% during the first three weeks of January compared to the same period in 2009.
The increase is higher than the 10% rise in pawns during 2009, and some people borrowing against their wares said recent tax hikes and rising government-set fuel prices had put extra pressure on their finances.
A value-added tax on most goods rose by 1 percentage point to 16% on Jan. 1, a few weeks after the government bumped up gasolizne prices after keeping them steady most of 2009.
“It’s hitting me all at once,” said Pedro Uribe, a street vendor in downtown Mexico City, who pawned one of his wife’s religious figurines.
Tags: consumer credit, economic crisis, Mexico City, Pawn Loans, pawnbroker, pawnshop
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January 22nd, 2010
From Flash News Dot Com:
People Pawn The Weirdest Things
LONDON (Wireless Flash - FlashNews) – These days, people try to pawn the strangest things for quick cash.
Emma Pankhurst of UK-based online pawnbroker, borro.com, says a farmer recently tried to pawn his livestock in exchange for cash.
Borro had to turn down the offer since live sheep and cows can’t be easily kept in their storage facilities.
Bizarre items people have successfully pawned include a set of gold teeth, a platinum belly piercing bar, and a rowing singlet worn by Olympic athletes.
The most commonly pawned items are fancy watches. Pankhurst once heard of a man pawning his in order to fund a wild night out.
One lady pawned her jewelry to buy herself a plane ticket to meet her father for the first time in 40 years.
Pankhurst says many customers use pawn loans to pay for plastic surgery, divorce lawyers, or medical bills. Their services have come in especially handy amidst the economic crisis.
Tags: borro.com, consumer credit, Pawn Loans, pawnbroker, pawnshop
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January 11th, 2010
Here’s a fun and quick story from a Pawnbroker Hero in Canada
This was a first for me
——————————————————————————–
A lady came in with a bag full of dvds and in obvious pain.
She needed $30.00 for cab fair to the hospital. She was in labour.
I gave it to her … quickly.
__________________
Ralph Schweitzer
Grade A Computers and Pawns
Enderby, B.C., Canada
Tags: B.C., Canada, consumer credit, Enderby, Pawn Loans, pawnbroker, pawnshop
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January 9th, 2010
Business Books TOP FIVE USA — Pawnonomics - Pawnbrokers assume big risks and still make better loan deals than banks — plus lots more you don’t know about pawning.
Read more: http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/blog.asp?id=425162#ixzz0c8BXnA86
Tags: consumer credit, pawnbroker, pawnshop, Shanghai Daily
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December 30th, 2009
From the Lafayette Journal Courior Online:
By AMANDA HAMON
ahamon@jconline.com
Walk into RamZ’s on Farabee Drive in Lafayette and you could walk out with $100 trillion.
In Zimbabwean money, that is.
Store owner Randy Ramsey said he recently bought 60 Zimbabwean $100 trillion notes — complete with colorful artwork — to add to the store’s wide collection of foreign and out-of-circulation currency.
The notes were available for purchase Tuesday, at $10 a bill.
“We had bought this as a novelty piece, and to show what inflation does,” said floor manager Chad Ramsey. “A hundred trillion is a really hard number to comprehend.”
The notes have been out of circulation in their African home country since June, Chad Ramsey said.
Before then, they were worth about 33 cents American.
In Zimbabwe, $100 trillion is about enough to buy three eggs, said sales associate Zach Briggs, who researched the currency.
The outrageous inflation suggested in that scenario makes the notes a lesson in economics, store workers said. Zimbabwe is home to one of the worst hyperinflation crises in the world thanks to an economy flushed with printed currency.
“It’s just flabbergasting to think of $100 trillion, but it could happen to any country if they continue to print money without anything to back it with,” Randy Ramsey said.
This is the first time Zimbabwean currency has been available at the store, which carries everything from jewelry to consumer electronics and more, Chad Ramsey said. The business bills itself as Lafayette’s oldest licensed pawn broker.
The Ramseys said they acquired the Zimbabwean notes from a Hoosier gold and silver supplier. They said they don’t know how the wholesaler came across the money.
The $100 trillion notes are the third version of that Zimbabwean denomination, the Ramseys said.
The country’s current $100 trillion bill was reprinted in June to eliminate some of its dizzying zeroes.
Randy Ramsey declined to say how much he paid for the $100 trillion bills, but he said the store already has sold a couple of the notes to customers.
So why sell something that was worth 33 cents for $10?
It’s based on the item’s novelty, how much the store paid for the notes and the fact that an out-of-state currency shop is selling them for $12, Randy Ramsey said.
The bills are sold individually and come with a plastic protector.
“We just like to have some cool stuff around here,” Briggs said. “People kind of have this fascination with having such a big bill.”
Tags: consumer credit, LaFayette IN, Pawn Loans, pawnbroker, pawnshop, RamZ Exchange
Posted in Pawn Shop Stories | 1 Comment »
December 16th, 2009
From Mlive.com:
New truTV show ‘Hardcore Pawn’ features Detroit pawn shop American Jewelry and Loan
By Jessica Nunez | MLive.com
December 16, 2009, 8:42AM
American Jewelry and Loan in Detroit is the star of a new truTV show called ‘Hardcore Pawn.’ It airs on Monday at 11 p.m.Pawnshops: they’re there for you when you need money fast, or when you need a great deal on a big screen TV. Now one Detroit pawnshop is trying to hone in on a completely different business — entertainment.
Or reality television, to be more specific.
On Monday, the first two episodes of a show called “Hardcore Pawn” (which is either the worst or best TV show name of the year — it’s hard to decide which) will air on truTV.
The show will feature Detroit pawnshop American Jewelry and Loan and the crazy things it encounters on a daily basis, including customers who try to exchange things like alligators and prosthetic limbs in exchange for cash.
“We’re actually hoping [viewers] do like what they see,” owner Les Gold says in a Metro Times article. “I hope a lot of them tune in, to be honest with you. If you tune in on Monday, you’ll see some strange things come in.”
Metro Times, Dec. 16: (Les’ Son) Seth explains, “The reason why we agreed to do this wasn’t to become famous. It was to shed some light on what we do. Pawn shops have a negative stigma attached to them, and we opened up the door to show what we do so as to kind of take that —” “—to a legitimate, understandable level,” Les concludes.
The Golds’ pawn shop isn’t the first to be featured on a reality show.
A new History Channel show called ‘Pawn Stars’ (again, the porn pun … are we missing something?) also airs on Mondays, at 10 p.m.
This one follows the owners of Gold and Silver Pawn Shop in Las Vegas, but Les Gold says the shows aren’t that similar.
“…The pawnbrokers of “Pawn Stores” deal in higher-end items, “Hardcore Pawn” would feature a more down-to-earth look at the industry,” Les says in a recent Crain’s Detroit Business article.
Only two episodes of “Hardcore Pawn” have been taped so far, but if the ratings are high enough, the show could be picked up on a regular basis.
Both episodes air on Monday, Dec. 21 at 11 and 11:30 p.m.
© 2009 MLive.com. All rights reserved.
Tags: consumer credit, Detroit, Pawn Loans, pawnbroker, pawnshop, Reality TV
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December 8th, 2009
From The Cypress Times:
Pawn Shops Team Up for Musical Instrument Gift Day today
Pawn shops in 17 states across the country are joining forces this holiday season to provide underprivileged children with hundreds of musical instruments. The National Pawnbrokers Association, who is sponsoring the event, has christened the effort Musical Instrument Gift Day, and the program is designed to put musical instruments into the hands of children who need them the most.
This effort is part of a larger program held in honor of St. Nicholas Day – Patron Saint of Pawnbroking - and National Pawnbrokers Day, December 6. Pawn shops across the country are organizing donation drives to supply badly needed musical instruments to local charity organizations and schools who, due to drastic budget cuts in state education funds, can’t supply enough instruments to form a small band. For more information on this effort, visit www.GiftDay.org.
Pawn shops traditionally have a history of donating musical instruments and awarding scholarships to support the young members of their communities. On December 1, Georgia’s Governor Sonny Perdue met with pawnbrokers from around the state to take part in the National Pawnbrokers Association’s Musical Instrument Gift Day. At least 8 Georgia pawn shop owners pledged over 70 instruments to donate to the Charles R. Drew Charter School, located in a troubled suburb of Atlanta.
Studies show the importance of music education in the development of a child’s mind. According to the College Entrance Examination Board, students in music appreciation score 63 points higher on verbal and 44 points higher on math when they take the SAT. David Crume, President of the National Pawnbrokers Association, stresses the importance of reaching out to the community to support education. “It’s feels great to know that while state education boards are slashing budgets, we can still make a difference.”
The NPA is experiencing an enthusiastic reception from members in Enterprise and across the country. Pawn store owners from as far as Canada are stepping forward to support this cause. Says Crume, “This is going to change a lot of lives for the better.”
Tags: National Pawnbrokers Association, Pawn Loans, pawnbroker, pawnshop, Santa Claus
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December 3rd, 2009
I wonder if the FDIC even considered the fact that it’s very difficult to take out a payday loan without having a bank account? That leaves pawn shops as the ONLY option for these consumers seeking short-term credit.
By David Ellis, CNNMoney.com staff writer
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — New York State is known as the nation’s financial capital, yet nearly one in 10 of its residents do not have a checking or savings account.
And while Texas is densely populated with banks, nearly a quarter of households in the Dallas-Forth Worth area have gone to a pawn shop or check cashing company recently to carry out a simple financial transaction.
Those were just a few of the findings of a new government survey released Wednesday on Americans’ access to basic banking services.
The survey, which tallied responses from roughly 54,000 U.S. households, marks the first time that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has published such data.
Perhaps one of the biggest revelations of the study was that approximately 7.7% of all U.S. households, or 17 million Americans, were considered “unbanked,” meaning they did not have any sort of a checking or savings account.
The most common reason cited, according to the study, was a lack of funds. More than a third of those considered “unbanked” said they did not have enough cash to warrant having a bank account.
In fact, nearly 20% of all U.S. households earning $30,000 or less per year did not have a bank account.
The study also found that almost a quarter of all households headed by someone who didn’t finish high school were considered “unbanked.” Meanwhile, nearly one of every five African-American or Hispanic households do not have a checking or savings account, according to FDIC data.
Another key finding of Wednesday’s survey, was that many Americans that actually have bank accounts still look elsewhere to cash their checks or borrow money.
In fact, nearly 18% of all U.S. households have relied on payday lenders, pawn shops or check-cashing outlets at least once in the past five years.
Such businesses have often been criticized for charging consumers rates that would even make loan sharks blush. In some instances, borrowers pay the equivalent of an annualized interest rate as high as 500%.
Americans living without a bank: See a state-by-state breakdown
People who were polled, however, said they continued to use these services simply because they were convenient or because it was easier to get a loan from them.
Hoping to migrate consumers away from such expensive options, the FDIC has enacted a number of initiatives including a short-term loan pilot program it launched in February 2008.
As part of the program, a select group of banks have agreed to offer short-term loans of up to $2,500 to low-income Americans.
Wednesday’s survey report was yet another effort to expand consumers’ access to basic financial services, agency officials said.
“By better understanding the households that make up this group — who they are and their reasons for being unbanked or underbanked, we will be better positioned to help them take that first step,” FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair said in a statement.
Tags: consumer credit, FDIC, Pawn Loans, pawnbroker, pawnshop, Payday Loans
Posted in Pawn Ecomomics | 1 Comment »
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