Archive for the ‘Pawn Shop Stories’ Category
Thursday, May 10th, 2012
From Click on Detroit Dot Com
Counterfeiter caught selling to famous Detroit pawn shop of ‘Hardcore Pawn’
Secret Service catches counterfeiter thanks to his trip to American Jewelry and Loan in Detroit
Author: Mara MacDonald, Local 4 Reporter
DETROIT –
He might qualify as one of Detroit’s dumbest criminals.
Kenny “Boom” Smith was busted by the U.S. Secret Service for making and passing counterfeit money. Smith must have thought his funny money skills are pretty good because he attempted to sell both his counterfeit cash and his counterfeiting machine to a pawn shop. Not just any pawn shop, either.
American Jewelry and Loan is where the hit TV show “Hardcore Pawn” is shot. The store near 8 Mile and Evergreen roads has become a destination because of the show.
“We have tour buses and people from all over the world coming here. They love the show and we’re a great pawn shop,” said owner Les Gold.
Gold is the star of the show and has been in the pawn business a long time.
“We see everything. People bring in counterfeit money, counterfeit jewelry. Nothing surprises me nowadays,” he said.
So Gold didn’t bat an eyelash when Smith showed up and wanted to sell him his counterfeit money and machine. He wanted to be on the show. Smith told Gold he would bring his counterfeiting equipment to the store. A short time later the Secret Service showed up at American Jewelry and Loan. They had been tracing Smith’s activities since he had been passing his fake bills.
Gold filled them in on what Smith had told him and the agents found out Smith’s counterfeiting claims had been captured on camera for the show.
So now, Smith has been busted by the Secret Service and charged in federal court. This isn’t his first counterfeiting case either. He has done a stint in prison for the same thing and if convicted he is going back again.
As Gold says, “All because he wanted his five minutes of fame on TV.”
Smith actually signed a waiver to be on the TV show.
Tags: American Jewelry and Loan, Detroit, Hardcore Pawn, Les Gold, pawnbroker, pawnshop, Reality TV, Stupid Criminals
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Saturday, April 7th, 2012
From Detroit News Dot Com
Reality TV, economic woes polish image of pawn shops
Brokers luring deal hunters, credit-starved
By BRIAN J. O’CONNOR / Detroit News Finance Editor
The pawn shop is ready for its close-up.
After centuries serving as the gritty urban lender of last resort for the unemployed, unlucky and untrustworthy, pawnbrokers are moving upscale, online and out to the suburbs, attracting a new clientele of bargain hunters and credit-starved suburbanites.
The makeover comes courtesy of the worst economic downturn in 80 years and two increasingly popular reality television shows.
First, the recession clamped down on credit and amped up financial distress for consumers of all classes. Then a pair of cable shows introduced the world of pawn to a new breed of consumer who needed to borrow or was eager for second-hand bargains.
“It’s cool to go to the pawn shop now,” says Les Gold, owner of American Jewelry and Loan, the Detroit shop on truTV’s “Hardcore Pawn” reality show. “It’s changed the perception of what pawn shops used to be.”
While the perception of hock shops has changed for people who have never relied on them, Gold concedes that the basic business of pawn shops is still the same — acting as the credit card for people who can’t get one from MasterCard or Visa. What’s changed is that since 2007, more people have joined that group, and many of those who do still have credit cards can’t use them.
As of 2009, 25.6 percent of all American households depended on alternative credit sources, such as payday lenders, rent-to-own stores and pawn shops, according to an FDIC survey. In Michigan, it was 23.4 percent of households. Many of those people have always been pawn shop customers when they need to borrow.
Now add the number of people who used to have credit but lost it during the recession. Between August 2008 and December 2009, credit card issuers cut the credit available to cardholders by nearly $1 trillion — a 32percent reduction. By the end of last year, available credit on plastic still was $724 billion less, down 25 percent from the credit bubble. The amount of home equity consumers could tap shrank by $226 billion between March 2008 and June 2011, a drop of 31 percent, with only a slight improvement by December from that low point.
All told, more than $900 billion of available credit vanished from the economy in three years, leaving a lot of consumers looking for new sources of borrowing. And if they hadn’t thought of pawn shops before, all they had to do was turn on their TVs.
“There’s a void to fill,” said Tony Aubrey, who owns four Motor City Pawn Brokers stores. His two established stores are in Roseville and Warren, but since the Great Recession he’s added pawn stores in suburban Livonia and even in trendy Ferndale.
The increase in demand is being met with an increase of pawn options, including brokers who specialize in high-end goods and online pawn services targeting jewelry and watches.
The number of brick-and-mortar pawn shops in the U.S. has increased by more than half in the past five years, said Emmett Murphy, spokesman for the National Pawnbrokers Association, including three Texas-based publicly traded pawn chains that control about 13 percent of the industry. From fewer than 6,400 pawn stores in 2007, the total is now about 10,000.
“We’re seeing a new type of customer,” Murphy said. “I credit the change in the image of the pawn industry to the success of the television shows.”
The new pawn customer is often looking for unusual items, such as the oddities and collectibles featured on the History Channel show “Pawn Stars,” or deals on second-hand items, including the jewelry that makes up 80 percent of business for many hock shops.
There’s another type of customer showing up at Greenfield and Eight Mile now that “Hardcore Pawn” spotlights American Jewelry and Loan: tourists.
“Now we have people from Australia, Alaska,” says Seth Gold, Les’ son and partner. “We even had a guy from Florida drive straight through just to meet us.”
Last summer, luxury tour buses unloaded 125 people at a time into the store. A corner dedicated to “Hardcore Pawn” features posters, pictures and T-shirts, including one that shows a grimacing Les, flanked by Seth and his sister, Ashley, over the words, “I got kicked out of American Jewelry and Loan.”
Les Gold signs pictures and autographs while conducting business.
“It’s all day long, sometimes 200 people at a time,” he says, including other pawn shop owners. “Pawnbrokers come in to thank us when they’re on vacation.”
Two other couples visiting are former Michiganians Debbie Coley, 62, a retired nurse, and her husband, William, 60, a retired trainman. They are visiting Mike Smiatacz, 63, a retired city worker from St. Clair Shores, and his wife, Jan.
“My sister is an avid fan and asked for a picture,” Debbie Coley says. “I think it’s great, it’s a boost. Detroit is always getting a bum rap.”As a souvenir, she buys a necklace for her sister. “It’s a good deal,” she says, showing it off.
After getting Les Gold to pose with them for a picture, like all the other tourists who visit, both couples turn to leave.
There’s one more thing they’ve got in common with all the other tourists — they’ve never been in a pawnshop before.
Tags: consumer credit, Detroit, Pawn Loans, pawnbroker, pawnshop, Reality TV
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Thursday, March 15th, 2012
From Kirkland Reporter Dot Com
By AMY SMITH
Kirkland Reporter UW News Lab
March 14, 2012 · Updated 12:54 PM
It’s a well-known fact to most bartenders: People drink in a good economy and people drink in a bad economy.
So went the thinking of Brain Lurie, co-owner of The Yuppie Pawn Shop.
About a year ago, Lurie and his business partner, Karen Moskowitz, transformed about a third of their existing pawnshop into a tavern, serving 50 different types of beer, an assortment of hard alcohol and food.
In the 20 years since The Yuppie Pawn Shop has been open, first in a downtown Kirkland location and now in its current home in the Totem Lake Neighborhood, it has accumulated a host of regulars.
“I often kind of compare the pawn shop to ‘Cheers’ — we’ve got our psychologist, our postman,” said Lurie, of the visitors who frequent the store. So it seemed a natural to Lurie to add a “Yuppie Tavern,” where customers could sit and gab over a mug of suds and a bowl of peanuts. “While they’re telling us their wealth of information, we can sell them a beer, too. So that really works out well.”
Sure enough, in the span of about an hour on a recent afternoon, about 15 customers streamed in and out of the store. Some, clearly new to the shop, browsed through a large and varied inventory, finding everything from a 1975 Rolls Royce in the parking lot — selling for $9,900 – to snowboarding gear, a soft-pretzel machine and collections of arrowheads encased in glass.
Others, once they were greeted warmly by Lurie and Moskowitz on the pawn side of the building, strolled over to the tavern side and pulled up a barstool.
“Yes, we do have our regulars,” said Moskowitz, who pulls double duty working both the bar and pawn side of the business.
Lurie, who calls himself a “kinder, gentler” lender, said he is often willing to extend time arrangements on loans and negotiate deals.
Customers can “get really good deals because they spend money on two sides,” Lurie said. “They can drink up (and then) pawn jewelry to get more drinks.” He said every day he has customers who drink and buy, buy and drink.
“I’ve bought a couple of things from the other side,” said Jim Walters, a regular. “It’s kind of a unique little bar. You can get hammered and go shopping,” he said, while visiting with friends who he introduced as Captain Ron and Charlie Tuna.
But shopping isn’t the only entertainment to be found in the Old-West themed tavern. Large-screen televisions, usually airing sports, share wall space with artwork that is for sale. Electronic darts can be played on one side of the bar, while on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights live music is offered. On Tuesday evenings the tavern hosts a blues open mic night.
Lurie credits Moskowitz and the tavern staff with making the bar work.
“The women don’t let me work in the bar because I’m too stupid,” he said, explaining with a laugh that he tends to over-pour and forgets to charge. Instead, he said, he is the idea guy.
Lurie’s latest brainstorm has him running all over town in search of a food truck to station in the large parking lot outside of the building. He has already started working on a menu of comfort food to supplement the sandwiches that the tavern currently offers, and looks forward to offering food and drink specials.
“If we build it, they will come,” he said confidently of what his customers call a “hidden jewel” of a business.
More information
The Yuppie Pawn is open Monday-Friday, 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m. and on Saturdays 10 a.m-4 p.m. The Tavern is open daily from 11 a.m.
For a schedule of live music, visit: yuppietavern.com/index.html
Amy Smith is a student in the University of Washington Department of Communication News Laboratory.
Tags: consumer credit, Pawn Loans, pawnbroker, pawnshop, Yuppie Pawn, Yuppie Tavern
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Thursday, February 23rd, 2012
From Reuters Dot Com
Pawnshops for prosperous accept wine as collateral
By Leslie Gevirtz
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Some U.S. pawnbrokers are taking liquid assets – literally.
Along with family jewels and fine art they will accept wines as collateral for loans to help ease cash shortages of businesses and people on all rungs of the economic ladder.
“You’d be amazed by how many wealthy individuals have terrible credit ratings,” said Jordan Tabach-Bank, head of Beverly Loan Co. in Beverly Hills, California.
“And besides, if you go to a bank, it can take weeks or months to get a loan. When we make a loan, it’s usually the same day,”
The pawnshop for the prosperous lends to hedge-fund managers, bankers, lawyers, doctors and even Oscar winners.
“Most people have a vision of pawn shops as sad sites. But that’s not the case here,” Tabach-Bank said. “I have a lot of people who come in who have a business opportunity and they need an infusion of cash for business purposes.”
USGoldBuyers.com, an online pawnbroker with an office in New York, will also accept fine wines, said spokesman Jose Caba, adding that the rich do not always have liquid assets to keep up with their expensive toys.
“That’s where we come in,” he said. “We don’t really want to sell the wine, or any asset that we take in whether it be gold or fine art.”
He estimates that about 90 percent of the loans made have been repaid.
But interest rates and length of the loans vary widely.
British-based pawnbroker, borro.com, recently lent $120,000 in exchange for 128 bottles of Chateau d’Yquem, which had an estimated worth of $250,000.
Within the last three weeks, borro.com had taken a case of 1989 Chateau Petrus, valued at about $38,000, for a loan of $24,000, said its Chief Executive Paul Aitken.
Loans were also secured on various vintages of the five First Growths Bordeaux: Chateau Haut-Brion, Chateau Lafite-Rothschild, Chateau Haut-Brion, Chateau Margaux and Chateau Mouton Rothschild — top wines regularly sold at auctions where cases fetch tens of thousands of dollars.
Aitken’s clientele, whose net worth ranges from $1 million to $10 million, are mostly small business owners with cash flow problems. Financial advisers and wealth managers recommend many of their clients to him.
Britain’s Prime Asset Loans, based in Durham, has a specific list of wines it will loan against including the First Growth Bordeaux, Burgundy’s Domaine de la Romanee-Conti and, depending on the vintage, Australia’s renowned Penfolds Grange.
“We lend up to 70 percent of the value of the wines and the term is usually seven months,” said Richard Mews, a partner at Prime Asset Loans. “Investors are using this type of loan more as it is quick, easy and there are no fees.”
Credit Municipal de Paris, which has been offering loans against fine wines, champagnes and aged spirits since 2008, can keep more than 90,000 bottles in its 18th century wine cellar.
“Just deposit your bottles against a loan that is immediately awarded,” said spokeswoman Florence Marambat, adding that Bordeaux were the wines most frequently offered as collateral.
(Reporting By Leslie Gevirtz; Additional reporting by Dominique Vidalon in Paris; Editing by Richard Chang and Patricia Reaney)
Tags: consumer credit, Pawn Loans, pawnbroker, pawnshop
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Thursday, February 16th, 2012
From WAOW Dot Com
By Daniel Woodruff, Anchor, Multimedia Journalist
SCHOFIELD (WAOW) — Many people once considered the pawn shop a business to avoid.
It carried the stigma of shady characters and seedy deals. But that’s not as much the case anymore. Pawning has become a multi-million dollar industry in the Wausau area, and pawn shops are even glamorized on TV.
We visited Pawn America in Schofield to take a look at the wild world of pawn. Our tour guide was Kip Kreager, assistant head coach at the pawn shop.
“I know probably fifty percent of our customers by a first name basis,” Kreager told us as we started looking around the store.
One of those customers is John Duehlmeier.
“I usually come here for extra cash,” he said. “I usually come here probably about five, six times a month.”
Pawn America buys, sells, and loans—a recycling center of all things second hand.
“Second hand is a lot cheaper than buying it firsthand,” said Kreager.
The pawn shop gets a lot of unique items. Kreager showed us various swords and knives, exotic rings, and a James Bond 007 limited edition watch.
He also showed us a lot of video games.
“Lots of people are real crazy about video games in this area for whatever reason,” said Kreager.
A pawn shop isn’t your average store. Customers can buy an item on the sales floor. They can also sell something and get instant cash. Or, they can pawn it—getting money now and paying it back later, plus interest.
“Basically they bring in, let’s say, a ring,” said Kreager. “We appraise it for them. If it’s like a 200 dollar ring, they’re going to pay about 20 percent interest over the course of a month to get that ring back, so about 240 dollars to get it back”"
But isn’t 20 percent interest a lot? Kreager says, not as high as other places.
“If you compare to like a check cashing place or anything like that, our interest rates are a lot lower than that,” said Kreager.
We found John Duehlmeier pawning some DVDs. For about a buck each, he left the store with $30.
“I’m going to get stuff for my daughter cause she’s getting an operation on her ears,” said Duehlmeier. He says he’s come to the shop for several years, mostly pawning items for cash. He says, with one exception, he gets his items back every time.
“It helps out people that are tight on money, especially right now with the economy’s going,” said Duehlmeier.
But others don’t leave the pawn shop so lucky.
“I brought in two TVs, two cameras, and a boombox, hoping to get about $20 or $25 for it,” said Daniel Deland.
But he ended up getting nothing.
“I don’t have the remotes for the TVs, one of the cameras is too old, and the CD boombox was not working,” he said.
Pawn shop workers are careful before they take anything, and when they do, they have to make sure they can re-sell it. And make no mistake–they’re in it for a profit.
“What we try to do is offer more than enough for the customer because it is used goods, and then turn around and make it about a 30-40 percent profit for us,” said Kreager.
Pawn America is a busy place. Kreager says in January alone, the shop saw almost $200,000 worth of merchandise coming into the store. And over a year-long period, Kreager says that number totals in the millions of dollars.
What sparked the interest in pawn shops? Perhaps TV shows. “Pawn Stars” on the History Channel reveals a glamorous, exciting side of pawn shops. So do other shows.
“Since Pawn Stars, since Hard Core Pawn, and I think they have that new southern pawn or whatever like that, all those generate the people’s interest,” said Kreager.
But pawn shops have had their struggles. According to the National Pawnbrokers Association 2010 Trend Survey, sales at many pawn shops dropped as the economy tanked, and fewer people returned to re-claim their loaned items.
But Kreager says now—at Pawn America—business is robust.
“You’ll find a lot of unique stuff that is one of a kind, and you’ll want to pick it up for yourself,” he said.
Pawn shops also have to deal with the reality that they sometimes attract criminals. For example, Pawn America reports everything they get to police. Also, every item sits in the back for 30 days before it can be sold. That gives police time to investigate any potential stolen items. The National Pawnbrokers Association says these measures help keep customers safe and contributes to a better place to do business.
Pawn shops will continue to attract people needing quick cash, and those looking for something neat. And that’s the allure. Because you never know what you’ll find in the wild world of pawn.
Online Reporter: Daniel Woodruff
Tags: consumer credit, National Pawnbrokers Association, Pawn America, Pawn Loans, pawnbroker, pawnshop
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Tuesday, February 7th, 2012
From Northland News Center Dot Com
Hibbing Native Builds Pawn Shop Empire
By KBJR News 1
February 6, 2012
HIBBING, MN (Northland’s NewsCenter)—One Hibbing native continues to change the public’s perception of pawn shops as he builds a multi-state empire.
CEO and founder of Pawn America, Brad Rixmann returned to his roots, offering advice to business leaders at the 2012 Hibbing Chamber of Commerce Dinner.
Since opening his first shop in Robbinsdale in 1991, Rixmann now owns and manages 23 Pawn America shops across the Midwest.
“All we have to do is elevate ourselves above what people’s perspective is, or their perception of what we should be,” Rixmann said. “That is what has made us truly successful.”
Serving more than 200,000 customers, Pawn America is one of the fastest growing private companies in the Twin Cities area.
But, overcoming the negative stereotype associated with pawn shops didn’t come easy.
“I think the image wasn’t very good initially, but since he’s came in, I think he’s definitely changed that,” Andy McKinnon, a Loan Supervisor with PayDay America said. “You know we are just like any other retail store, that’s how we look at it.”
“We need people to feel comfortable with us as being a neighbor,” Rixmann said. “I want a pawn store in Hibbing. I want a new pawn store in Duluth. I want a pawn store in Edina, I want one on Grand Avenue in St. Paul. I want a pawn store where many people wouldn’t think a pawn store would be located.”
Rixmann’s son, 12-year-old Caleb, is featured in several Pawn America commercials as the ventriloquist, Eggmoe.
He plans to stay in the family business and is already learning from his father’s entrepreneurial intuition.
“If he’s in a meeting, sometimes he’ll say why don’t you sit in and it’ll help you when you grow up,” Caleb said.
Rixmann owns numerous Payday America and Cash-Pass Network industrial loan companies and plans to continue building his pawn shop empire.
The National Pawn Brokers Association named Rixmann Pawn Broker of the Year in 2007.
Jennifer Walch
Tags: Brad Rixman, consumer credit, Pawn America, Pawn Loans, pawnbroker, pawnshop
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Friday, January 6th, 2012
From Heartland Connection Dot Com
By Ela Soroka
KIRKSVILLE, MO. — For Thursday’s Facebook Story of the Day, the majority of you wanted to know what the rules are for pawn shops regarding checking the legality of items pawned.
According to the owner of Double B Pawn & Jewelry in Kirksville, Bob Jones, there are several things they must do before purchasing an item from someone.
“First of all, they have to sign paperwork stating that the item is theirs and they have the right to sell it,” said Jones. “On a form we fill out their personal information including name, driver’s license/ID number, height, weight, color of their hair and eyes and their address. We then make a copy of their identification card and attach that to the paperwork. From there it’s recorded into a data base.”
In order to help keep track of the items purchased, pawn shop owners must also record all their transactions in a national data base.
“In the state of Missouri, pawn shops are the only buy-sell kind of business regulated by the state where we have to record all information on the seller and the item being purchased, and then we have to download that information within 24 hours into a national data base,” said Jones. “Police and sheriff’s offices can then go into that data base and check case numbers against serial numbers to see if an item was reported stolen.”
So what happens if an individual comes into a pawn shops to see if that store has an item of theirs that was stolen? According to Jones they are not allowed to disclose information on the individual that pawned the item.
“We’re a lending institution just like banks so we are governed by federal law and state law which have the right to privacy act, and we can’t divulge any of our activity to an individual,” said Jones. “However, the police or sheriff’s office can come in and check those records on a daily basis if they need to. But we can not divulge anyone’s transactions as far as purchases or pawns to a private individual by law.”
According to a survey that was done a few years ago, less than one-tenth of 1% of stolen items go through pawn shops because there is a paper trail.
“Thieves don’t like that,” said Jones. “They rather go some place where there’s not a paper trail and sell that item. For example, places that buy gold and silver, some stores melt everything on a weekly basis so once that’s done, it’s gone and there’s no record on who brought it in.”
So what happens if an item a pawn shop purchased turns up stolen? According to Jones, they will take legal action against the person that pawned it.
“We do prosecute to the fullest extent of the law and we have done that before when we found that we’ve had stolen merchandise,” said Jones. “We’re not afraid to do that. We like to see those people off the streets anyway.”
Tags: consumer credit, Pawn Loans, pawnbroker, pawnshop, stolen merchandise
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Thursday, December 29th, 2011
From Herald Tribune Dot Com
Pawn shops collect food and toys for needy
America’s Super Pawn officials say its “Season of Giving” event was a success at its stores in Manatee and Sarasota counties.
Beginning Nov. 1 through Dec. 14, the goal was to collect 2,500 nonperishable food items for All Faiths Food Bank and 100 toys for The Boys & Girls Clubs in both counties.
The total numbers collected from customers and business partners were 2,675 food items and 148 toys.
Tags: America's Super Pawn, Bradenton, Pawn Loans, pawnbroker, pawnshop, Sarasota
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Thursday, November 3rd, 2011
From HealthyCal Dot Org
Callie Shanafelt
Changes at local pawnshops give a small glimpse into how the recession is hurting the middle class.
Despite the Hollywood image of the seedy pawnshop full of stolen goods, pawnbrokers throughout California are now catering to higher income clientele.
This change is due in part to a rising need among the long-term unemployed who need cash to pay their bills, according to Emmett Murphy, spokesperson for the California Pawnbrokers Association.
They turn to pawnbrokers to borrow against valuable items they bought during better economic times.
They go to pawnshops like Numis International Inc. in the middle-class town of Millbrae near the San Francisco International Airport.
At first glance Numis International Inc. looks like a discount jewelry store.
“I have people who come in sometimes and say, ‘do you know where the pawnshop is?’” said Jacob Notowitz, Numis store manager. “And I’ll say yes, it’s right here.”
Notowitz has seen a steady increase and change in his customers during this period of long-term unemployment.
“Five years ago they were in excellent shape, and unfortunately they’ve run into hard times, and it’s taken them a long time to run out of their savings,” Notowitz said.
At the beginning of the recession, his average customer was in their 30s or 40s. “They were out of college and had a job, they were kind of the first to be let go,” Notowitz said.
Now his average customer is in their 40s or 50s, and many have never pawned anything before. “As the economy has maintained its downturn more people are coming in with higher quality merchandise that they need to borrow against,” Notowitz said.
Gordon Winter came in to pick up his 1978 Fender Precision bass guitar that he pawned four months ago. “I ran out of money. I didn’t have the means to make it to the end of the month,” said Winter. A former musician, Winter has been unemployed for the past three years after being laid off from his job at Xerox where he worked for six years.
Notowitz’s customers aren’t just the long-term unemployed. One recent customer was a construction contractor who borrowed fifteen thousand dollars to pay his employees. During good economic times he has enough money coming in from completed jobs to pay his employees for current projects. But today business is slow, so he has to borrow the money for his payroll for six months until his client pays for the project.
Sixty percent of the customers that walk through their door come into the shop to get a pawn loan. The process is pretty simple: customers bring in an item, the shop staff appraise the value and give the customer a cash loan for a little less then the item is worth. The loan is usually for a period of four months and the customer pays about 10 percent more in loan fees and finance charges to the shop for the loan. They can extend the loan by paying the fees and agreeing to a new loan with a new set of fees.
If they do not extend or repay, the shop keeps their item and resells it. But the pawnbroker doesn’t report the default to any credit agency and it does not affect customers’ credit score. Ninety-five percent of his customers return for their items or to extend the loan, Notowitz said.
While Notowitz loans out anywhere from twenty-five dollars to five hundred thousand dollars, the average loan they make in the shop is two or three hundred dollars.
California’s unemployment rate, which stands at 12.1 percent, is one-third higher than the national unemployment rate. As state and national politicians struggle to create jobs, the pawn industry continues to grow.
While politicians talk about the difficulty of creating jobs, Notowitz hired two new employees in the past two years.
Tags: California Pawnbrokers Association, consumer credit, Numis International, Pawn Loans, pawnbroker, pawnshop
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Monday, October 31st, 2011
From Money-Market UK Dot Com
London’s oldest pawnbroker Suttons and Robertsons reports brisk business.
With Banks closing their doors to many customers wishing to borrow money, a growing number is turning to pawnbrokers for help with cash flow needs. And as operators report a huge upsurge in business, customers find that borrowing against valuables is quick and cost-effective short-term when compared to other forms of lending, particularly unauthorised overdrafts.
Suttons and Robertsons, London’s oldest pawnbroker reports brisk, repeat business with many of its customers returning and borrowing cash of around £2,000 on average against gold jewellery, diamonds, antiques and even works of art.
In its South Kensington store, the average loan is £6,000 and the largest amount the group has loaned to date is £250,000 but, has the funds to lend up to £1m should the need arise. It has just opened a branch in Fleet Street offering quick and discreet service to the City – so there is every chance a £1m-pound customer may walk through the door!
Director of Suttons and Robertsons Jim Tannahill has worked for the firm for near 30 years: “In the early 80’s pawnbroking saw a resurgence in popularity; but it was the start of the credit crunch around six years ago when business really started to boom. We suddenly started to see lots more Rolex and other luxury watches, large diamonds and items that were directly the trappings of wealth from years of prosperity. A typical customer was not someone to be regarded as being in financial difficulty”.
Most were simply used to a certain lifestyle and using our services to cover holidays, school fees, and even business deals, because it was becoming much easier to borrow from us than from the more traditional high street lenders.”
And growth in the industry shows no sign of slowing. But using a Pawnbroker does come with some caveats: “We are a short-term lending option” says Tannahill.
“Anyone looking for a loan term of over six months really should explore other options before using a pawnbroker. They should also be sure they will have the means to repay the loan or they will lose their goods” he adds.
To borrow from a pawnbroker you need two forms of ID. If happy with the offer, you can usually walk away with your money in 15 minutes. All pawnbrokers are required to observe the Consumer Credit Act, and there is a legal obligation for the Pawnbroker to write to anyone who defaults on their loan of their intention to sell the goods, giving them 14 days’ notice. “At Suttons and Robertsons we have a much greater than average redemption rate with only around 10-15% of customers defaulting on their loans,” says Tannahill. “People who do redeem their valued items, quite often bring the same things back in the next time they need to borrow money. We are seeing a lot of repeat customers making us more like a bank than ever before…I guess it’s just a sign of the times and we are glad to be able to offer a valued service to our customers during periods of financial difficulty,” added Tannahill.
Suttons and Robertsons has branches in four London locations – Victoria Street, Edgware Road, South Kensington’s Brompton Road, and Fleet Street. For further information visit www.suttonsandrobertsons.com
Tags: consumer credit, Pawn Loans, pawnbroker, pawnshop, Suttons and Robertsons, United Kingdom
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