Archive for the ‘Pawn Shop Stories’ Category
Thursday, March 17th, 2011
From Dispatch Dot Com
Agents pop in on ‘Pawn Stars’
The Air Force sent special agents to Las Vegas on Tuesday to grill Rick Harrison of Pawn Stars about his purchase of a guidance system for a missile used on F-4 Phantom fighter planes. Harrison and his team made the deal last week, TMZ.com reported. Two investigators visited Gold & Silver Pawn and asked to check out the guidance system and missile parts, a source said. The agents disassembled the system to make sure it was no longer active and didn’t contain any important information. The agents also inquired about the woman who sold the pieces to Pawn Stars. The seller said her father purchased the items at a military auction in the 1980s, and she had paperwork to prove it. A representative for the History network show insisted, “If the Air Force wants the missile back, we will gladly adhere to their request.”
Tags: consumer credit, Las Vegas, Pawn Loans, Pawn Stars, pawnbroker, pawnshop
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Saturday, February 26th, 2011
From AZ Central Dot Com
Gold dealer seeks pawnshop variance
By Michael Clancy – Feb. 26, 2011 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic
Arizona Gold Exchange is among dozens, maybe hundreds of shops, offering to buy gold from consumers.
But Howard Taylor and his partner, Kevin Stevens, say they are trying to do it a little differently, with more professionalism and class.
Arizona Gold Exchange has two Phoenix stores, one at 9017 N. Cave Creek Road, which is at the southern terminus of the road, and 2535 E. Bell Road.
Although both are classified as pawnshops, giving them the ability to make loans, neither would strike even a pawnshop regular as the same kind of business.
The Cave Creek Road store has a locking door that needs to be released for customers to enter, an armed guard on site, and a few unexpected odds and ends. But other than that, it seems more like a jewelry boutique.
The store is an adaptive reuse of a former car dealership, and it retains its garage doors and large windows. Inside, the floor has been polished, and counters and cases erected. It makes liberal use of diamond-tread steel and rusted metal, along with glass and chrome.
One case holds watches. Another has coins and silver and gold bullion. One has gold jewelry, another only watches, and yet another contains unusual items.
One case holds fine Indian jewelry.
It comes in from collectors, estate sales and other means, including walk-ins.
Taylor and Stevens are specialists in certain items.
“Kevin knows precious metals and bullion,” Taylor says. “I know watches.”
Taylor says 90 percent of the store’s transactions, however, are in gold. With gold prices running more than $1,000 an ounce, the market is lucrative.
Taylor says the competition, while obvious to anyone driving around Phoenix, is difficult to keep track of.
Many of the cash-for-gold places, he says, are merely pawnshops that have always taken gold. But he warns of fraudulent dealers.
“When gold is at $1,300 to $1,400 an ounce, it draws bad people out of the woodwork,” he says.
Taylor is trying to move his Bell Road location, which he says is not a good fit with his business.
His goal is to buy a building at 16026 N. Cave Creek Road and convert it for use by his shop and other tenants.
The deal depends on getting the needed variance and use permit. The variance would allow a pawnshop within the 500-foot limit from residences, and the use permit would allow a pawnshop in a C-2 district (intermediate commercial).
A hearing officer denied the requests, so Taylor hired an attorney and appealed to the Board of Adjustment, which will hear the case next week.
Taylor said board approval would result in an upgrade at the site at Greenway Parkway and Cave Creek Road, the site of the new building. He argues that Arizona Gold Exchange is far removed from the average pawnshop.
Taylor says it is not stuffed with unwanted junk and provides a safer environment.
“There are no degrees of pawnbroker license unfortunately,” he says.
If there were, he said, he could legally classify his stores as something different.
Tags: Arizona Gold Exchange, consumer credit, Gold Prices, Pawn Loans, pawnbroker, pawnshop
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Friday, February 18th, 2011
From ABC Action News Dot Com
Pawn shops: Where the Wicked Witch of the West meets the Super Bowl
High ticket items being pawned in weak economy
By: Don Germaise
TAMPA – As the economy continues to founder, people from all walks of life are giving up their treasures to make ends meet, a Tampa pawn shop owner said.
Joe Cacciatore, of Capital Pawn, says since the recession began he’s received four Super Bowl rings, which are valued up to $25,000 each. Athletes and team officials have also come in to pawn a Stanley Cup Championship ring, and National Football Championship rings from Florida State and the University of Florida.
Cacciatore will not identify the athletes, to protect their privacy. One NFL star went so far as to buff out the name and number from his NFL Players Association ring. “He was embarrassed to have his name on the ring he pawned, so he buffed them off,” said Cacciatore.
Cacciatore opened what he calls a ‘high-end pawn shop’ on Busch Blvd. to cater to the elite who have fallen on hard times.
Business owners, athletes, and other highly-paid executives are finding themselves in a financial pinch as the ‘Great Recession’ continues, said Cacciatore. “We’re their economic stimulus plan. If they have nowhere else to go, they come to us for cash. They’re selling us their heirlooms to put gas in the tank and food on the table.”
One person brought in a large collection of vintage items from the 1930s. Among them were a pair of boots that may have been worn by an actress in the film, The Wizard of Oz. “We believe they’re the boots worn by the wicked witch,” said Cacciatore. “We’re in the process of having that verified. That’s what they were sold to us as.”
Cacciatore admits he gambles occasionally on the authenticity of certain items. However, many of the items are genuine museum pieces. He recently took in several items from the White House when Woodrow Wilson was in office. Among the artifacts, a message from the President to Congress, a White House cookbook, and as ashtray with the presidential seal. “These are Smithsonian quality pieces,” said Cacciatore.
Copyright 2011 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Tags: Capital Pawn, consumer credit, Credit Crunch, Pawn Loans, pawnbroker, pawnshop, Super Bowl Ring
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Thursday, January 27th, 2011
From WTVM Dot Com
By Kristin Gold
COLUMBUS, GA (WTVM) – The NCAA has taken a hard line on active players selling memorabilia. Georgia’s AJ Green was suspended five games for selling a game worn jersey. Five Ohio State players will sit out the first five games of the 2011 season for selling their Big Ten Championship rings and other memorabilia. And fans have made their feelings about this crystal clear: they’re not happy.
But when it happens after players leave school, the reaction is entirely different.
“It’s sad to see someone have to borrow money on an item like that, would be a once in a lifetime piece of jewelry, but sometimes people get desperate and have to desperate things,” said Robbie Whitten, owner of Northside Pawn in Columbus.
At Northside Pawn a member of the 2004 undefeated Auburn Tigers was looking to sell his National Championship ring. Down on his luck, he felt he had no choice.
“You never know,” Whitten said. “We don’t try to get in too personal with the customers, clients. We keep it private”
This is the 2004 National Championship ring that the Auburn Tigers made for themselves when they were snubbed by the BCS, despite going 13-0.
“It’s a beautiful ring as you can see, way bigger than my finger. Diamond encrusted; this is actually the 2004 Auburn Tigers National Championship ring; very heavy solid gold, beautiful piece. Would look really good in somebody’s Auburn collection.”
But, you won’t find this ring in the display cases as Northside Pawn. That’s because Whitten keeps it hidden away, in hopes that the player will come back for it.
“He actually took it in at our Auburn location and then the guy didn’t come back for it so I bought it and brought it over to Columbus with the hopes that he might come back and get it. So we’ve had it about six months now.”
While some say memorabilia like this is priceless, die hards have already put a price on it: “generally 15-hundred to three-thousand dollar range.” Whitten estimated.
A.J. Green and the five Ohio State Buckeyes have more football ahead of them — and more chances to earn more hardware. But for this anonymous former Tiger, all he has left are the memories of that perfect season.
Copyright 2011 WTVM. All rights reserved.
Tags: Auburn Tigers, consumer credit, Northside Pawn, Pawn Loans, pawnbroker, pawnshop
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Wednesday, January 19th, 2011
From Rapid City Journal Dot Com
By Barbara Soderlin – Journal Staff
The owners of The Clock Shop will open what they call a natural progression for their business – a pawn shop – on Monday around the corner on Seventh Street.
But Chris Johnson is quick to explain this is not your typical pawn shop. “Museum-grade,” he calls it.
“Seventh Street used to be the central area for pawn shops in Rapid City,” Johnson said. “They got cleaned out of there. This is going to be the return of pawn downtown, but we’re kind of slicing it a different way.”
Presidential Pawn is at 610 Seventh St. in the space formerly home to the Windsor Block Grocery and prior to that the Body Builder Christian Bookstore.
The space has dark, plush carpeting and warm lighting from home-style fixtures, casting a glow on items like a 1940 Harley-Davidson, a set of Revolutionary War-era portraits and framed, signed letters from Elvis Presley to a woman in Pierre.
If the shop is starting to sound familiar, maybe you’ve been watching TV.
“People for a long time now have been saying to us, when are you going to get your own History Channel show?” said Johnson, referring to the popular Pawn Stars reality show about a three-generation family-owned pawn shop in Las Vegas that specializes in unique and historical items.
“People say to me and my son, we seem a lot like Rick and Big Hoss,” from the History Channel show, Chris Johnson said. “Every family has its share of butting the heads. We don’t make any cover up on that.”
But the family, including Chris Johnson; his wife, Kris; and son, Trevor, enjoys being in business together, and they have been successful after 10 years of owning the Clock Shop.
“Bottom line is, we just want to have fun,” Johnson said.
The pawn shop idea, he said, was “Trevor’s brainchild,” one that came during the recent recession.
“We found pretty quickly that we were going to have to diversify,”
To that end, they began buying gold about two years ago, now sometimes spending a quarter-million dollars on gold in a week. Most famously, they bought the “icebox nugget,” the biggest uncontested gold nugget found in the Black Hills in over a century. It contains nearly four ounces of gold.
While they have long been buying and selling antiques at The Clock Shop, Johnson said, “I didn’t want to turn The Clock Shop into a pawn shop because The Clock Shop has always been The Clock Shop, and it’s where people come to get their $2 watch batteries.”
He hopes the new store will become a destination for tourists and locals who will want to come to see what’s new.
Johnson said the shop will have an extensive jewelry selection, especially rings, but other than that it won’t compete much with other pawn shops. The merchandise comes mostly from area residents looking to sell a special item or clean out an attic.
“People have gone to their friends and relatives and said, ‘The Clock Shop is buying these things,’ ” Johnson said. “It comes in the door.”
Johnson said he understands that in a sense, his business is able to expand because of a slowdown in the economy – people are looking to sell and pawn their possessions to raise cash.
“Certainly we’re taking advantage of some of those things, but at the same token we’re adding jobs and we’re helping the local economy,” he said. In the past two years he has increased his staff from seven to 13.
“We’re responding to what the market is wanting from us.”
The shop will be open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. on Sundays. Call 342-7296 for more information.
Tags: consumer credit, Pawn Loans, pawnbroker, pawnshop, Presidential Pawn, Ripid City SD
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Monday, January 17th, 2011
From The Day Dot Com
Norwich pawnbroker becomes a real ‘roll’ model
By Julianne Hanckel Day Staff Writer
Donated wheelchairs, electric scooters helping the needy
Five years ago, Timothy Sullivan of Mystic had to start using a wheelchair to get around.
His arthritis had progressed to the point where he could no longer walk long distances, and his wife, Francine, struggled to push him around as they did their normal errands.
Eventually, Sullivan stopped accompanying his wife, leaving her with the responsibility for the household chores and errands.
That changed on Thursday, when thanks to a Norwich pawn shop, Timothy Sullivan received a free secondhand electric scooter.
Francine’s eyes welled with tears as her husband got out of his old wheelchair and walked the two short steps to his new scooter.
“I love it,” Sullivan said, beaming as he sat on the scooter.
The previous week, they had received an unexpected phone call from Phil Pavone, the owner of A-Z Pawn in Norwich.
Pavone told them that Timothy Sullivan had been the sixth person chosen to receive an electric scooter, and he had one in his shop, ready to go.
“I thought it was almost too good to be true,” Francine said. “We’ve been researching wheelchair ramps for him now. That’s the only missing piece.”
Last month, Pavone began running advertisements on W-MOS 102.3FM that asked people to donate gently used electric scooters and motorized wheelchairs, hoping, he said, to be someone’s “Christmas miracle.”
Dozens of requests for the wheelchairs and scooters poured into the radio station hotline, over the phone and by e-mail.
By the Dec. 22 deadline, more than 60 radio listeners from across the state had nominated someone in their lives who needed a scooter or wheelchair.
As he reading the stories of the people who needed chairs, Pavone thought, “We need more chairs.”
Originally, he planned to give away only three.
“I immediately went online and bought two more chairs to give away,” he said. “You can’t just read these stories and not help someone if you could.”
Sullivan’s chair was donated by the Mystic Chamber of Commerce.
Another person who was helped was Willimantic resident Bill DeFosses who for the past four years has struggled to navigate the hilly terrain where he lives with a regular wheelchair. Because of complications from diabetes, his legs had to be amputated.
He received his electric wheelchair just before Christmas.
“To try and go anywhere, I was stuck in my wheelchair. Now, having the (motorized) chair has allowed me to go all over the place,” he said. “Just to be able to get around where I live is great.”
He serves on the executive board of the Willimantic Camp Meeting Association but lives on the other side of the camp from where the meetings are held, he said.
“Before my wife would have to bring me to our meetings. Now, I can get there myself,” DeFosses said.
He plans to retire in March after 42 years as a technical aide at Electric Boat he will pursue volunteer work after “a little while of relaxing,” he said.
DeFosses’ neighbor, Penny Tracy, wrote to Pavone on his behalf.
“He’s been through so much in life with all the health issues he’s had, yet, he remains an inspiration,” Tracy said. “I’m very thankful Phil (Pavone) chose him … to whoever the donor of the chair was, thank you. He will make good use of it.”
Next Christmas, Pavone has set a goal of donating 20 motorized wheelchairs and scooters.
“If you have a used chair, please bring it down, we’ll find a home for it,” he said.
To donate a motorized wheelchair or scooter, call A-Z Pawn at (860) 889-4474.
Tags: A-Z Pawn, consumer credit, Norwich CT, Pawn Loans, pawnbroker, pawnshop
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Sunday, January 16th, 2011
From NBC Washington Dot Com
Pawnshop Protest Cites Wrong Kind of Development
By DERRICK WARD
The awning’s out, the shelves are stocked; all that’s missing are the customers. But the pawnshop cleared to open at the corner of Georgia Avenue and Fern Street in NW, has yet to garner unanimous neighborhood support.
Several dozen protesters stood on the corner of Georgia and Fern Saturday to call on the city to revoke the license granted to Famous Pawn, a Texas based company looking to add to its list of outlets in the DC area. “I’m not against pawnshops,” said neighborhood resident Andre Carley. “In certain areas they’re wonderful, they’re like secondary banks, but do we need one here, no.”
Those in the industry say their businesses have seen a surge in popularity, partly because of the economy, and partly because of the TV show “Pawn Stars.” They also say they’re battling image problems – often seen as shady operations catering to criminals – while in reality, the more reputable ones work closely with police cross checking lists of stolen property.
Still, residents of the upper Georgia Avenue corridor say they’re already fending off a proposed Wal Mart in their midst. They also worry that with the closing of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, as mandated by a recent BRAC decision, bigger changes may be on the horizon, and they say a pawnshop may make other would-be merchants look elsewhere.
Sara Green, the Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner for the area, also questions the process by which the shop got its license.
“We believe we made a good case [against it] and we also believe the regulations the city now has in place don’t support a license, yet the city issued a license,” said Green.
DC Mayor Vince Gray, when asked about the controversy, said as far as he knows, the business has been granted a legitimate license and should be allowed to open.
Though he did say he would instruct the head of the city’s regulatory agency to take a look at the matter.
Meanwhile, the opponents say they’ll seek court action if they have to.
Tags: consumer credit, Famous Pawn, Pawn Loan, pawn shop, pawnbroker, Washington DC
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Wednesday, December 22nd, 2010
From Trib Local Dot Com
By Mick Swasko TribLocal reporter
Naperville reality TV enthusiasts will get more opportunities to see a hometown businesses on national television.
Tom Brunzelle, one-quarter of the cast of Pawn Queens, said TLC has ordered a full season of the show — a reality program based on Naperville Jewelry and Loan that caters specifically to female clientele.
“We love it, of course,” he said, adding that he got official word Dec. 17 that TLC would film an entire season of the show. “To me, (it will be) several long days again.”
Filming of two pilot episodes of the show occurred this summer, with back-to-back airings on the network Nov. 18. Brunzelle said he expects filming to start up again in February.
“I believe they have a pretty aggressive (filming) schedule from my understanding,” he said.
The store recently moved to a larger space down the street at 605 E. Ogden Avenue, both in anticipation of more filming and more customers as a result of the show.
“Customers are coming from all over,” Brunzelle said. “Name a state that touches Illinois, and (residents of those states) are coming in.”
Tags: consumer credit, Naperville Jewelry & Loan, Pawn Loans, Pawn Queens, pawnbroker, pawnshop, Reality TV
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Wednesday, December 15th, 2010
From WLFI Dot Com
It’s busy season for pawn shops
Ram-Z’s owner says recession increased business
Kristin Maiorano
LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) – The owner of a local pawn shop says this time of year he sees an influx of people looking to make the most of their money as they shop for gifts.
Randy Ramsey, owner of Ram-Z’s pawn shop in Lafayette, said this is definitely a busy season for pawn shops, though with the recession, it’s been a busy past three years.
He said this Christmas isn’t as bad as last year’s, but he still talks to people who are out of work. And those people often find several ways a pawn shop can save them a few bucks.
“In some situations we have individuals who just simply are out of work and haven’t been able to pay bills, and need to sell something, not only to pay those bills but also to come up with a little extra cash,” Ramsey said.
Ramsey said during the holidays, there are three main reasons people visit his shop: buying items for gifts, selling items for some extra cash, or getting a loan.
“It’s nice that we’re here, that we can help, because a person can come here with an item of value, they can walk out with cash in their pocket, without having to go through a lot of the details they would have to go through with the bank,” Ramsey said.
Ramsey said the holidays can be made even more affordable if you come with something to trade, like one woman who traded Native American artifacts from Carroll County for a Christmas fashion ring.
“Once here we had a woman come in and actually we removed her center diamond, put a Cubic Zirconia in place of it, and with $1000 or $1500, she then had credit that she had her children come in and pick items out for Christmas,” Ramsey said.
Ramsey said some of the most popular items are jewelry, firearms, and sports collectibles. As far as what he’s bought, those items run the gamut from an antique chair owned by Abraham Lincoln’s son, to a piece of amber with two honeybees inside, to sleigh bells that just may have come from Santa himself.
Ramsey said some people mention a stigma about purchasing “pawned” items, but said some of the collectibles and antiques are worth more, thanks to their pre-owned status.
Tags: consumer credit, Pawn Loans, pawnbroker, pawnshop, RamZ's
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