What is Digg?28 Comments
- Pjotrovich, on 04/18/2009, -0/+13that sort of backfired, didn't it?
- butwhyowhy, on 04/18/2009, -0/+9I am a pawnshop owner and the negative stereotyping we receive is more then unfair. Like any industry there are going to be some bad apples. I went to a dentist last week that told me I needed $10,000 worth of dental work when I knew all I needed was a good cleaning - I don't think all dentists are this way. Hollywood has definitely not done good things for us - I loved 'The Crow' but I guarantee you my pawnshop is nothing like the one in that movie. Someone above commented that pawnshops attract criminal elements - very dumb criminals yes. The smart ones go to ebay or the corner gas station that does its transactions under the table. Pawnshops are required to report every pawn transaction to the police. We require two forms of identification then send an electronic document to the police nightly with the customers SS#, name, address, physical description, etc... as well as a detailed description of what the person has pawned including serial numbers, model numbers, weight if it is jewelry, etc... Less then half of a half of a percent of goods brought into a pawnshop are stolen and if the item is stolen the pawnshop usually has to eat the cost and the original owner is more then happy that the thief was dumb enough to have brought it to us. The industry average pawn is for $80 and roughly 75%-80% of people who pawn something return to pick the item back up within one month. My customers would be extremely offended if you referred to them as the criminal type. They are low to middle income families struggling to pay their bills, for the most part of no fault of their own. Another misconception is that we rip our customers off or take advantage of them with our higher interest rates. Our interest rates have to be slightly higher as our overhead is much higher then that of a bank or other typical loan establishment and our loans are for very short amounts of time. No where else could someone get a $20/$40/80 loan. We don't shuffle paper, we store high value jewelry and other goods. Our storage room is twice the size of our showroom - our safes are like bank safes. The insurance costs are astronomical and we require extra security - not because of the criminal element but because of the simple fact that we are like a bank and banks get robbed. The modern day pawnshop is not the sleazy whole in the wall you may have seen in the movies (for the most part). I make a modest - middle income living, no mansion or villa in alps. I have 12 employees who have been with me for 5-15 years. I pay my employees $12-$20/hour plus commission plus great benefits. Most people who have negative views of pawnshops have never been to one. Come visit mine if you need a loan or a good deal on a nice piece of jewelry for your girlfriend - I promise you won't be disappointed.
- StephenCIreland, on 04/18/2009, -0/+6the sick negative attitude here is horrible, there providing a service thats needed in these days, this isnt any old cash converters down a back street, these are precious metals/ timepiece only jewelers and dont bring down the area at all, you wont have scum trading cheap jewlerry or cheap electronics in there
- BarriedaleNick, on 04/18/2009, -1/+5I'm not sure but there maybe a gramatical error in your post.
- Popcorned23, on 04/18/2009, -0/+4Pawnt
- sciencelovesyou, on 04/18/2009, -1/+5I can't believe they'd ruin a perfectly good neighborhood with such businesses! They attract nothing but criminal elements and those with money-at-any-cost mentalities! Plus they're always getting knocked over by robbers!
... hmm. - 3rdDay, on 04/18/2009, -0/+3You accidentally a what the bees when?
- carpeclunes, on 04/18/2009, -0/+3Hasn't anyone ever read "Life, the Universe, and Everything"?
Or "The Private Life of Genghis Kahn"? - eedge, on 04/18/2009, -0/+2Good post, enjoyed reading it. Interesting stuff; very informative.
Best wishes for your shop in the future! - brickbat, on 04/18/2009, -0/+2You mean even bigger criminals than bankers? I doubt it.
- AbbasJin, on 04/18/2009, -0/+2you're broke dude. the bank accepted yer bankruptcy form
- inactive, on 04/18/2009, -0/+1So what do you think about the pawn brokers then?
- waydee, on 04/18/2009, -0/+1To be fair that is a very posh pawnbrokers, every one I've seen has had a crowd of junkies either inside or not far away and suspicious looking scum carting in what I can only guess are stolen goods from the back of a rusty old van.
I actually went to one once to get rid of some old audio equipment that wasn't going to fetch a much better price on ebay etc. and while it was a relatively painless process they certainly weren't wearing suits and inspecting cartier watches lol. - butwhyowhy, on 04/18/2009, -0/+1I am not sure what pawnshop you go to but we sell our DVD's for $1.99-$2.99 - Jewelry is the one thing I make sure my friends get at my pawnshop as you can't get a better deal anywhere else. While saying this, as with anything else you go to purchase, be prepared and knowledgeable before entering the store. Everything in a pawnshop is negotiable therefore tools and electronics will sometimes be priced a bit higher, still not retail high, knowing they will not sell for what's on the sticker. We pull and price 10-50 items a day to be sold - from watches, to rings to guitars, to electronics to lawnmowers - we are not perfect and I have made the mistake of pricing something off the charts. Talk to whomever is working and most likely they will be willing to look the item up and renegotiate. We make our living on repeat customers so unless these pawnshops you have been to are run by bad business people they should be trying to make you happy. Ask if the pawnshop is part of a large chain or family run, I have almost always had better experience with family run businesses.
- inactive, on 04/18/2009, -0/+1Enterprising idea. I have no problem with someone taking advantage of the bankers. It's not like they aren't taking advantage of the rest of us. Greedy bastards. I hope they only pay ten cents on the dollar for a Rolex (I have no idea what that is in Euros other than 10 percent).
- emjaymj, on 04/18/2009, -1/+1It's England... what robbers?
I read an article, front page of the paper one day in England: ‘Yesterday some hooligans knocked over a dustbin in Shaftesbury.’ - PunkyFeople, on 04/20/2009, -1/+1***** crook.
- lightbeats, on 04/18/2009, -0/+0Yeh, I really don't think that's the kind of pawnbroker that has junkies anywhere near it. It is in the heart of the London financial district aimed at the rich business men that go about their day there. If you walked in there with some hi-fi system I'm sure they will quietly escort you out.
- Susarodr1981, on 04/18/2009, -0/+0They should rent the same building :)
- inactive, on 04/18/2009, -0/+0A question.
How come the pawnshop used merchandise from tools to guitars cost more then the new stuff boughten at a legit store?
Even used DVDs at a pawnshop cost about $5- $10 when you can buy the same movie at Best Buy for $7.
The gold or diamond rings cost about the same and maybe cheaper if bought from a mall jeweler,Ive never ever seen a deal at any pawnshop.
If I want to buy something used the pawnshop is the last place I would look. - inactive, on 04/19/2009, -0/+0Thanks
I always thought from looking at the overpriced pawnshop items(yours excluded) that it was mainly for show and the real money was making the loans,so items weren't priced to move just desplayed as an afterthought.
Maybe I'm wrong but thats my impression.
Another thing .... Pawnshops are vanishing just like the local bars,none have been opened in years and I live in a large city. - ryanonfire, on 04/18/2009, -2/+0***** the recession, I'm still investin'!
- YoctoYotta, on 04/19/2009, -2/+1If someone dug me down for being a douche bag, I agree, but if I'm being dug down because you think I'm wrong, you're an ***** idiot.
- YoctoYotta, on 04/18/2009, -2/+1Kudos if you were being cleverly ironic, but I think you'd want to go with "may be" instead of maybe in this case.
- inactive, on 04/18/2009, -3/+0Carpeclunes, you are a wanker, a tosspot, a very tiny piece of turd.
- syntaxgs, on 04/18/2009, -7/+1I really don,t think they shoud put lower store which lower LandValue next too bank which know too be higher LandValue
it just make the bank fail even more becaosue it,s LandValue will go down =/
PLUS Pawn Shops tend too be high crime area - inactive, on 04/18/2009, -11/+1Anyone who comments on this story is a inauspiciously goose-stepping mullet head.
- inactive, on 04/18/2009, -12/+1On top of being an inauspiciously goose-stepping mullet head, you, Pjotrovitch, are also an obligingly threadbare cesspool.
© Digg Inc. 2009
— Content created and posted by Digg users is