Story Created:
Nov 18, 2008 at 3:34 PM CDT
Story Updated:
Feb 19, 2009 at 5:11 PM CDT
Tuesday, November 18, 2008; Posted 2.10 pm (CDT)
Watches, diamond jewelry and flat screens. If you want it, they probably have it. Pawn shops across the country are loading up on inventory, and the blame rests heavily on the economy.
"People have got to make their assets work for them when their income, or at least their cash income, has been restricted or is down," says Lee Johnson, owner of Johnson Beville Fine Jewelers Pawn Shop.
"Everything from single moms trying to come in that the husbands just left, and they're bringing in whatever they can find in the house, DVD players, DVDs, just to try and feed their kids," says Tammy Taylor-Evans, Co-owner of Best Buy Pawn. "I've basically run out of room here. My pawns are basically full."
Even though activity at pawn shops continues to increase, Evans says it's the wrong kind, and that's causing some problems.
"This is supposed to be our peak sales really," says Evans. "We're going in to Christmas, and our sales should be great. Unfortunately, that's not been, it's all been loans."
Not only that, but some are getting desperate.
"I guess most everybody likes to talk about gold teeth that they bring in," says Johnson. "They bring anything they think they can get value for."
"You've got people so desperate bringing in junk that you just have to say no to, and you hate to turn them away," says Evans. "I did loan a guy a hundred dollars on a WWF belt one time, and it's a big joke here because he didn't come back and get it. I ended up selling it on E-Bay for $101, so I made a buck on him. How about that?"
But the desperation might mean good news for consumers. Because of the struggle individuals are facing, many are selling rare items they thought they'd never part with, which means pawn shops have become a treasure trove as long as you have the cash.
