Some "pawn shops" have a seemingly bad reputation for many reasons, but all pawn shops are not the same.
Pawning is probably the second oldest profession in the world so let's explore just a little about the history.
The symbol, which is three-golden balls suspended from a bar, was originally called "Lombard".
Many may not know that many historians believe Queen Isabella pawned her jewels to finance the explorations of Christopher Columbus. It became very popular in China thousands of years ago and at times during the past, people pawned their “Sunday Best” clothing on Monday and would retrieve it on payday at the end of the week.
The pawn business rules vary from state to state and so do the interest rates or “fees”. Some have been in business for years and others a new to the business and before you trust them with your valuables you should do your homework.
I ran a pawn shop in the past and there is really no valid reason your property should suffer any damage or loss while in the custody of a pawn shop. Go to a reliable shop that has been in business for a while. Pawn shops don't stay in business long if they are not good to their customers.
Everything brought in is described in detail and tagged immediately and placed in a secure located. You must have a valid ID and you must be the lawful owner of the property you pawn. Once you agree on a price to pawn the item, you will sign an agreement and you still own the property but the shop will retain it on their premises until you redeem it.
The terms will be stated on that agreement. You will have 30 days and at that time you can pay the monthly fee to renew it for an additional 30 days or you can pay the full amount owed and pick the item up.
It is a pretty simple transaction.
Some things to know before you go. No pawn shop will give you an estimate of what an item is worth over the phone. They can give you basic prices of gold or silver for the day but that is about all you can get over the phone.
You can not go in to a pawn shop and ask if your brother Larry pawned a VHS player or grandma's silver gravy boat. Its not legal for them to give out that info,
If you have something that is legally yours and you think this has happened, you must call the police and make a police report. After a report is made the police will then check to see if the item has been pawned or sold to a local shop.
Pawn shops are a great place in you find yourself short a few dollars or have an emergency. You can take an item in and be out the door in minutes with cash in hand and actually cheaper than some of the payday loan companies. I could write a billion word article on bad pawn shops but I won't...if you go to one of the established shops you won't have issues.
Some pawn shops have a Federal Fireamrns License and can take in firearms but a few around our area do not. You can call and ask before you head out if you intend to pawn a firearm.
Be prepared, if you pawn a firearm you will have to fill out a federal form when you redeem it. It is the same form you fill out when you purchase, however, it will show a “redemption” and not a
“sale” when the approval is sent in.
ALWAYS make sure your firearms is unloaded before you take it to the pawn shop. ALWAYS.
Besides quick emergency cash, pawn shops are a great place to find good deals. Pawn shops are also great places to find unique treasures. I love to look around pawn shops and jewelry is one of the good buys you can find in some pawn shops.
As with anything you shop for, you have to know where to go and you have to shop around, but just walk into Superior Pawn on Zero Street and look at their high quality jewelry. He even custom designs and makes jewelry.
There are several in town that have a large inventory so take a day and go check them out.
Coopers Pawn on the south side of Fort Smith has beautiful jewelry and I see some great deals in there. They also have a huge selection of firearms and they always look clean and are all well functioning.
They have someone on site that checks out their firearms so they are a good place to shop for one. The people that work behind the counter are super friendly.
So whether you are in need of fast emergency cash or out shopping for tools, electronics, tools, guns or maybe DVD's, go check them out.
