Home > Gwinnett > Rick Badie / My Opinion > Archives > 2008 > March > 27
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Pawn shops thrive in hard times
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
He walked into the pawn shop clutching a guitar.
William Bones had hoped to exchange the instrument for cash.
No dice.
“We can’t take it,” said Tony Papandrea, co-owner of The Pawn Shop in Norcross. “See. It’s warped.”
No worries.
Bones took the guitar and returned with a .38-caliber revolver - to pawn, not shoot up the joint. Shop co-owner James Peacook recorded the revolver’s serial number and model number, required information on all pawned items, which is given to Gwinnett County police. He checked Bones’ identification, took his fingerprint and his photo.
Bones left with $100 cash. He has to repay $125 or forfeit the gun.
“I’ll get it back,” the laborer told me before leaving the shop. “Things have got to get better. Somebody has got to get in the White House and help the people who are hurting, man.”
When it comes to the economy, here’s what Papandrea and Peacook have seen in recent months: a notable increase in the number of people who can’t make ends meet. They want to take out loans or hock something to buy gas and food. Familiar customers want bigger loan amounts; new ones want to trade something for cash.
It’s not just residents on the lower economic rungs who are finding their way to the shop on Buford Highway. Think electricians, mortgage brokers and investors. Everybody.
“They want money for their stuff, their jewelry and Rolexes,” Papandrea told me Wednesday during the Badie Tour. “I just got a truckload of furniture from a lady. She had to make a payment on something by 6 p.m. that day.”
For William Carroll, working at The Pawn Shop has been an eye-opener. He’s seen people looking to pawn drive up in a Mercedes Benz or Jaguar. They needed money for gas.
“I’m surprised,” Carroll said.
Apparently, some first-time customers are humbled to the point of embarrassment. In a pickle, they turn to what many consider a sleazy type of business that charges sky-high interest rates. One day, a struggling electrician brought in some tools.
“He had to have $400,” Peacook recalled. “He was so embarrassed. He couldn’t believe he was standing here. But he left here with a completely different view of pawn shops.”
In a dour economy, pawn shops write more loans, but the retail end of the business flutters. So in-store stock isn’t moving, but many pawnbrokers are processing more loans for larger amounts, said Jackie Kinlaw, president of the Pawnbrokers Association of Georgia.
Every customer I talked to at The Pawn Shop promised they’d be back for whatever they gave up to get a loan. In reality, though, Papandrea said about 50 to 65 percent of them never do.
Bones, the laborer, said he was happy he’d pawned his gun. Otherwise, he might do something crazy.
“I don’t want to be out robbing and mobbing,” he told me. “But money is tight.”
Rick Badie’s column appears on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Contact him at 770-263-3875 or e-mail: rbadie@ajc.com.
Permalink | Comments (53) | Post your comment | Categories: Rick Badie
.JPG)
-1.JPG)
Services »
