Many people like to compare pawn shops to their local flea market but that is not a fair comparison according to one pawn broker who has been in business for several years.  A pawn broker is here for the long haul, not here today and gone tomorrow like a flea market, garage sale, guys selling items out of the back of a van or an auction.

Pawn brokers deal in quality merchandise, mostly selling gold jewelry and other valuables such as electronics, video games, fur coats, sporting and hunting goods, exercise equipment, musical instruments, digital cameras and camcorders and computers.  A pawn broker will only make a loan on good quality merchandise because they know one day it might end up on the shelves for others to purchase.

Say a person brings in an engagement ring to a pawn shop for a loan of $1000 for 30 days.  The wedding has been called off and the person returns after 30 days and decides she would rather have the cash than the ring.  The pawn broker then puts the engagement ring in the jewelry showcase for another young couple to purchase and the original owner pockets the thousand dollars.

Pawn shops were either a loan company or a place to sell gold jewelry and other valuables in order to receive quick cash to pay bills, fuel up the car or put food on the table.  Pawn shops are unlike banks that judge a person based on their credit scores or what they need the cash for.  A pawn shop will never run a credit check; they only require a valid photo ID and a working telephone number.  Many states require that pawn shop owners share their detailed list of pawn items with the local police departments in order to monitor for stolen items.

If a person likes to comparison shop, then a pawn shop is a great place to compare prices on many name brand items because whereas regular stores may have two or three brands of an item, a pawn shop might have 10 or 12 different brands of the same item making it easy to comparison shop without driving all over town.