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Pawnbroker Raises Money for Kidnapped Women
Pawnbroker Gail Linda Kopp was once a victim of a home invasion in which she was tied up and shocked with a stun gun as men ransacked her home. As she watched the story of Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight on the news she felt compelled to do something to help them. The [...]
Read More →Jordan Tabach-Bank Scores at Top of Charts on Braindex
Jordan Tabach-Bank is the latest celebrity to appear on Braindex, a fast-paced trivia game that lets players go head to head with celebrities. The popular Apple iPad application allows viewers to watch the game show like they would on television while playing along in real time with their touch screen. ‘Don’t just watch a game [...]
Read More →Pawn Shops Stay Afloat Despite Falling Gold Prices
Pawn shop manager Michael Smith has definitely seen a slowdown since the price of gold has dropped. Last year in his store, gold and other precious metals accounted for about 80% of business, but now they account for less than half of purchases. Smith says many of his regulars are “shell shocked” by the drop. [...]
Read More →Delaware Senate Approves New Rules for Pawn Shops
Pawn shops, scrap dealers and secondhand stores in Delaware are already required to keep detailed written records of their purchases, but now they may have to get even more detailed. The state Senate unanimously approved legislation that requires photographic records of all secondhand jewelry transactions to kept for one year after the purchase date. Senator [...]
Read More →Will Low Gold Prices Slow Pawn Business?
Gold prices have hit a three-year low, and the effect on business for many pawnbrokers is significant. “When gold goes down, we are less busy,” says Scott Simon whose family owns 18 pawn shops in Long Island and Queens. While some have chosen to liquidate their gold holdings before prices drop even further, many more [...]
Read More →First Cash stock Rises on Pawn Shop Profits
First Cash Financial Services Inc. reports a 16 percent rise in net income for the fiscal first quarter from growing profits from its pawn shops. The company runs pawn shops and payday loan centers throughout the U.S. and Mexico, and expects more than 90 percent of its revenue this year will come from its’ pawn [...]
Read More →More regulations on Pawn Shops
Another bill to put new regulations on pawn shops to aid law enforcement is on its way to the House of Representatives. Rep. Lori Fowle, D-Vassalboro, sponsored L.D. 71 after speaking with a couple whose jewelry had been stolen and melted down. The original bill called for waiting periods of 30 and 60 days however, [...]
Read More →Pawnbroker Sues NYPD
The Gem Pawnbrokers is suing the NYPD in Brooklyn federal court for $61 million on the basis that they are being bullied to reveal transactions in a national database. The pawnbroker claims police harassed their staff, threatened them, and even cited them for penny-ante violations in an effort to get them to sign up for [...]
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Small Short-term Loans Most Popular at a Pawn Shop
For those who’ve never been inside a pawn shop the experience can be a bit of a mystery. In a way, television shows such as ‘Pawn Stars’ and ‘Hardcore Pawn’ have introduced mainstream America to life inside a pawn shop, however, the big sales that occur on these shows aren’t the norm for your average [...]
Read More →Pawnbroker sees an Increase in Upscale Clients
Robbie Whitten went on a road trip at the age of 18 with his father in 1979 setting up booths and buying unwanted gold and silver jewelry to sell to a smelter. A year later the market collapsed and the Whittens had a warehouse full of jewelry so they decided to go into the pawn [...]
Read More →Pawn Shops Help Ordinary People through Difficult Times
A well groomed woman in expensive looking clothes and jewelry may look out of place in a pawn shop, however, looks can be deceiving. For those struggling and coming to a pawn shop for the first time, a good staff member can make all the difference. Pawn store manager Tina Stanley points out that in [...]
Read More →Pawnbrokers Expanding Business
Pawnbroking is a business that thrives even in hard time, and many pawnbrokers are expanding their business. In the United States, Beverly Loan Company has expanded with a new branch opened this spring- New York Loan Company. In the UK, Nathan Finch of Pickwick Pawnbrokers says that 22 years ago when he started working for [...]
Read More →Pawn Shop Negotiation
Many people turn to pawn shops when they need quick cash and knowing how to negotiate will help consumers get the best values. “The person that’s the better negotiator is the one who’s going to get the better deal,” said pawn shop owner Jeff Bernard. According to Bernard the object the person is buying or [...]
Read More →Pawn Business Remains a Growth Industry
In a down economy, the pawn business remains a growth industry. Pawnbroker Greg Twarowski owns America’s Super Pawn, a chain of three stores. He says sales are up significantly from 2012 with a 25% increase in two of his stores. Twarowski wasn’t satisfied with the growth and opted to open a new store instead. Carats [...]
Read More →New Retail Concept Launched from Pawn America
Rixman Companies, the parent company of Pawn America, has launched a new retail store called PA Exchange. Chuck Armstrong, Chief Legislative Officer of Rixman Companies said there was such a surge in retail purchases at their Pawn America stores that the company began the consider the possibility of a separate store for their retail business. [...]
Read More →Pawn Shop Owners Claim Proposed Law Will Hurt Small Businesses
Monroe County business owners are protesting a proposed new law that is meant to regulate pawnbrokers, second hand dealers and jewelry and coin exchange dealers. One business owner said, “your proposed law presumes an antique dealer’s guilt by identifying all second hand dealers as quick purchasers of stolen goods.” Another complained, “it is based on [...]
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Gold Standard in UK good for Gold Trade
After months of collaboration between the British Jewellers Association, the Surrey Police, the National Pawnbrokers Association and various other organizations the Gold Standard was officially introduced in the UK in April 2012. The voluntary code of conduct for UK gold buyers has received accreditation from several sources including the Association of Chief Police Officers and [...]
Read More →Indian Pawnbrokers Affected by Gold Price Drop
Pawnbrokers in India have never seen such volatile movement in gold before and while some are worried others say it’s just a part of the trade that they have learned to deal with. As gold appreciated many pawnbrokers were lending 80-85% of value depending on customer credentials. Pawnbroker Gautam Bose says, “We lend only up [...]
Read More →Indian Pawnbrokers Struggle as Gold Price Continues to Fall
Gold loan provider Manappuram Finance in Mumbai reports that in the past week customer walk-ins have halved and other customers are rushing to release their pledged gold on expectations of further price drops. Business owners are scrambling to get customers to pay on their loans, and even to top up their collateral as the gold [...]
Read More →UK Pawnbroker named on the Profit Track 100 List
Independent UK pawnbroker Ramdens was named one of the fastest growing UK companies by the Sunday Times and PwC. This is the second time the Sunday Times, which ranks private companies in terms of profits, has put Ramdens on their list of top 100 companies. They look at the last three years of available accounts [...]
Read More →Hong Kong Pawn Shop Moves into Mortgage Lending
Oi Wah Pawnshop’s IPO was small at just HK$98 million, but it attracted the attention of investors. The IPO was oversubscribed by 1,085 times and shares surged 34% on the first day of trading. As the broader markets fell yesterday, however, Oi Wah shares also plunged almost 7 percent. For 37 years the company has [...]
Read More →Pawn Industry has Deep Roots in Asia
An industry report commissioned by Oi Wah Pawnshop Credit Holdings predicted the pawnbroking industry in Hong Kong would expand by 8% between 2012 and 2016. Oi Wah went public on the Hong Kong stock exchange on Tuesday and demand from investors for its HK$98m share sale was more than 100 times greater than the shares [...]
Read More →British Pawnbroker Continuing to Expand after Successful Year
The H&T Group became the first pawnbroker to have a pledgebook that exceeded more than £50 million in 2012. Retail sales for the pawnbroker were also up with a 1% increase to £20.1 million. After an impressive 2012, the company plans to focus this year on new business as the gold rush is quieting down. [...]
Read More →Hong Kong Pawn Shop Chain to List IPO
On March 12 Hong Kong pawn shop chain, Oi Wah Pawnshop Credit Holdings, Ltd. is aiming to list an initial public offering in the hopes of raising up to HK$98 million (US $12.6 million). Oi Wah operates 12 pawnshops in Hong Kong and for the past three years has seen a net interest margin of [...]
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Jordan Tabach-Bank Scores at Top of Charts on Braindex
Jordan Tabach-Bank is the latest celebrity to appear on Braindex, a fast-paced trivia game that lets players go head to head with celebrities. The popular Apple iPad application allows viewers to watch the game show like they would on television while playing along in real time with their touch screen. ‘Don’t just watch a game [...]
Read More →Pawn Stars UK Debuts this Fall
A&E Networks UK’s HISTORY will soon have its own version of “Pawn Stars.” The show will be set at Regal Pawn, located just outside of Chester, near the border of Wales and England. Regal Pawn’s owner Mark “Big Mark” Manning, his daughter Vicki, his best friend Little Mark and Little Mark’s son, Marco will make [...]
Read More →Something for Everyone on “Pawn Stars”
History Channel’s “Pawn Stars” has been a success since it debuted in 2009. One of the shows stars, Rick Harrison doesn’t seem to have an answer for why the show is so popular. “I have no idea,” he says. “Obviously, America loves fat guys in a pawn shop.” He does, however, know what his favorite [...]
Read More →Coin Collector Sells Ancient Shekel on “Pawn Stars”
Ryan Payne purchased an ancient shekel of Tyre at a state auction among a lot of about eight coins for several hundred dollars. The coin collector from Austin had no idea the purchase would land him on the History Channel’s “Pawn Stars” where he would sell the coin for $1,600. “It was the same type [...]
Read More →Rick Harrison’s Appeal on Pawn Stars
Rick Harrison of the History Channel’s Pawn Stars is definitely the hero of the show. While the “Old Man” is respected and knowledgeable and Cory is coming up the ranks as the store’s future, it’s Rick who really makes things run at the Las Vegas based pawn brokerage. The secret to Rick’s success is that [...]
Read More →Reality TV Pilot Centers on Two Pawnbroker Mothers
Melissa Denny and Jennifer Andrews, co-owners of Pistol Annie’s Jewelry and Pawn in Bonney Lake, WA may be the stars of the next hit reality show revolving around a pawn store. The duo recently finished filming a pilot with BHf Films. Denny’s parents were pawnbrokers but she chose not to go into the business herself. [...]
Read More →Les Gold Lectures Ivy Leaguers on the Art of Negotiation
Third-generation pawnbroker Les Gold has become a celebrity since the TruTV reality series “Hardcore Pawn” hit the scene barely three years ago. Gold has been seen on “Good Morning America” and is on the motivational speaking circuit. In June his book, “For What It’s Worth: Business Wisdom from a Pawnbroker,” will debut. Gold’s message when [...]
Read More →Rick Harrison Purchases Rare $1,000 Bill
Rick Harrison of “Pawn Stars” recently purchased a rare $1,000 bill from 1918. He sent it to the Federal Reserve for evaluation and grading where government moneymen recorded it as “25/very fine.” Harrison paid $2,500 for the collector’s item and estimates it’s worth $7,000 or more. That’s quite a bit more than its face value! [...]
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