People Pulling Up to Pawnshops Today are Driving Cadillacs and BMWs
from The Wall Street Journal
At Society Hill Loan, a pawnshop in a middle-class neighborhood in Philadelphia, a steady rain fell outside as a fashionably dressed young man parked his Cadillac Escalade outside. Looking around warily, he came in to speak with Nat Leonard, co-owner of the store. The visitor was a 29-year-old engineer who was laid off earlier this year from one of the local chemical companies. Since then, he's been cleaning planes at the airport for less than half the salary he was earning a year ago. More

Pawn Your Problems Away
from CNN
CNN's Gary Tuchman reports on the increasing number of Americans who are pawning to make a few bucks in tough times. More

Pawnshops Prove Lifeline in Tough Economic Times
from Spinal Column Newsweekly
While some perceive pawn as a dirty word, pawnshops and brokers are turning out to actually be lifelines for many western Oakland County lakes residents in Michigan, struggling in to make ends meet. "There's a lot of people out of work and you see them trying to get money for their stuff," said Brandon Norco, owner of Pontiac Brokers in Waterford Township, Mich., which sells discounted used items ranging from jewelry and shotguns to televisions and video game systems such as XBox.More

Pawnshops Offering Bargains, Not Just Loans
from The Times of Northwest Indiana
Contrary to the perception, pawnbrokers say their customers are not just the down and out. The poor economy is expanding their base to the upscale. Cash America founder Jack Daugherty opened his first shop in 1983 in Irving, Texas, to serve the "underbanked" population unable to obtain traditional loans. He took the company public four years later, growing the business into one of the largest pawn operations in the country, later expanding into the United Kingdom and Sweden. More

Pawnshop Business in Mobile. Ala., Booming in Tough Times
from The Press-Register
At Eddie's Pawn & Gun Shop in Mobile, Ala., Ed Gillespie was enjoying a quiet morning after the crush of customers on the days leading up to Christmas. Compared with last December, he said, business had been up 35 percent in terms of loans made to people pawning their possessions. Customers were also pawning more expensive items than in previous years, Gillespie said — "Rolex watches, and large, solitary diamonds" — not the usual fare for his clientele. More

Wealthier Customers are Seeking Loans
from The Detroit Free Press
The economic meltdown has been good for business at American Jewelry and Loan in Detroit, a 50,000-square-foot former bowling alley crammed with lawn mowers and snowblowers, bicycles and boats, an occasional car, and fur coats by the tens of thousands. The showroom advertises a "Beaver Coat Blowout" sale, while flat-screen TVs line the walls and diamonds up to 5 carats glow in glass display cases. More

Pawnshop in Des Moines Looks to Add Beer Sales
from The Des Moines Register
Barb's Pawn and Loan in Des Moines recently put cigarettes on its shelves hopes to soon add beer as well. Owners hope the added merchandise will help the store weather tough economic times. The store hasn't seen good merchandise - nice jewelry, Rolex watches, televisions − in months, the owners say. The store used to have dozens of stereos and televisions in the back room and plenty in the sales area, now they are lucky to have one to sell. More

Ezcorp Completes Value Financial Services Deal
from The Associated Press via Forbes
Pawnshop chain Ezcorp Inc. said recently it completed its acquisition of Value Financial Services Inc., the nation's largest privately held pawnshop operator. In September, Ezcorp said it would purchase Value Financial Services for approximately $79.8 million in cash and stock. In addition to the cash and stock, Ezcorp is assuming $35.3 million in debt in the transaction. More

People Turning to Pawnshops for Loans
from KTEN-TV
FI Pawn Shop in Denison, Texas, is seeing a different type of clientele. Workers there are taking anything from boats to tractors and loaning cash in return to hold them until customers can buy those items back. "It's harder to just run down to the bank to get a loan," says Cindy Kuneman, owner of FI Pawn Shop. "So, it's much easier to just come to a pawnshop. It's safe, it's (confidential), nobody can know what you're doing." More

Pawnshops See Upturn in Jackson County, Miss.
from the SunHearld.com
Staffers say the Christmas season was the best Pawn Martin in Pascagoula, Miss, has seen in its 13 years in business. Retail sales doubled, said manager Chad Bourn. He attributed the booming business to the sluggish economy, and good deals. It is a trend that’s happening nationally. More