Got Money?

Pawn shops provide extra cash

By KELSEY BLACKWELL
UNIVERSITY JOURNAL

When strapped for cash, there is an option, other than Mom and Dad, students can turn to for funds.
Cedar City has three pawn shops that specialize in loaning money in a hurry. Bruce McDonald, manager of The Vault Gun and Pawn, 696 W. 200 North, said loaning from a bank may take a period of a couple days or even years but at his pawn shop, it takes up to a couple of hours.
“With a bank loan, it’s more of a process,” he said. “Pawn shops are money right now, and with cheaper items, it’s a matter of minutes.”
Gwen Robb, manager of Cedar Post Pawn, 100 W. 200 North, said she has a lot of customers who don’t realize that to pawn something is to use it as collateral until a debt is paid and does not actually mean to sell the item. Robb said the state mandates items be held for at least 30 days before being put up for sale but said she also generally gives a 10 day grace period.
Likewise, Kade Sullivan, assistant manager at World Class Pawn & Jewelry, 909 S. Main Street, said he usually gives a 5 to 10 day grace period before putting an item up for sale.
“We tend to work with people,” he said. “We know how it is.”
The value of most items is 20 percent of its retail value while metal jewelry is determined by the weight of its scrap value and diamonds are determined by carat size.
However, the same 14-carat gold claring was pawned at each shop and each quoted its value at a different price. Robb quoted the ring at $20, Sullivan quoted its worth at $9 and McDonald at $6.75.
“What people don’t understand is that jewelry has an extremely high mark-up,” McDonald said. “Most people don’t realize that.”
Each shop said they get a large amount of a certain item. Robb said guys usually pawn guns, for ladies it’s jewelry and for college students, it’s stereo equipment. Sullivan said he gets a lot of TVs DVDs and tools, and McDonald said he mostly sees a lot of movies, CDs and DVDs.
Each shop also said there were certain things they would not take. Robb said she won’t take compound bows or outdated things such as 8-tracks or reel-to-reel players. Sullivan said he won’t take bikes, some bow equipment and some ski equipment, and McDonald said he won’t take any exercise equipment or 8-tracks.
A valid state I.D. is required to pawn an item. McDonald said this is to discourage individuals from pawning stolen items. Sullivan and Robb both said they work closely with Cedar City police to ensure none of their merchandise has been stolen.
“We give a copy of what is turned in to the police every month,” Robb said. “People know not to bring their stolen stuff here because they’ll get caught.”
McDonald said although the police are supposed to pick up a list of what is pawned; the past couple of months he hasn’t seen an officer.
“The pawn tickets are supposed to go to the police but they haven’t been lately,” he said. “Sometimes they let it go a little longer.”
Robb said she has roughly 5 cases a year where an item has actually been stolen.
Each store said they had a different percentage of the amount of college students they generally see in a year.
Robb said 30 to 40 percent of her clientele is made up of students. Sullivan said he couldn’t estimate a percentage but gets a lot of students’ business who are either pawning or buying, and McDonald said 20 percent of his customers are students.
“We mostly get college students when school is out because they leave and they don’t want to take stuff with them,” he said.gold class ring was pawned at each shop and each quoted its value at a different price. Robb quoted the ring at $20, Sullivan quoted its worth at $9 and McDonald at $6.75.