[patience]

This sort of thing isn't going to last very long before pawnbrokers are full up with stuff, and with a shrinking market, IMHO.

[Gerben]

So much nice stuff that can be bought for hardly anything! I'm just going to wait for the dollar to drop a bit more and then I'm going on a buying frenzy on ebay/Craigslist.

[mos6507]

I think people who buy almost anything new are throwing money away. Unless you need the newest techno gadget, it makes sense to get stuff used. "Stuff" is incredibly cheap because so damn much of it is in circulation--more than anyone could ever need. It's amazing just how much perfectly good stuff just gets left in dumpsters, let alone put on ebay, thrift stores, or pawn shops. I've rescued an old TV, a desktop computer, and some lamps this way.

[steam_cannon]

Yeah, too much stuff gets thrown out!

It's funny, back when I was in college a favorite professor of mine
would talk about dumpster diving once in a while. Being around a
college kids toss out perfectly good lamps, binders, refrigerators.
Stuff thats got no business being retired yet, but there it is.

And when I lived in Ukraine, the open markets were truly open
markets. I was talking with a buddy who was selling tapes and
books in a fleamarket like section and frequently people would
come up to him and ask him what he would give for something.
Some things he turned down, but if he thought it would sell he
would give them money for it.

So the sellers in the market always were getting new inventory as
they sold stuff off. Also I thought that system was better then a
pawn shop since it employed a whole market of sellers instead of
just a guard at a door and a sales person. I think more systems like
this will crop up as our economy goes down the tubes. Most low
energy societies are fleamarket societies and I think that's what
we're seeing happening here.

By the way, Ukraine's electronics markets were too cool! A lot of
stuff that got broken would get scrapped into sorted boxes of the
good parts. I was almost tempted to come back with an suitcase of
diodes, motors, tools. The price of used electronics VS new, very big
difference!

[some_guy282]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('patience', 'T')his sort of thing isn't going to last very long before pawnbrokers are full up with stuff, and with a shrinking market, IMHO.

[steam_cannon]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('patience', 'T')his sort of thing isn't going to last very long before pawnbrokers are
full up with stuff, and with a shrinking market, IMHO.

[TheDude]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('some_guy282', 'P')eople will be forced to do what they should be doing now - cutting back.

[dinopello]

We have a really nice thrift/second hand shop a few blocks away. The people that run it are really nice too. It's really too nice since most stuff there isn't dirt cheap but its all good quality and interesting. Anything made out of wood, metal, ceramic or masonry or fabric is usually better quality the older it is.

I always think of a guy I knew and his wife. They both liked the idea of living in a close-in neighborhood where you can walk to things. But, when it came time to buy a house, they bought out in the newly-built exurbs. The reason? She didn't like the idea of living in someone elses 'used' house ! (all the houses here are older) . That was about 10 years ago, I wonder how they are doing?

[aflurry]

i'm getting alot of my construction remodel materials on craigslist. you have to be patient.... and flexible.

the bit about heirlooms is bunk. come on. crap is crap. you'll usually be happy to get rid of some of that dead weight, heirloom or not.

[some_guy282]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('TheDude', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('some_guy282', 'P')eople will be forced to do what they should be doing now - cutting back.

[Ludi]

There's not much of a market for junk out there. I've been listing some really nice junk, silverplate and glassware, on craigslist and nobody wants it. Darn cheap too. I'll probably end up giving it away just to get it out of the house.

[Ferretlover]

Can or do pawnshops sell guns?

[steam_cannon]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ferretlover', 'C')an or do pawnshops sell guns?

[RonMN]

I would suggest a new gun Ferret...Ya don't want a gun breaking down on ya after the 1st shot.

But most pawn shops as well as gun shops sell used guns.

<edit> I just thought, amidst this "pawn shop society" the gov't will be forcing us all to switch to digital TV BRILLIANT!

[mos6507]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('RonMN', '
')amidst this "pawn shop society" the gov't will be forcing us all to switch to digital TV BRILLIANT!

[TreebeardsUncle]

Actually, think, these are just short term moves done by both desparados and people looking to maintain their indulgences.
g

[Chuckmak]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('steam_cannon', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ferretlover', 'C')an or do pawnshops sell guns?

[Jack]

From the article: Bob Moulton, owner of National Jewelry & Pawn in Durham, said sales are off so much that some shops are at risk of closing.

Think of the implications. Popcorn, anyone?



-----------------------------------------------------------------------------



More pawning goods for gas, food

Tight budgets pose problem for store owners, though -- no one's buying

Kristin Butler, Staff Writer


Business is brisk at Triangle pawnshops these days -- so much so that some of them may soon be in financial trouble.
As the price of gas and groceries continues to rise, more families are turning to pawnbrokers to bridge the difference between income and expenses. While plenty of people are pawning items, hardly anybody is buying.

Bob Moulton, owner of National Jewelry & Pawn in Durham, said sales are off so much that some shops are at risk of closing.

"I've seen five or six pawnbrokers come and go in Durham in the past eight years," said Moulton, whose store is larger than some others. "From what we're seeing at our level, smaller stores are really feeling the pinch."

Moulton said many customers are pawning items just to make their mortgage payments, pay other bills or buy groceries.

Dave Beck, owner of Plaza West Jewelry & Loan in Raleigh, agreed.

"Everyone I know is being inundated," Beck said. "Gas, milk and groceries are all more expensive, and paychecks have not kept up. If you have limited discretionary income, then you have to do whatever's necessary."

Customer Sean Creasy pawned a .45-caliber handgun at Beck's store a few weeks ago. He said he would use the $40 he received for lunch money and other miscellaneous expenses until his paycheck arrived later in the month.

Like many pawnshop patrons, Creasy figured he would probably only part with the gun for a short time. Using a pawnshop method known as a "pickup," he expected to buy his own item back, with interest, in the next 30 days.

But the current economic woes mean some customers aren't able to do that. Moulton said pickups are down 8 percent from last year.

That, in turn, has affected the bottom line at some pawnshops.

Plus, pawnbrokers say most customers have spent their tax refunds and stimulus checks already, so that won't help their shops find extra business.

Beck said things have gotten so bad that he's begun turning away merchandise, especially tools.

"You can buy yourself broke in tools right now," he said, attributing the overabundance to a slowdown in home reconstruction.

"These are guys that do remodels, build decks, things like this, and if homeowners don't have discretionary income to buy gas they certainly can't afford to remodel or add on," Beck added.

Triangle pawnbrokers also are seeing a lot of customers pawning gold -- jewelry, coins and even teeth and bridgework -- to take advantage of high gold prices, which have risen to nearly $900 per ounce. (That's up from $325 per ounce five years ago.)

Beck said he and his staff are getting many new customers seeking to pawn items. Some come back often.

"It's not like you just hit a little glitch this week or next week. ... They're repeat customers week to week."


kristin.butler@newsobserver.com or (919) 829-4633

[eXpat]

Maybe is time to get some cheap tools, gold and guns?

[RedStateGreen]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('eXpat', 'M')aybe is time to get some cheap tools, gold and guns?