Close your eyes and picture a pawnshop. What do you see? Is it a cramped, cluttered space? Does the employee behind the counter have a sour look on their face? Does the overall experience make you nervous and unwelcome? If so, open your eyes and take a deep breath. Thankfully what you, and most people, imagined isn’t reality. That version of pawnshops only exists in the movies and negatively spun news stories. Even though that’s the case, the average person still believes that that is what the average pawnshop is, and that simply isn’t true.

At our core, EZ Pawn Corp pawnshops are local establishments that are crucial to the communities that we serve. We offer short-term loans without a credit check or a bank account. While it usually takes a bank a few weeks to process a loan, EZ Pawn Corp can give you a loan within minutes based on your collateral.

One could say that pawnshops offer people options when they thought they had none. What do you do when you need money to help pay for bills? Broken jewelry that has been in your drawer and tangled for as long as you can remember? Or even an unexpected emergency? These are hard questions and there isn’t really a right answer to them, but pawnshops can help make these hard situations a little easier to manage.

The world of pawnshops doesn’t have to be a scary one but with the right guide and information, anyone can learn to see the value that pawnshops bring to the community and to the world at large.

EZ Pawn Corp would like to welcome you to the world of pawnshops.

When most people think of pawnshops they think of tiny dirty stores that deal in stolen wares and that pawnbrokers are going to give you a lowball offer on your loan. While we can’t promise for all pawnshops, we know a majority of pawnshops beg to differ. Pawnbrokers are in the business of making money and it would be counterintuitive for a business to work against their customers. Here are a few commonly circulated myths about pawnshops and why they’re untrue.

Myth: Pawnshops are unregulated — kind of like the wild, wild west.
Truth: In fact, pawnshops are a highly regulated industry with regulations at the national, state, and local level. We at EZ Pawn Corp are members of several organizations such as the Bronx Chamber of Commerce and The New York State Collateral Loanbrokers Association. Our very own Lauren Kaminsky is on the board of the National Pawnbroker Association to help ensure that they follow all laws and regulations needed to show our clients that we are a store that can be trusted for all of our clients pawning and buying needs.

Myth: Pawnshops take in stolen goods.
Truth: Pawnbrokers are required to document all transactions and record identification. Actually, pawnbrokers were one of the first industries to ever collect personal information before conducting any transaction. We know who our customers are. Less than 0.001% of all pawned merchandise is stolen. That’s because pawnbrokers like EZ Pawn Corp and local police are constantly in communication with each other about what goods enter the pawnshop. This regularly transmitted line of communication drastically decreases the likelihood that an item is stolen. (http://money.howstuffworks.com/pawnshop4.htm)

Myth: Pawnshops are dirty places that only deal with sketchy people.
Truth: Pawnshops are mainly family-owned business that have been passed down through generations. The actual average pawnshop customer is 36-years-old and has an annual income of $29,000. (http://www.businessinsider.com/pawnshop-customers-statistics-2011-11#the-average-customer-has-an-income-of-29000-and-is-36-11) Since the recession, pawnshops have become more and more popular within the middle class and the affluent. Now that the economy is growing, pawnshops like EZ Pawn Corp are gaining popularity as a great place to score a deal on jewelry and other goods.

Pawnshops offer two options to help their clientele make money. The first option is by pawning an item; the second is when the client sells an item to the shop. In this post we will discuss pawning and what exactly that means for perspective clients.

The core of a pawnshop’s business is making collateral loans. A collateral loan is when the borrower pledges an item as an asset for the loan, the loan terms are agreed upon based on the pawnshop, but typically last 4 months in NYC. At the end of the loan period, the borrower can either pay interest to extend his/her loan or redeem the loan for the principal plus interest and charges.

Customers bring in an item of value along with proper identification to EZ Pawn Corp; items can include jewelry, electronics, sport memorabilia and musical instruments. The pawnbroker will assess the item and offer the customer a fair loan price based on a percentage of the item’s value. The pawnbroker will then keep the item until the loan with interest and any additional fees are paid. If the borrower doesn’t pay back the loan within the designated amount of time, the pawnbroker retains the item.

Pawning is a great and easy way to get money while still being able to keep your items and because the item is used as collateral against the loan, defaulting on your loan doesn’t negatively affect your credit score like defaulting on a bank loan would.

EZ Pawn Corp offers their customers 4 months to redeem their item with the low monthly interest rate of 4% per month,. Cash loans can be made of all sizes with a minimum of $10, with no amount too high. If you want an estimate of how much your item might get you visit our website (http://www.ezpawncorp.com/) to contact a loan specialist right away.

Information was obtained from the National Pawnbrokers Association.

While there are many facets to the pawn-broking business, the two mainstreams of business at a pawnshop, are through collateral loans (pawns) and selling a variety of items. While the idea of pawning may seem daunting, it’s actually pretty simple once you understand the process. To learn more about the pawning process and what it entails, click here.

When it comes to the retail portion of a pawnshop, it’s not that much different from a normal retail store. The only real difference is that the price on the items isn’t set in stone so feel free to make a reasonable offer. Some pawnshops like EZ Pawn Corp offer several means to purchase from them such as their eBay store or visiting one of their Retail locations situated all over New York City. It’s never been more convenient to buy from a pawnshop and you never know what you may find!

When selling to a pawnshop it’s always good to do some research on your item beforehand and to make sure that your item is clean and in good condition. For example, a newer iPad is going to secure a higher loan/sell more than an older, more beat up model. The main difference between selling and pawning your item is that when you sell the item you do not plan on coming back for it. On the other hand, a pawn transaction means you are the rightful owner of the item during the entire loan period and can come and pick it up at any point.

Something to keep into consideration when selling to a pawnshop is while pawnshops are in the business to help the community in which they serve, they are also a business. Some customers have a strong emotional attachment to the item they bring in and they base the price they want to receive off that number instead of the items actual resale value.