Financial Reflections

With the economic downturn, people have turned to pawn shops in an attempt to get some cash.  In an attempt to get some extra cash, people are pawning items for quick money.

In case you’ve lived an unusually sheltered life, pawn shops will give you a loan for an item, usually at high interest rates.  You’ll have a time period to buy the item back (in other words pay the loan off in full) or the item is put up for sale.  It’s traditionally considered a last resort for people the poor and desperate, but more an more people are apparently turning to these sorts of loans for quick money.

Check out the video about this I found on Afternoon Rally’s video feed.

But there’s a down side for pawn shops, who are now getting overloaded with inventory.  What sells?  At least in the US, it’s guns and motorbikes, according to the video.

I can’t help but think that someone could be much better off trying to sell their stuff at a discount on a place like eBay or Half.com than hope to pay off a hefty loan.  I just couldn’t risk putting a high-ticket item like a family heirloom up either.

Have a pawn shop experience?  I’d love to hear about it.