Zero Hedge
Cash-strapped Americans are panic-searching “pawn shop near me.” The search trend spiked to a record high at the start of July and is an ominous sign the consumer might be pawning items or selling things that were possibly bought during the Covid boom to raise quick money amid the worst inflation storm in a generation.
Let’s begin by analyzing Google search data for “pawn shop near me.” The search trend started surging in January and exploded higher in the last few months to record highs just days ago.
Interest in the search trend is nationwide. Some of the most interest is in the Deep South. More
Well, at least Biden is helping one business grow….
All I see where I live is ‘help wanted, now hiring, signing bonus, this much$$ plus health insurance and benefits’. These are not just entry level, fast food, seasonal, etc. I guess people in NE Ohio don’t want to work.
Eugenia, same here in NW Vermont. You can hardly pass any type of business without a help wanted sign in the window; many offering signing bonus, etc.
Some of those places hiring will take anyone off the street. I’m not kidding here. I’ll refrain from saying which chain store, but the clerk behind the counter looked like a gang-banger. Skinny, nappy hair, pants down around his ass. He was the cashier, it took everything I had to keep my big mouth shut. Clerks also haven’t been trained in customer care or service. One of them picked me to go round-and-around with. She lost, manager gave her a lecture as I was leaving. Pawn shops have always been a place to get you to the next paycheck. Many are living beyond their means and always have.
Wait for all out liquidation events where people are forced out of their living arrangements, that’s when things are getting bad. It’s a great time to go to auctions when the time comes, when there are more sellers than buyers. Pawning things here and there is just one step of many before we hit rock bottom.
And then he said…
Remember back some years ago when there was a “cash for gold” on every other corner and the closed store fronts reopened as one of those locations?
Is it time to consider the reopening of Anymouse’s metal buying partnership? We thought that most of extra metal had been cashed out. Perhaps there’s still enough out there to merit another run.
Then too, runs to the refiners required having your head on a swivel and going home at night meant being sure you weren’t followed or cased/followed from the shop. I recall recent article in one of the trade journals (Rapaport I believe it was) on major uptick in theft and robberies.
Ain’t just people pawning their shit as much as you’ve got “amateurs'” getting into the smash and grab or armed robbery and other. The amateurs are far are dangerous…
Nah, I’m too old to go back into looking over my shoulder most of time…
Wait, what did I just say?
Looking over one’s shoulder and heightened awareness should be all the time, for everybody, especially now.
Let this thread serve as a warning to all the IOTW’ers to heighten your awareness regardless of where you live or where you go… Carrying is mandatory if you have the ability/training.
Condition zero, thank you very much…
My neighbor goes to garage sales in the ethnic neighborhoods.
Gets most of his stuff back at reasonable prices. 😉
Don’t pawn your guns.
Pawn shops are no better than loan sharks, cash for the title of your car places, payday loan lenders etc. I don’t patronize any of them, I may not have a lot of money and I drive a good reliable older car but I’m not stupid in how I spend my money. I learned that from my parents and grandparents who lived thru the Great Depression and made do with what they had or could do for themselves.
If I’m going “Pawn Searching”, it would be to buy stuff, not sell my stuff.
Buuuuut….From the few times I’ve been in a pawn shop (no time lately), buying someone else’s used stuff is almost as expensive as buying new stuff.
You CAN get a good deal, IF you do your homework and know what you’re looking for (make, model, age, date of mfgr, etc)