Pawnshops are as old as the hills and find a place across cultures. It has been part of the economy of almost all societies across the globe over the centuries. It was mainly made famous by Shakespeare in his immortal play The Merchant of Venice. Who can forget Shylock, the pawnbroker, and moneylender who was ready to extract a pound of flesh of the borrower Antonio when he fails to repay the loan on time? However, Shylock was only a fictional character and the cruelty demonstrated by him was necessary to meet the dramatic demands of the play.
In real life, pawnbrokers and lenders are not at all as heartless as portrayed by Shylock. They are outright professionals who can confiscate the item pledged as collateral by the borrower for failing to pay back the loan.
The pawn lending businesses like Valuepawn have adopted professional money lending business models and diversified their revenue-generating channels by innovating new techniques of making the business grow without depending on lending alone.
The Strategies of Pawnshop Business
What started primarily as a money lending business is now a full-grown online platform for buying and selling items. The pawnshops stick to their basic philosophy of making cash available to people in financial distress or facing tight credit. However, the mode of providing money does not rely on lending only. Pawnshops offer a variety of options to its customers who can choose the option that suits them best. The modern-day pawn shops follow a business model comprising two components – the loan model based on collateral consisting of any useful item and the model of online trading by buying low and selling high. In a way, pawn shops are online shopping platforms that sell only used products.
Get a Pawn Loan
Pawn loans are available for any amount and to all people regardless of their credit score and financial status. These are short-term loans, often not exceeding 6 months. The loan amount depends on the item that you want to provide as collateral. It can be anything like jewelry, watches, smartphones, smart TVs, firearms, musical instruments, power tools, cameras, video game consoles, and collectibles like artwork, as well as white goods and sporting equipment.
The Loan Process
Carry your item to the store, and the experts would instantly appraise the item in your presence to ascertain its value and decide the maximum loan amount that you can get against it. The experts have experience in appraising a wide range of merchandise and calculating a fair price that helps estimate the loan amount. The ownership of the item remains with you until you fail to pay back the loan with interest, in which case the pawnshop will retain the item. However, you get back the item when you pay back the loan on the item.
Pawn loans are similar to personal loans and payday loans for speedy cash availability, but unlike the other quick loans, pawn loans are secured loans.