Finally went to a Pawn shop!

[rundownfid]

I was in Front Royal Va. (highly recommended little town) last Sat and saw a Pawn Shop. I had never been in a Pawn Shop so went in. Many tools, some Jewelery and quite a few guns. When I told the owner I wasn't from Va, but from Pa. so wouldn't be able to buy a handgun he said no but long arms were OK.
Nice guy, turned out he graduated from Slippery Rock 3 years after me. We knew a lot of the same people, small world.
As he was pretty busy I didn't get to quiz him about the business, but it seemed to be doing pretty well.
By the looks of things there a lot of contractors pawn their power tools, generators, etc. between jobs?

 

[2Loud4You]

Originally posted by rundownfid:
By the looks of things there a lot of contractors pawn their power tools, generators, etc. between jobs?

Ummm, no, most if not all of those tools were stolen. My father is a trim carpenter and I'm a mechanic, you live and die by your tools. My father had a few thousand dollars worth of tools stolen and that hurts. He rarely even drives his work truck to Home Depot because theft is SOOOO high in the parking lots. He's caught illegal laborers snooping in his truck before and even though they "didn't speak English" they sure understood the threat of a BFH upside the head.

 

[oldRoger]

Around these parts, new construction ground to a halt about 2 years ago. I have a friend who had crews building houses, he now works by himself doing repairs and remodeling.
He has trouble finding subs because many have given up and let their insurance lapse. The small subs doing framing and finishing have hocked their nail guns and compressors.

The best dry wall crew in the county has split up.

I wouldn't be surprised if some of the pawned tools represent people who have changed jobs.

 

[em-man]

As someone who has his tools stolen and recovered from pawn shops three times...

Pawn shops are legal fencing operations. The crooks know it, the cops know it, the pawn shop know it.

 

[Onomea]

We need a comment from Pawncop!

I have never been in a pawnshop either, but with all the stories I read here about guys finding interesting guns in them I sure would like to.

 

[Bekeart]

Not many stolen items at local pawn shop.

Anyone selling or pawning must provide picture ID and fill out a multi-copy form listing items and identity or person selling/pawning. The form very plainly states in large print. at the top, that all information is provided to the local PD and the county Sheriff.

I have heard that in Paducah all pawns are required to be filed to an on-line data base. I forget the name of the data base. Data base is accessible to ALL law enforcement agencies, in state and out of state.

Pawn shops may not be generous when buying or selling, but the ones I know TRY avoid stolen items and any appearance of fencing.

Bekeart

 

[Rikkn]

I want to open one !!

 

[diamonback68]

rundownfid, what pawn shop? I going there next week for a wedding, actually Strasburg. I'm gonna have a pocketful of FFLs. Any nice Smiths?

 

[morsecode]

There are two in my area and both have more tools than anything else. The police are there every day checking the log book for recently liberated items, though one cop told me they really only track locally stolen stuff - the thieves simply steal in one town and fence in another.

I did see one thing fairly amazing (to me anyway) - a 32 foot step ladder! Had no idea they made em that big.

 

[mississippi revolverman]

I think pawn shops are like any other business. Some ran right and within the law and other illegal. In Fl there are laws controlling sale of stolen good in a pawn shop as does most state. There are also laws about murder, robbery and drug but that still goes on.

My point I use a very good Pawn shop that does a good gun trade. Almost all my weapons come from there many are new and not pawns. So I don't think it fair to paint them all with the same brush

 

[redlevel]

My brother is part owner of three pawn shops, one in Columbus, GA, one in Phenix City, Ala, and one in Dothan, Ala. They work very closely with police and have facilitated in the recovery of a good bit of stolen goods over the thirty years they have been in business.

The manager of the shop in Columbus told me back before Christmas that they were turning away tools for the first time since the shop opened in 1980. Usually, tools are one of the biggest sellers in their three shops.

They are planning to open a new shop in Warner Robins, GA next year, and they want me to run the guns/sporting goods part of it when I retire from teaching next year.

mississippi revolverman is correct about it being wrong to portray all pawn shops as "fences" for stolen goods.

 

[NFrameFred]

Pawn shops are being hit with a pretty broad brush, here. I guess that makes it OK when someone paints all gun owners as beer swilling wife-beating knuckle draggers who can't wait to shoot someone. Same standard, from where I sit.

Like any other business. Some good, some bad. To make a statement like "no, all those tools are stolen" betrays bias and ignorance not founded in fact. The dealer I use now happens to run a pawn shop so I've come to know quite a bit about the ones in our town. If he gets a whiff of impropriety he passes on the deal no matter how good it seems. The police are constantly checking the pawn shops for stolen goods on the chance that's the first place a thief would try to dump it. In this part of the world, a man wouldn't stay in business very long fencing stolen goods.

Sounds like the stereo-type of big-city pawn shops learned from watching too many bad cop shows

 

[wbraswell]

Around here we have more pawn shops that are new gun dealers also, than we have gun shops/sporting goods stores.