ANDERSON, Ind. — Shoppers hoping to avoid long lines and high prices have found a new place to get Christmas shopping done — the neighborhood pawn shop.
Steve and Jerry Rubenstein, owners of Allan’s Jewelry and Loan, say they’ve seen an increase in both holiday shoppers and those hoping to get extra holiday cash by selling their belongings at the Anderson shop.
“I’ve never seen this many people,” Steve Rubenstein said.
Holiday shoppers cashing in on buying used are getting great deals at area pawn shops, he said.
“Lets put it this way, most of the kids, mom and dad will buy them a video game that costs them $60. Kids are intelligent. They’ll beat a game like that in a day or two.”
Instead, he said, parents are opting for used video games at his store. “They can get them for $9.95 to $20.”
Troy Norris and his son, 13-year-old Colin, a cost-cutting family, entered Allan’s on Monday in hopes of finding Christmas bargains.
Wanting an Xbox for Christmas, Colin didn’t mind settling for a used model.
“I’ve just been wanting one for Christmas,” Colin said, pointing out the $79 game system to his father.
Troy Norris admitted his family will be spending less on Christmas this year.
“We’ll be cutting back a little bit and we’ll end up playing catch-up.”
Though he was in the market to buy Monday, Norris said he’s used the shop to get extra cash before. “I have brought in old jewelry to get money.”
The economy has brought many more like him into the store, Jerry Rubenstein said.
“I’ve been seeing more people needing loans this year,” he said.
Using their belongings as collateral, many are getting loans with the intention of retrieving the item later, he said.
About 75 percent of people can afford to come back and reclaim their items, he said.
Giving someone a loan against their wedding band or automobile, Steve Rubenstein said, is often a sad business.
“I’m seeing a lot of people on fixed incomes that need medicine. They’ve got to go buy prescriptions. Those are the people my heart goes out to.”
With so many items being sold for cash, and many of them never reclaimed, the result is a store full of unique merchandise, Jerry Rubenstein said.
That’s precisely what brought Anderson resident Beth McKenzie into the shop on Monday.
Bending over the glass case that held a series of metal bracelets, McKenzie pointed out a charm bracelet with individual charms from each state.
“I think it’s kind of fascinating to walk in and be like ‘Wow, I wonder how that got here,’” she said, delighted by the unique jewelry selection.
Jewelry, Steve Rubenstein said, has seen a huge jump in activity recently.
The recent rise in gold prices has area residents bringing old jewelry to the pawn shop for quick cash.
“Jewelry is the easiest thing a person can carry into the store,” Jerry Rubenstein said. It’s also the most profitable.
The rise is also causing an increase in sales since jewelry stores are being forced to sell diamonds and gold at higher prices as the market jumps, leading shoppers to seek out cheaper necklaces and rings.
Hearing a news broadcast indicating that wealthy Americans are beginning to pawn their goods for cash, Brenda Jones entered Allan’s in hopes of cashing in on the recent phenomena.
She’d wanted to buy a guitar for a family member, and found no less than one dozen of them hanging on the wall.
Matt Runda came to find a bass amp to buy his father for Christmas.
Instead, his friend, Ryan Bowen, found a DVD at a price he couldn’t pass up.
With 38 years and a handful of recessions behind them, the Rubenstein brothers and Allan’s pawn shop have shown that even in the worst economy, some businesses thrive.
Contact Brandi Watters 640-4847, brandi.watters@heraldbulletin.com
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Aaron Piper
Discussion
Weak economy spawns pawn shop rush
Shoppers get deals, sellers get quick holiday cash
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