Pawnbroker, How Does It Work?

Need money? Why not pledge personal items? This is the solution proposed by many pawnshops across UK. Do the deposited items necessarily have to be valuable? What are the terms of the loan? When are these items on sale? We are going to address some of the most asked questions about pawn shops in London to have a clearer view of what they actually do and do not do.

How does pawnbroking work out?

The pawnbroker requires the deposit of an object in return for a loan of money. The minimum loan varies from pawnshop to pawnshop. It is carried out for more or less one year but the customer can at any time withdraw his object. 93% of the objects deposited with pawnbrokers are recovered by their owners. Jewellery remains the majority of objects that are deposited but they also receive silverware, paintings, sculptures, carpets, period furniture, musical instruments, trinkets, various collections (stamps, Toys). What cannot be pawned are the objects that are too bulky and have no value in the auction market, including computer hardware, cameras and similar objects.

More than 80% of pawn shops in London customers are female (mainly because of jewellery). All socio-professional categories are affected. Indeed the pawnbroker’s help is needed when one want to pass a difficult phase, which can happen to everyone. The number of customers has grown significantly in recent years, as the number of people who do not have access to bank credit facility is far from declining today.

All renowned pawn shops in London are careful to ensure the identity of the depositors and their suitability with the objects they deposit with them. Some strict pawn shops will not accept that a man deposits a female jewel without a power of attorney and without the identity document of the person who made the proxy.

The evaluation of the objects is done by independent auctioneers. So pawn shops will lend between 50 and 70% of this evaluation which takes into account the prices practiced in the auctions. The cost of the loan currently varies according to the value of the object between 9 and 15% (all costs included). Remember that revolving loans are also available by pawnshops and are around 20% today. As for the maximum duration, there is no such term provided that the client pays the loan fee each year. As for the fakes and counterfeiting usually the pawnshops have our experts who are perfectly trained to detect them.