BlogSaturday, December 21 2019
 The holiday season is one of joy and giving, but it’s also one of stress. Few enjoy fighting through the ice and snow, battling it out among retail store aisles, praying that the items they need are still in stock, and spending wads of cash hoping that they bought the right gifts for the right people. Whether you shop at the biggest retail chains or a smaller store only in your geographic area, you probably go through this struggle every year. But what if you could skip the lines and find the perfect gift for everyone close to you, all while saving money? Just look to your local pawn shop. Read below to learn why you should shop for gifts at pawn shops instead of retails stores. 1. Inventory Pawn shops have diverse inventories, so there should be a gift for even the hardest person to shop for. Here at Cash Express, we have great gift items for nearly anyone in your life: And much more. Visit Cash Express in Philadelphia if you need a unique gift this holiday season. 2. Less Crowds Pawn shops have acquired an unfortunate stigma of being dirty or shady, despite the many regulations governing pawn shops and the strong relationships many pawn shops have with local law enforcement. Still, you can use this stigma to your advantage. Pawn shops won’t be as jammed full of shoppers as retails stores due to said stigma, so no need to fight through several winter coat-clad people to get the gift item you want. 3. Negotiable Prices Good luck haggling for a better price at a giant retailer. At pawn shops, it’s a different story. Not only are their prices lower on many items, but negotiation is encouraged! Feel free to try and haggle a lower price out of the pawn shop if you feel you can make a good case for it. 4. Financing Options Scraping together a holiday budget is tough, even when you’re at a pawn shop where the prices are both low and negotiable. At pawn shops, you can bring in your items to either pawn or sell. When you pawn an item, the pawn shop hands you a loan for what they determine to be the items value. They hold your item as collateral. Payback the loan in full and on time, you get your item back. Fail to do so, and the pawn shop takes your item. No fees, no credit checks/damage, no paperwork, no headaches. Otherwise, you can simply sell the item if you really don’t want it. So if you’ve got anything around the house you don’t want, bring it on down to Cash Express and we’ll have a look at it. Then, you can use the proceeds to shop from some of our cool inventory. Pawn Shops: Your One Stop Shop for the Holidays By ditching retail stores for pawn shops, you could avoid annoying crowds, bolster your holiday budget, and knock out your holiday shopping in just a couple hours; all while saving money. If you’re looking for a place to check off your holiday shopping in Philadelphia, Cash Express has plenty of cool gift items at great prices. Don’t hesitate to bring any items you want to pawn or sell, either - you might have something another Cash Express customer wants to buy from us! Saturday, December 07 2019
 The holiday season is in full swing, meaning it’s time for one of the year’s most difficult undertakings: finding the perfect gift for everyone you love. A lot of your loved ones can be tricky to shop for, but pawn shops like Cash Express have a wide range of interesting items that make great gifts for anybody on any budget. Take a look at some hot gift ideas you can find at your local pawn shop. Jewelry Jewelry will always be a gift favorite. It also happens to be one of Cash Express top types of items. Whether you’re looking for pretty earrings, a shiny necklace, or a fancy watch, almost every pawn shop has its own unique assortment of beautiful jewelry that you can actually afford. Electronics Electronics are expensive yet fun items, making them consistently great gifts. Televisions, phones, tablets, video game consoles, and computers are all hugely popular, especially since tech seems to advance faster each year. Don’t worry about quality - most electronics in pawn shop inventories are in great working condition, yet you can grab them for a much lower price than buying brand new. Many pawn shops will even offer a warranty on more expensive items, giving you that extra peace of mind. Musical Instruments Musical instruments always make for a great personalized gift for the musically-inclined in your family and friend circle. Whether your intended recipient can shred the guitar or is just beginning to explore their musical creativity, many pawn shops have several musical instruments for sale spanning a wide range of prices. Tools/Appliances Tools and small appliances are another common site at pawn shops. Everything from power tools like drills, to manual tools like screwdrivers, to small kitchen appliances like blenders can be found in many a pawn shop’s inventory. Toys/Games Pawnshops commonly hold various toys and games for all ages in your inventory. They could be baby/toddler toys, board games, or even video games (for those of you buying video game consoles this holiday season). The second-hand nature of pawnshop items brings you a distinct shopping advantage: discontinued/hard-to-find games and toys. Pawnshops are likely the only type of store to have these once their owners no longer want or need them. Firearms Got a gun enthusiast in the family? Firearms aren’t an uncommon site in a pawn shop’s inventory. From antique firearms to modern favorites and everything in between, you can bet on your local pawn shop having a few firearms available for sale. Looking for a Philadelphia pawnshop where you can knock out your holiday shopping? Come on down to Cash Express! We’ve got tons of great gift items available, including And much more. While you’re at it, feel free to bring us items you’d like to pawn or sell. We’ll get you the cash you deserve for those items; cash you can then use to grab some amazing holiday gifts from our inventory. Friday, November 15 2019
 Ideally, we’d love every gift we receive. After all, it’s the thought that counts, right? Sure, but we all know the awkward experience of excitedly tearing open a present from a distant relative, only to be disappointed by a “gift” we didn’t really want in the first place. It’s important to show gratitude regardless of the gift, but that doesn’t mean you need to hold on to something you’ll never use! If you can find a way to sell it, you can get some or all of your money back; then you can buy yourself something you do want and treat that as your gift. But you might be wondering where exactly you can offload an unwanted gift or two. Look no further than your local pawn shop! Cash Express, one of the leading pawn shops in Philadelphia, is ready and willing to buy your unwanted gifts from you. Bringing Your Unwanted Items to Cash Express If you’ve got unwanted gifts sitting around your house, they aren’t doing you much good. You may as well trade them in for something more useful, or in other words, some cash. Bring them on into Cash Express! We’re happy to help our customers offload some unwanted items in exchange for quick cash. Once you bring in your item, you can decide to either sell it or pawn it. We’ll give a thorough evaluation to determine the value of your item(s), then we’ll let you know how much you could make selling or pawning them to us. We’re fast, too - we’ll have the dollar bills in your hand the same day you bring in your items, should you accept our price. As a nice little bonus, you’re helping out other holiday shoppers in our community. They might be looking for the exact item you’re pawning to us, yet who knows if they would’ve ever found it had you not pawned your item? Gift Yourself Something Else at Cash Express After you’ve brought your item into us and gotten your fair price, you don’t need to look somewhere else to buy yourself your new holiday gift. Stick around Cash Express and look around our inventory. We’ve got all sorts of interesting items at great prices - jewelry, electronics, musical instruments, firearms, power tools, you name it. In fact, you could do your holiday gift shopping for others while you’re here as well. Knock out two birds with one stone. All in all, a pawn shop is one of the first places you should go if you have unwanted gifts. You can knock out some of your holiday shopping quickly and cheaply while clearing out clutter. If you need a pawn shop in Philadelphia to sell your unwanted gifts to, Cash Express is located conveniently downtown. Stop in with your items, and take a look around at ours. Our associates will ensure an amazing shopping experience for you whether you need to shop or you just need to sell. Thursday, November 07 2019
 The holiday season is here, which means holiday gift shopping is fast approaching. Almost time to hustle up and down the aisles in an attempt to grab all the hot holiday gift items before they sell out. Unfortunately, this time of year can be tough on your finances as you try to get everyone the gifts they want without going broke. But you don’t need to spend a fortune at the mall just to get your family and friends wonderful gifts this holiday season. Why not visit a pawn shop? You might be surprised at such a suggestion, but contrary to what some believe, pawnshop items make great gifts. Product Selection Pawnshops have a wide selection of items, many of them being common gift items. For example, video game consoles and TVs are a common sight at pawn shops. But there are tons of other hobbyist items as well. Have a handyman of a husband? Pawnshops commonly have regular and power tools in great condition. Maybe there’s a gun enthusiast in your life? Pawnshops often have firearms for sale as well. And if you have to shop for someone who doesn’t know what they want, pawn shops are chock full of interesting hidden gems if you spend some time looking around. Pricing Retailers have fixed prices on their items; there’s almost never room for negotiation. Not true at pawn shops. You can save a few bucks if you come in ready to negotiate for an item. Know your stuff beforehand, though, or you won’t get too far in your haggling. Pawning/Selling Your Items Whether you plan on stopping at a pawn shop during your holiday shopping or not, pawn shops can help you fund your shopping. Bring in a few valuable items you own for either selling or pawning purposes. Jewelry, electronics, clothing, tools, whatever’s sitting at home that you don’t use much. Then you can put your selling/pawning proceeds right back into your holiday shopping budget. While you’re at it, you may as well stick around the pawnshop you visit and see if any items for sale have gift potential. Saves time and money. By the way, you’re doing others a service by selling or pawning your items to a pawn shop. Someone else might be holiday shopping for the very item you’re selling or pawning, yet they might never have found it if you never brought it to your local pawn shop. As the holiday season ramps up, you might be looking for a pawn shop in Philadelphia to find interesting gifts at an affordable price. Cash Express has tons of cool items priced fairly. Still, need more room in your holiday budget? Bring in your items! We’ll have your cash AND your items in hand before the day ends. Sunday, October 20 2019
 Need extra cash asap? Have you ever considered bringing your items to a pawn shop like Cash Express to get some cash for your items? Pawning is a great way to get a quick loan without jumping through hoops. However, you might’ve wondered what happens if you don’t come back to reclaim your pawned item(s). First, A Brief Explanation of Pawn Loans Sometimes, people need a cash boost quickly, but they don’t want to sell one of their items. Pawn shops let them take out pawn loans and put down their items as collateral. These loans don’t affect your credit score nor do they have a lengthy application process, making them excellent borrowing options for those with poor credit. All you do is bring in the item and a photo ID, then the pawn shop approximates the value of the item. When they’ve decided on the value, they offer a loan amount based on a percentage of the item’s value. Pawn loans typically have a term length of 30 days. Borrowers must repay the principal amount in full plus a small fee before the end of the loan term to get their money back. What Happens When the Pawn Loan Comes Due? Many people think they have to pay up when the pawn loan is due or risk forfeiting their item(s). Actually, pawn loan borrowers have many options when time’s up. Paying off the loan: Repay the loan in full on or before the due date. You get your item(s) back. Now, is it possible to get your item back even if you didn’t pay back your loan? Yes, believe it or not. Once you relinquish possession to the pawn shop, they’ll put it up for sale with their other items. You can repurchase it as if it were any other item in the store. In certain cases, you might even be able to reactivated the pawn loan at a later date if the item doesn’t sell. Overall, pawn shops aren’t out to get you. They want to make their customers happy, because happy customers means more business. Pawn loans can create recurring income for them, whereas selling items is only a one-time revenue. Therefore, it’s in their best interest to create a loan that works for you. Looking for a good pawn loan in the Philadelphia area? Bring your items down to Cash Express! We especially love jewelry, watches, and antiques, but we’ll look at almost any item. Monday, October 07 2019
 Whether you’re considering bringing in an item to your local pawn shop or you’re a regular pawner already, you’ve probably wondered if your personal information is safe at pawn shops. Pawn shops do get an unfair stigma for being “shady”, so naturally, you’ll be concerned about what happens to your personal information. Don’t worry; your personal information is safe. We’ll dispel this myth of “shadiness” below by teaching you what pawn shops do with your personal information, so keep reading! A Brief Explanation of Pawn Shops Pawn shops let customers bring in a wide variety of items every day to exchange for cash. Items can include precious metals, jewelry, firearms, electronics, tools, antiques, and more. Customers can either sell their item to the pawn shop, or more commonly, take out a loan against their item, a process called pawning. Pawn shops are regulated by several state and/or federal laws. Many have developed close relationships with their local law enforcement as well to further enhance their efforts to follow the law and keep business running smoothly. As a result, pawn shops require identification for every transaction to ensure safety and compliance with the law. Pawn Shop Records Despite the best efforts of pawn shops and the law, some stolen items make their way into pawn shops. Knowing that, you at first might be hesitant of perusing a pawn shop’s wares for fear of unknowingly purchasing or even bringing in a stolen item. Pawn shops are required to gather certain personal information in order to comply with the law. They require a government-issued photo ID of you so they can keep a record of it. They also keep track of every new item they receive from customers. In fact, pawn shops are required to submit the item information to a police-monitored national database in case the item description matches a stolen item in a police report. How Long Do Pawn Shops Keep Records? Pawn shops keep records for different lengths of time depending on a few factors. First of all, they must follow state laws regarding record-keeping. Some states may require a longer time period than others. Pawn shop record-keeping software is another factor. The amount of time they hold onto your information depends on if they have the software and what kind they have if they do. All that being said, most pawn shops keep your records for anywhere between 3-5 years depending on how these factors play out. When enough time has elapsed, they’ll shred any paper documents and delete any electronic files in their software containing your personal information. So don’t worry, your personal information is in good hands at a pawn shop. Now that you know that, are you looking for a quick and easy pawn loan? Or maybe you’re trying to sell your item for a good price? If you’re looking for a pawn shop in the Philadelphia area, bring your stuff into Cash Express. We’ll get you a fair offer for your items, and you’ll be out the door with cash in your hand before you know it! Friday, September 20 2019
 Consumers can leverage their possessions for cash at several types of stores. You’ve got consignment stores, thrift stores, and pawn shops. But it can be hard to tell these options apart; what are the differences? What makes any one of these better than the others? Read on to see how each type of store operates. Consignment Stores Before we compare thrift stores and pawn shops, we should also clarify what a consignment store is. Consignment stores act as a sort of outsourced storefront for your items. First, you bring in all the goods you’d like to consign. The store thoroughly inspects your items then creates a price list for all your items so you can decide if it's worth it. The store will then take your items and list them for sale. When your items sell, the store takes a small cut and pays you the rest as a check or sometimes in store credit. Occasionally, some stores will pay you a set amount up front instead. Most of the time, your items are only listed for a specified period of time. If they don’t sell, the consignment shop will return them to you. Some will donate the items to charity. To boil it down, you’re essentially paying a small fee to list your items for sale in a public place. It’s like a real-world eBay. Consignment stores exist for almost everything nowadays. As long as your items are in decent condition, you could make a good chunk of change selling it to a consignment store. Thrift Stores Thrift stores are often used interchangeable with consignment stores, but they are different in several ways. First of all, items are donated rather than sold. You can’t earn much money donating to thrift stores, but qualified donations can save you money in the form of charitable donation tax write-offs. Because items are donated, thrift stores don’t inspect items as rigorously. This is a good thing for both buyers and sellers. Sellers can offload more stuff they couldn’t at a consignment store or thrift shop and potentially save more on their taxes. Since thrift store get these items for free and don’t inspect them, they list them at rock-bottom prices, which is great for buyers. Despite the low prices, buyers can find some hidden gems in thrift stores if they spend some time looking. Pawn Shops Pawnshops like Cash Express are different than consignment and thrift stores. They provide two methods of getting cash for your items: Pawning items the most common method. Rather than selling your items, you use them as collateral for a loan. The pawn shop will inspect your item to determine their value, then use this number to decide on a loan amount. They’ll also give you the length of the loan and calculate the total interest. All you have to do to get your items back is to pay the full balance of the loan plus interest within the time period set by the shop. If you fail to do so, the worst that happens is the pawnshop takes possession of your items and resells them to other customers. No dings to your credit, no loan applications, no collections agencies, none of that. Alternatively, you may be able to outright sell your item to a pawn shop. You may not make as much money as you could get through a pawn loan, though, because pawn loans are more profitable and flexible to pawn shops than buying and reselling. Think about it: you pay interest on pawn loans on top of the principal amount, earning the pawnshop money without sacrificing their loan amount. Fail to do so and they at least cover their bases by keeping the item and reselling it. Need a pawn loan in the Philadelphia area? Just want to sell your items? Bring ‘em on into Cash Express! We’ll make sure to get money in your hand the same day you come in. Saturday, September 14 2019
 Since the dawn of time, people from every culture and country have occasionally found themselves a bit short on money. Fortunately, someone came up with a solution not too long after people first started needing fast cash - people could “pawn” their possessions as collateral for a quick and easy cash loan. Pawnbrokers hold onto the individual’s items, and in exchange, the borrower has a contractually-specified time period to pay the loan back plus interest. If they are unable to pay it back, the pawnbroker can take possession of the item and sell it to someone else. Today, over 20 million people in the US visit one of the US’s 12,000+ pawn shops each year. The Beginning of Pawn Shops Rewinding 3,000 years, the first pawn shops emerged in Ancient China. They provided peasants a method of accessing short-term credit. At first, pawnbrokers didn’t operate as a shop; they ran their own independent operation. However, pawning soon came to be done mostly through pawn shops. Moving over to Europe, pawnbroking exploded in popularity in ancient Greece and Rome. Many merchants pawned items in order to fund their new businesses. As Europe entered the Medieval Age, the Catholic Church began to restrict pawn shops from charging interest for religious reasons. But the restriction wouldn’t last forever, as many began seeing the benefits of pawning in financing new business pursuits as well as helping the poor. It became so widespread that Queen Isabella of Spain allegedly funded Christopher Columbus’s expeditions by pawning her jewelry! Leading up to and during the Industrial Age, clothing was the most valuable item for most of the working class. The working class almost always needed extra cash to pay the bills each week, so it became routine to pawn your clothes on Monday and retrieve them when you get paid on Friday, just in time to pay off the pawn loan. We also see more regulation as we approach the modern age. Pawn shop borrowers tended to be poorer, which was correlated with more crime. That includes stealing items and pawning them. England combatted this with the Pawnbrokers Act of 1872, one of the first widespread pawn industry regulations in the modern era. This Act did a few major things: Pawn Shops Today In just the last century, pawn shops have spread all over the United States. In the earlier part of the 20th century, during the Great Depression, banks were failing left and right. This left people in desperate need of cash with little option but to pawn their items, making the best of a terrible situation. Nowadays, you can find a pawn shop in basically any city or town. They serve not only as a banking alternative to those without a ban account, but also as a place for almost anyone to buy and sell rare and interesting items. Still, they haven’t lost their connection to history. Antiques, jewelry, and other old but well-preserved items are highly sought after by most pawn shops. Some people try to make up stories about how valuable their items are, but pawn shops have become adept at sniffing out fakers. If you have some rare or valuable item and you’re in need of some quick cash, why not bring it on down to Cash Express? Friday, August 23 2019
 On the surface, selling your item at a pawn shop seems simple enough. However, if you’ve never done been in a pawn shop at all (let alone sold an item), the process of going into a pawn shop and confidently negotiating your price can seem a little scary. On top of that, the media tends to portray pawn shops in a negative light despite the strict rules and regulations all pawnshops must follow. We’ve created a beginner’s guide to help ease those fears and show you exactly how you can make money selling your items at a pawn shop. Keep on reading to find out more. Pawn Shop Basics. Pawnshops aren’t as complex as you think. You bring in an item and the pawnbroker will evaluate it and quote you a price. If they aren’t able to do so (usually items the broker doesn’t see often), they’ll call in a professional appraiser to further evaluate the item and arrive at a price. Best Items to Sell. Jewelry is a favored item among pawn shops, especially if it has some gold in it. Pawnshops can melt down the jewelry and sell the gold raw, making these pieces so valuable. Antiques are another hot commodity. Pawnshops are drawn to well-preserved old things like old firearms, coins, and other knick-knacks. Pawnshops love electronics, too. It can be anything: a computer, a game console, a smartphone, etc. These items tend to be in high demand, so pawn shops know they can resell it and make some cash. When to Sell Your Items. We’d suggest that you only sell items you don’t get much utility or sentimental value out of, although ultimately that’s up to you. Sure, you can sell us your family heirloom, but think of the potential emotional turmoil. But what if you’re in a tight spot financially? Are you just supposed to go bankrupt? You’re in luck because you can also get a loan from a pawn shop within a day by putting your items up as collateral. All you have to do is pay back the loan by the deadline or the pawnshop takes your item. No dings to your credit or anything. Pawnshops may be more willing to loan you money too because they can recoup their money and earn interest on it. Preparing Your Items for Pawning. First, research your item online to see what other people are selling it for. If you gather some hard data, you’ll strut into price negotiations with more confidence, possibly landing you a higher payout. You’ll want to research pawn shops as well to find the most reputable stores. Before bringing your item in, get it into peak condition. Clean them up and make them look and function like new or as close to new as possible. For electronics, take every measure to wipe your personal data. You can never be too safe when it comes to sensitive information. Negotiation Tips. Remember: come in prepared. Know what your items are worth but also have a goal price in mind. “Less is more” is the name of the game in pawnshop negotiations. Talk as little as possible to avoid giving away any information about the price or value of the item, as this will affect the pawnbroker’s offer. Let the pawnbroker make an offer first because otherwise, they’ll work to pay as little as possible if they have an idea of the item’s value. Don’t be scared to walk out if you don’t get what you want. You can always visit another pawn shop. While you read our beginner’s guide, did any items you might want to sell come to mind? Bring them into Cash Express if you’re in the Philadelphia area! We’re especially interested if you have any precious metals, antiques, watches, tools, or similar items. Bring them in to Cash Express and get a fair price on your items fast! Wednesday, August 14 2019
 A few entrepreneurs have enough money to comfortably invest in new ventures. Most, however, need to rely on debt in some way or another. In fact, even many wealthy entrepreneurs take out loans for new ventures if they think they can earn a return that beats their interest rate. But those wealthy people tend to have banks who are ready and willing to lend them money at a moment’s notice. For the aspiring entrepreneur who isn’t starting from a position of immense wealth or good credit, securing a business loan from a bank isn’t always possible. So where could you possibly get funding from your business without begging for money from friends and family? Believe it or not, you can get financing from pawn shops like Cash Express without jumping through various hoops like loan applications or credit checks by putting up your possessions as collateral. Unfortunately, some media have portrayed pawn shops in a negative light, which may make you hesitant to loan your valuables to your local pawn shop. The reality is that they’re regulated by several federal statutes, not to mention state and local laws. The majority of pawn shops are just as well-run as any other store. Anyways, here’s how a pawn shop loan works: First, you bring in the items you’d like to use as collateral on your loan. The pawn shop will evaluate each item and quote you your total loan amount. The loan amount won’t be the total value of the item, as you’re borrowing money rather than selling your item for profit. If you accept the loan, make sure to get a pawn ticket as they serve as both your receipt and a summary of your loan terms. Simply repay the loan balance plus any fees before the deadline. If you don’t, though, the worst that happens is the pawn shop takes possession of your item. Most people opt to repay and get the item back, but failing to repay the loan brings you no consequences other than losing the item - no credit damage, no collections agencies, no foreclosure, none of that. You might be doubting the viability of using a pawn shop loan to finance your business for whatever reason. There’s no way successful entrepreneurs finance new ventures through pawn shops, is there? Wrong! Many wealthy entrepreneurs got to high-end pawn shops put up their luxury items like a fancy watch collection to secure the large loans required for their new ventures (like real estate deals) without having to go through the formal loan process. Also, pawn shops might be more willing to give you a loan because it could be more profitable for them. Best case scenario, they get their money back and earn interest without having to sell anything. Worst case scenario, they keep your item for a fraction of its value. Philadelphia has its fair share of pawn shops, but none can get you the cash you need for your new venture as fast as Cash Express. Just bring in the items you want to use as collateral; we’ll evaluate them and quote you a fair price fast so you can walk out with your loan the same day, ready to dive into your new business. After all, time is money, and few know that better than successful entrepreneurs. |
