HOCK TALKPawnshops Make the World Go Round If the worldwide financial crisis is a 195-car pileup caused by a bunch of manicured dicks in bespoke suits driving around drunk while rifling through a dossier of cooked-up financial portfolios, then pawnshops are the hospitals where the innocent survivors come to heal. Vice checked in with pawnbrokers (and a few customers) across the globe to find out the stories behind why people are being forced to peddle Auntie Esther’s whalebone punch bowl encrusted with peridot cabochons for pennies on the dollar.
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INTERVIEW AND PHOTOS BY ELLIS JONES
Most pawnshops in America are clusterfucks of weird and totally useless items stacked haphazardly in dimly lit rooms that smell of garbage, feet, and sadness. Strangely enough, New York City’s are completely spotless. Many don’t hold much inventory, and brokers relax comfortably behind huge panes of bulletproof glass listening to Lil Wayne and solving sudoku puzzles. We visited Brian Cabrera, the really sweet owner of 5 Boroughs Pawn, who walked us through the business of trading people cash for their most cherished treasures.
Vice: Hey, Brian. Please excuse me for thinking this place would be gross. It’s really clean! What do people sell you?
Brian Cabrera: We get everything here, but 80 percent of it is jewelry. Gold is hot right now.
Any major changes since the dollar tanked?
We’re seeing an array of people that you wouldn’t normally see: union workers, MTA employees, teachers, police officers. Business has always been steady. I say this all the time, but people are going to pawn when the economy is good and when we’re in a recession. People are always going to pawn because jobs are not paying.
How strict are the regulations on pawnshops in New York?
Pretty strict. The fees we charge are regulated. They tell us what we’re supposed to charge, how many months we have to hold items for, and what we have to do before we get rid of it. These are all regulations through the state and federal governments. Wall Street had no regulation and look what happened! They’ve probably destroyed the US for at least the next 15 years.
Any really sad stories to tell?
One woman came down here while marshals were waiting to turn off her electricity. They gave her a half hour, so she came here to get a couple bucks to keep her electricity on! Picture what’d it be like with no pawnshops around. I’m telling you, it’d be a lot worse.
You’re scaring me.
I’ve got one customer who brings his 19-inch monitor in twice a month. These are like $80 to $100 brand-new, and I’ll give him $20. That holds him over for a day or two before he gets his check. Imagine how people who were living paycheck to paycheck before the recession are living now. It’s a sad thing, and you still see the rich getting richer. |
CONTINUED:
A PAWNSHOP IN... New York | Mexico City & Brussels | Amsterdam & Vienna | Paris & Milan | Berlin & São Paulo | Helsinki & Barcelona | Melbourne & Tokyo | Vancouver & Aukland | Stockholm & London |
See all articles by this contributor Anonymous, on Jul 6, 2009 wrote:
if you run a pawn shop in new york you’ve seen it alllll | | Anonymous, on Jul 1, 2009 wrote:
i can’t believe the power company would wait half an hour while the lady collected money. around here they’d laugh in your face and you’d have a fridge full of bad food. | | Anonymous, on Jul 1, 2009 wrote:
I know a guy who pawns his ipod every other week to by dope, then he buys the ipod back, then pawns it again. vicious cycle. | | Anonymous, on Jun 30, 2009 wrote:
how do you know how much your gold is worth? shouldn’t there be some kind of general "gold" standard? | |
| special ed, on Jun 30, 2009 wrote:
i don’t see any clear shots of the merchandise of the pawnshop (probably due to the owner), but from what i can see (bright ambiance, clean space), it doesn’t seem like a pawn shop at all. it’s got this check cashing vibe to it. | |
| zerotransfat, on Jun 30, 2009 wrote:
20 bucks to hold him over for a day or two...i’m far too familiar with that scenario | | Anonymous, on Jun 26, 2009 wrote:
That guy should probably just give up on the TV | |
| rufiomania, on Jun 26, 2009 wrote:
barter? you sounds like you just got off dead tour. pass the veggie burritos bro and dont skimp on the guac okay? | | |
| rufiomania, on Jun 26, 2009 wrote:
tell you waht i hate. i hate the commercials selling gold and saying how good of an investment it is. if its such a fucking good investment then why are you trying to sell it me and why are you paying for commercials to try to sell it to me? we aren’t all that dumb. | | |
| rufiomania, on Jun 25, 2009 wrote:
disaster biting????? are you nuts man? hope you gots a mouthpiece. | |
| foxface, on Jun 25, 2009 wrote:
if only wall street had been regulated, these guys wouldnt be having nearly as much business. dont bite the disaster that feeds you. | | Anonymous, on Jun 25, 2009 wrote:
that’s it? that’s the saddest story of a new york city pawn shop?? i was hoping for more a tear jerker. perhaps a couple who’s lost their jobs and now need to pawn off their wedding bands to pay for their son’s chemotherapy. i dunno. | | Anonymous, on Jun 25, 2009 wrote:
Is it too much to ask for a decent store front in a pawn shop??? A lil trendy no? | | Anonymous, on Jun 25, 2009 wrote:
those look like some seriously steep stairs on the door. | | Anonymous, on Jun 25, 2009 wrote:
Brian has a face on like... lay it out, pay it out, and then get the fuck out. | | Anonymous, on Jun 25, 2009 wrote:
i dont like them, listening to little wayne, that is a crime and they should be forced to hock there stereos as punishment. | | Anonymous, on Jun 25, 2009 wrote:
that sucks when the pawn shop owner knows your name...and your junk. | | Anonymous, on Jun 25, 2009 wrote:
the last story sounds just like the son in requiem for a dream. | | Anonymous, on Jun 25, 2009 wrote:
I wouldn’t have seen the shop if it weren’t for that fat-ass arrow. | |
| mike d, on Jun 25, 2009 wrote:
man that guy who brings in his monitor must be pulling his hair out, he either needs a new job or to budget that extra $20 from somewhere. | |
| bogart the can, on Jun 25, 2009 wrote:
speaking of gold, i heard those cash for gold guys got caught ripping people off for their gold. | | Anonymous, on Jun 25, 2009 wrote:
Pawn shops are great. Bartering should make a comeback at times like this. The dollar stinks so lets put some value on material stuff people!!! Just tell beacons closet to be more open minded! | |
| skidmarx, on Jun 25, 2009 wrote:
for years now everytime i see a pawnshop c.r.e.a.m. gets in my head. not exactly a bad thing. | | Anonymous, on Jun 25, 2009 wrote:
My tenant left behind all her cheesy gold jewelery and i tried giving back to her for a year no response. Don’t know where she went. Long story short thats for the iphone. | | Anonymous, on Jun 25, 2009 wrote:
god i hate those adverts demanding your gold and then illustrate their point that there is no middle man. and the amount of times that they use the word CASH$$ is incredible. | | Anonymous, on Jun 25, 2009 wrote:
Always saying they never take in anything that was stolen but seriously, how the fuck would they know until the cops came calling? "Oh, that gun with the serial number scratched off? I don’t remember where that came from!" | | Anonymous, on Jun 25, 2009 wrote:
the regulations on pawn shops would have to be hella strict, could you imagine the amount of shady action that would be going on if they werent. personally i think it would be rad. | |
| el guapo, on Jun 25, 2009 wrote:
did you know the pawnshop emblem you see everywhere came from the medicis? i didn’t either until i just looked it up. | |
| joe bananas, on Jun 22, 2009 wrote:
has the guy got framed newspaper cuttings of him self behind him? perhaps he is a pawn shop celebrity? | | Anonymous, on Jun 22, 2009 wrote:
that is a decent watch your step sign on the door. | | | Next 30 comments > |
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