HOCK TALK
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INTERVIEW BY ELIANNA LEV
PHOTOS BY NIKI KENDALL
Pawnshops in Canada aren’t all that different from those in the US, but for whatever reason finding a chatty pawnbroker was like chiseling a dead body out of concrete. No one in Toronto wanted any of it, and in Montreal they insulted us by pretending they didn’t speak English. We had to send someone all the way to Vancouver to find this guy Tony.
Vice: You look pretty happy there with your smile and your spiffy cowboy shirt. I bet you’re making a killing.
Tony: Not really.
People aren’t selling?
No. I mean, usually people who sell stuff here intend to pick it up. Now it seems like more people have no intention of ever coming back.
What is the craziest thing someone’s tried to pawn?
A prosthetic arm.
And you didn’t buy it? What’s wrong with you?
Well, they’re expensive and everything, but they’re specific to the person. But we’ve had some valuable stuff come in, like really big diamonds.
Do you ever have people come in and say, “I found this ring in my grandmother’s closet, will you buy it?” And then you have to play it cool because it’s worth a million dollars and you want it on the cheap?
Not really, no.
Do people have a pretty good sense of how much their shit is worth?
Some people are completely clued out. It’s like, “But I paid $900 for this!” and I’ll say, “Well, yeah, but now you can buy it new for less than $100.” Then you show them on eBay and they’re all, “Never mind.”
Do people ever get violent? Have you ever had to call the cops?
Nope, it’s never gotten to that point.
So how does it work? Pawnshops give the cops an inventory of everything they buy?
Everything that comes in gets reported.
Is there stuff that comes in here that you later find out was stolen?
Not often. We’ll go months without seeing the cops. I don’t know where it all goes. Like, where do all the car stereos go?
Why are other pawnshops so sketchy? No one would talk to me.
All different reasons. I think people are just kind of sketchy. |
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INTERVIEW AND PHOTOS BY FREDERIC WHITE
In Auckland, pawnbrokers are as rare as a Maori with a pleasant face tattoo. The few that exist aren’t particularly keen on speaking to the media, which is strange because they seem to operate above the law and provide a valuable service to the money-challenged. Finally Terrence Smith, owner of Treasure of Prahran, agreed to talk. His shop has been in business for 38 years; if he’s to be believed, it won’t be long before pawnshops are relics of the past.
Vice: Has the economic slump affected business?
Terrence Smith: Well, it hasn’t brought me many new customers, but the customers I already had are borrowing more. The same people are getting more into debt.
Do you think people who are losing their jobs know that your service exists?
I think a lot of people are scared to come because pawnbrokers have a bad name. Why? I don’t know. My interest rate is 10 percent per month, as opposed to the banks or payday lenders, which are more like 35 to 40 percent.
I’m willing to bet my gallbladder that most of your inventory is jewelry and gold.
Yeah, I’d say about 90 percent of what I take is jewelry. We lend on the gold prices here, so if they don’t come back to reclaim it I can just melt it and get my money back. It’s easy.
But this place looks empty. Where’s all your stuff?
It’s all in the safe. The stuff they borrow money on is in there. If they haven’t come back after a couple of months, then we sell it. Ninety percent of them come back, though.
Do people bring in a lot of stolen goods?
I’ve had no stolen goods brought in for five years, at least. We used to get visits from the police six times a day to check my books. Now it’s more like once a month. They know we don’t get the stolen stuff anymore.
What’s the stupidest thing someone’s tried to sell?
I’ve had people spit their gold teeth out.
How’s the future of the pawnbroking business looking?
It will die out. The people who overcharge will probably stay around, but not the good guys.
What do you think will happen if you guys disappear?
I really don’t know where the people are going to go. They’ll be robbing each other, I’m telling you. |
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 Sep 25, 2009 wrote:
This is Tony the pawnbroker from Vancouver...Thanks for the ’time capsule’ remark...just ’cause I like cowboy shirts; now I’m gonna have a complex...thanks a lot...just kidding, that comment was funny and you made my day... | | Anonymous, on Jul 6, 2009 wrote:
police coming in 6 times a day to make sure no one was pawning stolen shit?? yikes...dont they have better things to do?
| | Anonymous, on Jul 6, 2009 wrote:
the Vancouver guy is great! he’s right out of a time capsule or something | |
| donaghy, on Jul 2, 2009 wrote:
pawnshop owners are surprisingly normal people. i thought they’d all have grenade launchers and face tattoos. oh well. | | Anonymous, on Jul 2, 2009 wrote:
What is unpleasant about maori face tattoos? Nothing. | | Anonymous, on Jun 30, 2009 wrote:
you sound like a failed blogger yourself. shut the fuck up. | | Anonymous, on Jun 29, 2009 wrote:
"...as rare as a Maori with a pleasant face tattoo"
how funny and offensive!
you’re just showing how cool you are with maoris right??!!
how relaxed you are around them and how you can make ironically racist jokes because they know you’re really on their side??!!
fucking awesome dude!
next you should go play a game of skate in your hoodie and work on your outrageous blog.
maybe start a zine. and get some sponsors.
fucking cool man.
| | Anonymous, on Jun 25, 2009 wrote:
and continuing that thought: what if you had something you knew was going to decrease in value. could you, theoretically, make money by getting a loan from the pawnshop, taking the money with no plan to return knowing the value would go down? | | Anonymous, on Jun 25, 2009 wrote:
i never understood how the shops worked. if the person doesn’t come back with the money within 6 months, the shop can sell their items? | | |
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