People Turning to Pawn Shops for Gas Money

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Pump patrons turn to pawn shops for pre-payday loans

April 23, 2008

Reported by Kristina Rohall

HAMPTON -- The pain at the pump is forcing some people to pawn anything of value to fill their tank until they get paid.

Pawn shop owners are seeing a whole new clientele come through the door as gas prices inch up. According to AAA, the national average for a gallon of regular rose to $3.53 Wednesday, another record.

Eve Epstein and her husband run Epstein Pawn in Phoebus. They say now more than ever people are coming through their doors desperate for a loan just to get by.

“They are having a hard time buying food, buying gas just to get to work,” said Epstein. “We’ve been here 25 years, almost, and this is the worst we’ve seen.”

Due to the high price of gold, pawn shops across the country are also seeing people sell old jewelry for extra cash. This, coupled with the difficult economy, is bringing a whole new group of clients to pawn shops.

“We’ve got people from Williamsburg and different places that have never been in a pawn shop, and they are a little bit nervous coming in until they talk to my husband,” said Epstein.

Mercury Pawn is also seeing more people come in because of gas prices.

“They’ll be two days from payday and need to get to work and just don’t have the money to fill the tank at three dollars plus a gallon,” said Chris Hansin of Mercury Pawn.

The pawn shop fills a void, offering a small, short-term loan that you cannot get at a bank. With the struggling economy, store owners do not see the need decreasing anytime soon.

“Bottom line, this is a weekly problem,” said Hansin. “Every week you’ve got to get to work and gas is not getting any cheaper. I don’t see much change.”

Other businesses also seeing increases because of the economy are payday lenders. They also offer small, short-term loans, but at much higher interest rates.


[link to www.wvec.com]


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