September 9, 2001 Cont'd That's not a good sign for the economy By GARY HINDS Standard-Examiner staff Many Utah pawn shops are busier than they've been in years. That's got to be a bad sign for the economy - and it's not all good for the pawn shops, either. "If you like being busy and not having any money it's great," said Brad Christensen, a Fruit Heights resident who is a part-owner and manager of American Pawn in Salt Lake City. "Our pick-ups and our sales are at the same level they were a year or two ago, but the pawns - starting in about March, maybe the start of the second quarter, pawns have about doubled." He said the cash flow at his shop is mostly going out on loans, and much of the increase in loans is to customers that aren't coming back to pick up their stuff. According to Davis County law enforcement officials, who track the items left in their county's pawnshops as collateral against cash loans, the number of pawns there has stayed fairly level. Weber County law enforcement officials also collect descriptions and serial numbers from pawned merchandise, but don't currently keep a running total of transactions in a given period. They're preparing to switch to new computer system which will make pawn tracking faster and more precise. But pawnbrokers in Ogden say they're definitely making more loans now than they were even a few months ago. "The pawn shop tends to feel the pulse of what's going on in the general picture," said Scott VanLeeuwen, owner of the Gift House on 25th Street in Ogden. "So if pawns are picking up, it would seem like the average guy - the workingman - is obviously having a bit tougher time making it." Despite the perceptions of many, pawn shops often don't want their loan customers to lose their property. For instance, if a pawn shop loans $50 on a gold necklace, they might likely charge $55 to pick the item up a month later, or $5 to keep the necklace in pawn for another month. If the customer leaves the necklace in pawn, paying that $5 month after month, the shop is making 120 percent annual interest on the loan - much easier than putting the item out for sale and sitting on it for who knows how long. To encourage that kind of business and customer loyalty, April Hart and her husband Tom, who own Wasatch Guns & Loan at 2606 Wall Ave. in Ogden, ? See PAWN/2E Pawn From 1E allow four months before they expect a payment on pawned merchandise. But April Hart said she's noticed even some of her regular customers have had trouble making that. "On a lot of regulars, we've had to give them a little bit of extra time to get the money," she said. "We have a pretty steady clientele of regular customers. But we have had a big increase in jewelry going out for sale. A lot of that is one-timers. They're dumping a lot of it." Hart said over the last three months or so, she's seen a 5 to 6 percent increase in the number of pawns at her shop. While some of that increase is from regular customers, bringing in their guns, tools, stereos, TVs and other items pawn shops see a lot, there's also been a lot of those onetimers, trying to pawn odd items, like golf shoes or items of clothing - stuff that pawn shops don't want to get stuck with. "There's definitely a lot more people coming in to pawn things - all kinds of different things, too - different than what we would usually see," Hart said. "They start digging deeper into what they can find to bring La." Christensen said he's seen a lot more people lose their property, than what makes him comfortable. But with that much inventory on the sales floor, sales should be better than they are. "It seemed like, before when the economy wasn't super, sales would be OK," he said, "because people would be wanting to buy used merchandise, right? They don't even have the money to do that." You can reach reporter Gary Hinds at 625-4245 or ghinds@standard.net. ALAN MURRAY/Standard-Examiner The Gift House pawn shop supplies many items, including jewelry, license plates, and hunting supplies. 119