Every parking spot was full, so I circled the block.
It wasn’t a mall, post office, grocery store, or any other place I frequent this time of year. I’d never been to this place, or any other like it.
Like the businesses I do visit at Christmastime, this place was busy. There was a line at the counter Monday, and nowhere to park.
On my second drive by, a spot opened up near the entrance of Freeway Pawn Inc. — or as the sign outside the Marysville shop says, “Home of the Loan Shark.”
Owner Dave Ryan plays up the shark theme. A big blue shark sign is visible from I-5. Inside Ryan’s shop, a plush-toy shark hangs over the counter, and there’s a blond doll in the stuffed shark’s mouth.
It’s a funny touch, but I was still nervous walking into the place. Until earlier Monday, when I called a few other shops, I had no idea how the pawn business operates.
Ken Adams, owner of Pawn Fathers on Highway 99 in Lynnwood, confirmed what I already knew about the holidays: Folks from all walks of life are short on cash. “Here in December, our loans are really picking up,” Adams said. He patiently explained what I didn’t know.
How does a pawn shop work, anyway?
It’s like this: Say I have a diamond ring worth $1,000. “If I could sell it for a thousand, I’d give you around $300,” Adams said. I’d then have 90 days to pay it back, the $300 plus $47 in interest. If I only needed 30 days, I’d pay $332. If, after three months, I needed another 90 days, it’s $47 on top of $347. I could also sell that ring outright.
“About 80 percent of our business is interest; they do come back and pay,” Adams said.
First-timers might be embarrassed, Adams said, but for regulars a pawn shop can be the only way to make ends meet, particularly during the Christmas crunch.
Like a bartender, Adams has heard all the stories. “It’s everything from rent money to hospital bills. Unexpected things come up, and they need money fast,” he said. “It’s money for Christmas, or they spent all the money on presents and need to pay their bills.”
At Freeway Pawn in Marysville, 23-year-old John King walked in Monday with a twofold purpose. “I just got the divorce papers,” King said, turning his own wedding band over to Ryan for appraisal.
The shop owner eyed the ring’s row of tiny diamonds through his jeweler’s loupe, then used a device to check the stones’ authenticity and gold karat grade. It wasn’t worth much. Ryan offered $25, then boosted it slightly when King turned out to be shopping as well as selling. The Snohomish man put a necklace on layaway, a gift for a girlfriend.
“People shop pawn shops for a lot of things,” Ryan said. At his shop, tools are in good supply. There’s a shelf filled with used chain saws. There are Rossignol skis, Billabong snowboards, Peavey amplifiers and Samsung TVs.
Brad Rose, 19, was browsing Monday for car stereo equipment. Once, he said, he bought a $600 snowboard package for $100 at the Marysville shop. A man came in Monday looking for a Garmin Global Positioning System. When another shopper suggested a Best Buy store, the man only laughed.
At Pawn Fathers in Lynnwood, which takes in cars and guns, a man once brought in a 2006 Porsche. He needed $2,500. After four days, the man came for his car and brought back the money with interest, said Adams, adding that the most he ever loaned was $10,000 — with a dump truck as collateral.
Loan amounts and interest are set by state law, the shop owners said. Because of high-tech tracking, stolen property is detected more efficiently than in the past, said Sgt. Robert Goetz, an Everett Police Department spokesman.
“In Everett, all the pawn shops are online now,” Goetz said. Pawned items are required to be reported to police, online, within 24 hours of the transaction, he said. A hold is put on items suspected of being stolen, and victims may be able to identify their property. People selling to pawn shops must show state identification and be at least 18.
“I like to think we’re helping people,” said Annette Billesbach, a manager at A-1 Loans and Pawn on Everett’s Hewitt Avenue. She believes a pawn shop is a better option than payday loans for some people.
“I don’t want people to lose their stuff,” she said. “I’m here so they can get by, check to check. Definitely during the holiday season, more people come in so they can have a Christmas.”
It’s not just Christmas, though. “We do OK any time of year,” Adams said.
Columnist Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460 or muhlstein@heraldnet.com.
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