Business is Booming At South Florida Pawn Shops

This season has been the best one yet for some -- and customers are not just looking for bargains on jewelry

Post-holiday shoppers are still making those registers ring but not just in the malls. They're doing it at pawn shops all over South Florida.

This season has been the best one yet for some -- and customers are not just looking for bargains on jewelry.

At Crown Pawn in Hollywood, guitars and brand new iPads are among the high end items available for purchase.

"Customers come in for electronics, Play Station 3," said manger Jerry Olano.

He says pawn shops are not just places to make quick holiday cash, they've become a bargain hunter's paradise. He says sales this holiday season are up 20 percent.

"A lot of new faces, a lot of professional customers coming in, nurses, doctors. A lot of professionals now looking to pinch that penny," said Olano.

Bernie Rodriguez and his grandson shopped for post holiday deals.

"They got pretty good stuff, no different than a regular department store."

You can bring items back to Crown Pawn for 50 percent of what you bought them for as a loan. It's what brings customer Neil Echemendia back at least twice a week.

"The prices in the mall are extremely high. I can get the same quality merchandise here for a quarter of the price," said Echemendia.

He paid $400 a Raymond Weil watch worth $1,800.

Olano says customer service has improved the image of pawn shops.

"It was dreary coming into a pawn shop. You were not greeted upon arrival to a store," he said. "you can see the difference now going to pawn shops."

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