Pawnbrokers will lend you money on items of value. Most of these items are ones that will maintain their value over a period of time and are easy to store. Customers are asked to provide collateral, which eliminates the need for the pawnbroker to distinguish between high and low risk borrowers. Most pawnbrokers will give out loans in small amounts between seventy and a hundred dollars. However some will go as low as twenty and others as high as several thousand dollars. The average loan period is thirty days, but it can vary from state to state. The interest rates vary with the amount of the loan. The lending process at a pawn shop is very similar to other lending institutions, with the only differences being the size of the loan, the collateral and the holding of the item until the interest and loan is paid in full or the loan expires.
Pawnshops offer people a quick, convenient and confidential way to borrow money for emergency needs. At the same time pawnshop loans can be used for short term cash needs. These loans often don’t require a credit check like the larger loan companies or the legal consequences of an unpaid loan from a bank.
If you are unable to pay your loan you merely lose the item you used as collateral when purchasing the loan. Some states require that the pawnbroker notify you, other times the date will be listed on the back of your pawn ticket.
Many pawnshops will also allow you to extend you loan past the original loan period. As long as you are within the original period when you extend your loan you can request an extension. You just need to pay your interest up to date at the time of your extension.
If you lose the pawn ticket that certifies the item and loan are your own then you can often submit a lost ticket request for a small fee. You simply need to bring the same photo identification you had with you at the time you pawned your item.