"Pawn Stars," the smash hit show on History Channel that features the owners/staff and day-to-day happenings at downtown's Gold and Silver Pawn is certainly responsible not only for putting the pawnbroking business unexpectedly on the map, but also for giving what has traditionally been an industry of a somewhat murky reputation a sudden air of respectability and family-friendliness. In fact, if you haven't yet paid a visit to what is one of Las Vegas' few 24/7 pawn shops, you may be surprised to find that the parking lot is staffed by friendly parkers, directing you to the next free spot, while there's an orderly line of tourists at the door, eager to catch site of one of the show's stars.
Inside, it's a perennially busy scene, from our experience, but equally friendly. What is more, not only will you find their round-the-clock hours accommodating; from some comparisons we've carried out, you'll likely get the best price in town on gold and silver if you're selling; we're not sure what it's like if you're buying, but we assume that the professionalism and fairness likely extends to both sides of the table. We wondered if being under the scrutiny of a national television audience would make the store more or less user-friendly, and we can only conclude that it's very much the latter, with no apparent concern given if you're merely and openly calling in to gawp, without buying.
Of course, this is just one among a plethora of individually owned and chain pawn stores in town, and we confess to having only very limited experience of dealing with any of the others, but from anecdotal feedback, we'd tend to avoid the large chains, which can be less than friendly and won't necessarily offer the best rates; the staff at Gold and Silver pride themselves on knowing their onions, but if you think any store is under-selling you on an antique or collectible, you could be better off just enjoying the novel experience of visiting a Las Vegas pawnbroker -- where in the past we've picked up some great deals on used electronics -- while selling your treasure to a more specialist avenue, like one of our antique stores or an online outlet like Etsy.
If you do feel like buying or selling from a pawnbroker, here's a little information about how the industry works here. If you're looking to hock something for cash in Nevada, be aware that the term of the loan here is 120 days. Once this time period is up, you can usually pay the interest and they'll give you a "new" loan, good for another 120 days. But if you don't show up to pick up your collateral and repay the loan, or at least the interest, the pawnbroker can sell the item to recover his investment. That's where the potential for bargain-hunting comes in, if you don't mind buying used goods.
If you buy something from a pawnshop, your purchase should be covered by some kind of limited guarantee, like return it within a week if it's faulty -- check with the vendor at the time of purchase and make sure you get and keep your receipt.
According to the National Pawnbrokers Association, only about 1/10th of 1% of all the items that come into pawn shops are stolen, because they report their transactions to local law enforcement. Metro here has a detail dedicated to the pawn industry, in fact. As anecdotal proof of this, we can cite some reassuring correspondence we received awhile ago from a reader whose room was burgled while staying at a major Strip casino resort. "Someone entered my room and stole a bag filled with CDs and DVDs and -- considerably worse -- my briefcase, which contained irreplaceable papers and my computer. I got visits from the Las Vegas police and hotel security. Several months later, the LVPD informed me that they had recovered my briefcase and (damaged) computer from a pawnshop, which they had positively identified based on a serial number I had given them."
In addition to a robust pawnbroking industry, Las Vegas is now also home to a very active and growing vintage/second-hand/consignment scene. We wouldn't particularly rate this city for antiques as such, although you can certainly pick up some cool old casino memorabilia at some of the stores, but for mid-century furniture and fixtures, which is very "in" right now, you'll find some cool retro stores, and the same goes for second-hand clothing. New places seem to be popping up all the time, but there's a cluster of cool stores downtown, which include Electric Lemonade (all things vintage, for men and women, plus funky jewelry and accessories from up-and-coming designer at 220 E. Charleston Blvd. S.), Retro Vegas (authentic retro home furnishings, 1131 S. Main St.), Calo Style (vintage clothes for the pinup girl at 6665 S. Eastern Ave., Booth #2), and The Gypsy Den (small but timeless vintage clothing selection at 213 E. Colorado Ave., 684-1628).
If you're selling vintage clothing, the best bets are Buffalo Exchange (4110 S. Maryland Pkwy.) and, to our mind, the much friendlier, if far tinier Mustang Exchange (800 S. Maryland Pkwy.)
So, get bargain hunting and have fun!
