Pawn brokers have been the lenders of last resort since ancient times. Their customers would admit to being broke as they offered possessions in return for quick cash.
But now, local pawn shops report seeing a higher class of borrower, one that might describe themselves as in a "negative cash flow situation" instead of admitting they're broke.
"People that maybe traditionally would not have thought of coming to a pawn shop," said Raphael Tincher of Ted's Pawn Shop in Norwood, Ohio.
In short, they have bills to pay and not enough money to meet those obligations.
For the last decade, people collected the symbols of wealth and success -- Rolex watches, diamond earrings and flat screen televisions.
Now, many of those items can be found on the display cases at Ted's Pawn Shop. When people have too much month left at the end of their money, they are turning more and more to their belongings as a source of cash.
Auction sites like eBay are great for getting top dollar for just about anything. But auctions take time. Pawning is instantaneous.
Yet pawning is not selling. It's borrowing, using an item of value as collateral.
You can't get much for that used DVD player -- only about ten bucks -- but you can also get the item back by simply repaying the loan, plus interest.
"That's the beauty of the pawn shop," said Tincher. "Because they can get them back. We do buy stuff, but for the majority of what we do, it's loaning. And the majority of people do come back for those items."
In Ohio, pawn brokers can charge a maximum of 5 percent interest per month plus $4 per item for storage. If the customer doesn't come back, the pawn shop sells the item to recoup the amount loaned.
Pawn brokers nationwide are seeing just how desperate some people have become in the economic downturn.
"I see more influential and wealthy people than you can imagine. Pawn shops aren't for poor people any more," said Joe Caccitori of Capital Pawn in Tampa, Florida. He was shocked to see a pro football player give up his NFL ring during super bowl week. "Things come up and I guess he needed the money more than he needed the ring."
Until recently, home owners found it easy to get generous lines of credit secured by their homes. With the dramatic fall of home values, many home owners owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth.
Amidst that credit crunch, one of the most reliable places to get a loan is the pawn shop.
Pawn brokers don't consider the customer's credit at all. The loan is based only on the value of the item being pawned.
For many, the best part is there's absolutely no consequence of not repaying the loan, except losing the item put up as collateral. Pawn shops don't report defaulters to the credit bureaus.
According to Tincher, "we do loans anywhere from five dollars up to thousands of dollars. You can't just generally walk into a bank and get a loan for $10."
Pawn shops are also great places to hunt for bargains. A fine watch or electric guitar can be purchased for half to two-thirds of their retail prices.
But it's hard not to think of someone else's broken dreams when looking at a case full of pawned engagement rings.
9News will have more on this story Tuesday at 5:30 P.M.
