Hock Talk

INTERVIEW BY ELIANNA LEV

PHOTOS BY NIKI KENDALL

Pawnshops in Canada aren't all that different from those in the US, but for whatever reason finding a chatty pawnbroker was like chiseling a dead body out of concrete. No one in Toronto wanted any of it, and in Montreal they insulted us by pretending they didn't speak English. We had to send someone all the way to Vancouver to find this guy Tony.

Vice: You look pretty happy there with your smile and your spiffy cowboy shirt. I bet you're making a killing.

Tony:

Not really.

People aren't selling?

No. I mean, usually people who sell stuff here intend to pick it up. Now it seems like more people have no intention of ever coming back.

What is the craziest thing someone's tried to pawn?

A prosthetic arm.

And you didn't buy it? What's wrong with you?

Well, they're expensive and everything, but they're specific to the person. But we've had some valuable stuff come in, like really big diamonds.

Do you ever have people come in and say, "I found this ring in my grandmother's closet, will you buy it?" And then you have to play it cool because it's worth a million dollars and you want it on the cheap?

Not really, no.

Do people have a pretty good sense of how much their shit is worth?

Some people are completely clued out. It's like, "But I paid $900 for this!" and I'll say, "Well, yeah, but now you can buy it new for less than $100." Then you show them on eBay and they're all, "Never mind."

Do people ever get violent? Have you ever had to call the cops?

Nope, it's never gotten to that point.

So how does it work? Pawnshops give the cops an inventory of everything they buy?

Everything that comes in gets reported.

Is there stuff that comes in here that you later find out was stolen?

Not often. We'll go months without seeing the cops. I don't know where it all goes. Like, where do all the car stereos go?

Why are other pawnshops so sketchy? No one would talk to me.

All different reasons. I think people are just kind of sketchy.

INTERVIEW AND PHOTOS BY FREDERIC WHITE

In Auckland, pawnbrokers are rare. The few that exist aren't particularly keen on speaking to the media, which is strange because they seem to operate above the law and provide a valuable service to the money-challenged. Finally Terrence Smith, owner of Treasure of Prahran, agreed to talk. His shop has been in business for 38 years; if he's to be believed, it won't be long before pawnshops are relics of the past.

Vice: Has the economic slump affected business?

Terrence Smith:

Well, it hasn't brought me many new customers, but the customers I already had are borrowing more. The same people are getting more into debt.

Do you think people who are losing their jobs know that your service exists?

I think a lot of people are scared to come because pawnbrokers have a bad name. Why? I don't know. My interest rate is 10 percent per month, as opposed to the banks or payday lenders, which are more like 35 to 40 percent.

I'm willing to bet my gallbladder that most of your inventory is jewelry and gold.

Yeah, I'd say about 90 percent of what I take is jewelry. We lend on the gold prices here, so if they don't come back to reclaim it I can just melt it and get my money back. It's easy.

But this place looks empty. Where's all your stuff?

It's all in the safe. The stuff they borrow money on is in there. If they haven't come back after a couple of months, then we sell it. Ninety percent of them come back, though.

Do people bring in a lot of stolen goods?

I've had no stolen goods brought in for five years, at least. We used to get visits from the police six times a day to check my books. Now it's more like once a month. They know we don't get the stolen stuff anymore.

What's the stupidest thing someone's tried to sell?

I've had people spit their gold teeth out.

How's the future of the pawnbroking business looking?

It will die out. The people who overcharge will probably stay around, but not the good guys.

What do you think will happen if you guys disappear?

I really don't know where the people are going to go. They'll be robbing each other, I'm telling you.

CONTINUED:
A PAWNSHOP IN… New York | Mexico City & Brussels | Amsterdam & Vienna | Paris & Milan | Berlin & São Paulo | Helsinki & Barcelona | Melbourne & Tokyo | Vancouver & Aukland | Stockholm & London |