Hock Talk

INTERVIEW AND PHOTOS BY LUCA DEASTI

Hocking personal belongings is a popular and totally acceptable pastime in socialist Sweden. Pawnshops are found in prime locations throughout Stockholm, but most have teensy, dreadful offices. So we decided to visit one of the larger chains, Pantbanken Sverige, and catch up with Peter Sundström, the company’s CEO, who graciously agreed to appease our curiosity while munching on an apple.

Vice: How is this putrid little dumpster of an economy affecting what your clients are selling?

Peter Sundström:

We still mostly get gold, which has always been the main business for pawnshops. It comes in all shapes and forms: wedding rings, confirmation crosses, bracelets, necklaces. Thanks to immigration we also have quite a lot of exotic gold, like ancient stuff from Asia and the Middle East.

The price of gold is rising, isn’t it?

Oh yes. The price of gold is now around $1,000 per ounce, compared with $300 in 2002. With the low-yielding dollar, gold increases in value. But it’s only a good investment if you buy it when it’s low and resell it when it’s high.

Math!

It’s not a good time to buy gold, but pawnshops obviously can’t decide when to buy.

What’s the oddest piece of gold you’ve come across?

One day a guy came in with a 15-pound gold belt! We have a lot of gypsy customers, and they wear gold belts for festivities and weddings. In between special occasions, they bring them here, pay off the loan when they need the belt, and sell it back the next day.

And the weirdest item you’ve seen?

Once, a man wanted to sell me his racing horses. I had to explain that we only deal with items that we can store inside the shop. Mind you, they were really beautiful animals. But obviously we can’t keep them here.

No pets.

Not if they’re alive. Look at these beautiful elephant tusks! They’re from last century. We got them a decade ago, but unfortunately we can’t sell them—they’re illegal.

So is your main business selling stuff that people can’t afford to keep?

No, we’re more like a bank. In 90 percent of the cases people pay back the loan within six months. I’ve had customers come back with the same wedding ring three times this year.

INTERVIEW AND PHOTOS BY JUSTIN MULCHAHY

The pawnshop has long been a handy means of seeing your average Brit through a lean week or a hefty heroin habit. The traditional resting place for acres of faux-gold Rolexes has supposedly seen a recent upturn in business, at least according to the tabloids. Turns out that business is indeed good—but it’s never really been all that bad either. We went to H&T Paddington to speak with assistant manager Daisy Esguerra about what it’s like to make a living lowballing the personal effects of the unfortunate.

Vice: Hi. Please explain how your shop works.

Daisy Esguerra:

We give loans against jewelry up to the cost. For example, people pawn things like pearls for $135 and we give 8 percent interest. We give the customer a six-month contract, and for every month there’s an 8 percent fixed interest rate.

Has the poor economy affected business?

There are actually more customers coming in, and there seems to be a greater range of nationalities. We get a lot of nurses, hospital workers, and people who work in shops who are after cash until payday.

How often do customers come in all bleary-eyed and upset that they have to part with something dear to them?

Most new customers are nervous about leaving their property, but you need to use your judgment, and occasionally you will make a note on a ticket to hold something for a customer. We encounter different sorts of behaviors depending on the customer. Sometimes people will come in very upset, and other times they will be really angry. The best thing to do is to be a good listener. People will come in and tell me their whole life story if I let them. But if someone comes in wanting an argument, it’s better to not rise to it.

You’ve never been in a single argument?

I try not to. I had a customer come in here with a social worker once. Her name was Daisy and I think she had mental issues. She had put lipstick all over her face, and it turned out that she’s had a hard life and that she’s a widow. She wanted to pawn a ring that I never thought would come off. We had to get at it with soap and water, and there was skin all over the inside of the ring when it finally came loose. Now she’s a regular and, even though she sometimes comes in and is a little bit battered, she’s got a good mentality and knows how to express herself. You can’t be choosy about your customers.

CONTINUED:
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