COVID-19 And Pawnshops

We’re mad at the pandemic, not because we cannot go to work, run our small businesses, catch a movie, go to the gym, dinner, pub, church, outdoor concerts and NBA games. We’re mad because lockdown forces us to admit the possibility of driving to pawnshops.

We hope it won’t come to that. We hope we won’t be forced to sell the house and downgrade to an apartment, which means selling bulky sofas in exchange for bean bags.

We hope we won’t have to take lawnmowers, BBQ stands, chest of drawers, humidifiers, waffle-makers, fur coats and costume jewelery to the pawnshop. 

If we do, we can get them back after three months. I didn’t know. Movies gave me the impression that when your life falls apart, you take your precious things to pawnshops, never to be seen again.

Two novels, Soon After and Wanna Get To Know Ya gave me a fresh insight about pawnshops. Soon after has a pastor that owns a pawnshop. Wanna has a character that keeps items well beyond the time regulated by law.

Forget what I learned from movies. It turns out that pawnshops are regulated like any business. For example, they don’t accept stolen goods because you are finger-printed when you bring in stuff.

Pawnshops record incoming goods and keep them for three months, which means you can buy back your mink coat (with interest) if your life improves and you revert to your old rich lifestyle.

But, how many people actually do that, buy back their things? COVID-19 makes it worse. Will we work again? Will the business pick-up? The reality is: once you pawn it, you part with it, permanently.

This is another ‘written podcast’ by Nonqaba waka Msimang.