Pawn shop

A pawn shop is a store that buys and sells items from the public. It also offers the signature "pawn" service, where items are left at the store and the owner gets a loan. If the owner does not pay back the loan within the specified period of time, the item becomes the property of the pawn shop.

Historically, pawn shops have been an important source of emergency cash for those individuals without access to more conventional lines of credit.