‘Post-Your-Gold’ Market in Decline
Pawnbroking vs. Posting Your Gold
With the price of gold at an all time high, ‘post-your-gold’ buyers were popping up left, right and centre, banking in on cash-strapped Brits hit by the recession and looking for alternative ways of releasing capital. However, public trust in these companies was quickly destroyed by the Which?* report that highlighted ‘post-your-gold’ buyers were paying shockingly low rates for gold and as a result there’s now strong evidence that more and more are leaving the market.
In addition there’s been a lot of speculation recently on whether the gold bubble is on the verge of bursting with the price of gold having experienced its second largest decline this year; this too has had a massive knock-on effect throughout the ‘post-your-gold’ market. Online pawnbroker Borro.com has a unique team of experienced valuation experts who have all worked for leading auctioneers and salesrooms, including Sotheby’s, Bonhams and Christies and can therefore provide people with the best and most truthful valuation of gold and other valuable assets. Samantha Lilley, Borro.com’s Head of Valuations and formerly of Bonhams, predicts, “Luxury branded watches and diamond jewellery are the next best assets for releasing capital and Modern British art is particularly collectable at present.”
Des Milligan, Chief Executive of the National Pawnbrokers Association comments, “Our advice if you have unwanted gold you want to sell is to go to a pawnbroker who is a member of the NPA to get a price and don’t be afraid to shop around.”
Borro.com, the UK’s first online pawnbroking service offers a discreet, safe and hassle-free way to borrow money against personal valuables. Short-term loans are available from £100 - £1 million, secured against jewellery, watches, diamonds, and any other assets of value. Borro.com customers range from people needing to make a mortgage payment so not to de-fault, families wanting to take their annual summer holiday and divorcees needing to pay lawyer fees, to property developers needing money quick to develop a site in which their money is tied up.
People Try To Pawn The Weirdest Things…
After receiving some odd requests we got to thinking about the weirdest things people have attempted to pawn. Pawnbrokers in America seemed to get the strangest requests.
Here is a list from an American newspaper, which amused us greatly…
- Louis Vuitton socks - We’ll guess they were counterfeit.
- An artificial limb - One size fits all?
- A gold tooth grill and gold fillings – Yum!
- A used toilet from a home remodelling project - Fairly normal when compared to the rest of the list.
- Chuck E. Cheese tokens - Maybe the customer thought they would become more valuable with time.
- A Cadaver- Surely there would be storage issues?
- A stripper pole, with box and instructions - Because they are so hard to use!
According to other sites other items people try and exchange are husbands, wives and spoilt children. If only it were that easy…
UK Pawnbroking and the new image
UK pawnbroking has changed dramatically over the years
As the banking system evolving out of the renaissance period, pawnbroking provided the original form of secured lending. UK pawnbroking shops traditionally provided loans in exchange for pledges of personal assets including clothing. Many early shipping merchants pledged their valuables to UK pawnbroking agents in the City of London in exchange for the finance necessary for their commercial adventures.
Later, in Dickensian times, the image of UK pawnbroking became tarnished by stories of exploitation of the poor and vulnerable. While many of these stories about UK pawnbroking may have been true, today’s pawnbroking industry is far removed, not only in time, but also in attitude, from its Dickensian past. Pawnbroking is firmly regulated nowadays, and pawnbroking provides a much needed social service – particularly in these times of the credit crunch, and the unprecedented scarcity of UK loan finance.
UK Pawnbroking agents vs. traditional UK lenders
Today, UK pawnbroking agents are providing increasing levels of loan finance, while banks and building societies are withdrawing theirs. UK pawnbroking agents are maintaining and even reducing interest rates, while banks and building societies are hiking theirs to predatory rates, in order to feast on the prey which they ensnared during the debt-free-for-all which they short-sightedly and irresponsibly promoted, and which ultimately caused the financial disaster we have come to call the credit crunch. Ironically, pawnbroking is fast becoming the UK’s responsible face of lending, while the banks and building societies are the ones with the image problem. So, if you are in need of a fast, inexpensive and discreet UK loan, pawnbroking may have just what you are looking for.
Pawnbrokers
Pawning is just another way of borrowing money. You leave something valuable (the pawn) as security with a pawnbroker and you receive a loan from the pawnbroker. When you pay off the loan and charges you get the item back from the pawnbroker.
Pawnbrokers are a means of raising cash, which may be difficult to get elsewhere. Your credit rating is not assessed nor your references checked by the pawnbroker. However, you may pay more interest to a pawnbroker than to a bank or building society, but if these options are not available to you, a loan from a pawnbroker can cost a lot less than a short term loan from a payday loan company or an on-line loan from a short term unsecured loan provider. You can get your item back from the pawnbroker at any time by paying what you owe under the agreement. You normally have six months in which to do this, although the pawnbroker may agree to a longer period when you make the agreement.
If you cannot pay back the loan the pawnbroker is entitled to keep your item(s) or alternatively, the pawnbroker may agree to renew your loan and you will be given a new agreement. If you do not renew the loan the pawnbroker can sell the item(s) to recover the money you owe. If the amount borrowed from the pawnbroker is more than £75, the pawn remains your property until it is sold, but the loan remains outstanding and interest will continue to be charged by the pawnbroker until the loan is settled. If the item(s) is sold by the pawnbroker for more than you owe you are entitled to the balance. If it is sold by the pawnbroker for less than you owe you are liable for the shortfall.
The best credit loans for UK residents
Borro.com is the worlds leading on-line pawnbroker providing secured credit loans to UK residents
Pawn loans range from £100 to £100,000 for 1 - 6 months. Repay the pawn loan at anytime without extra or hidden charges, and only pay interest on the period of the credit loan.
Bad credit ratings are no obstacle to getting a credit loan because the innovative online pawnbroking service we provide does not require intrusive credit checks.
How do I secure a credit loan with Borro?
Secure a credit loan today by pledging valuables, such as gold, jewellery, watches or antique items. There are several items which can be used as collateral. Follow this link for a complete list of valuables we loan against.
Why are Borro’s credit loans cheaper than other types of UK lenders?
The security of pledged valuables lowers our risk which means we can offer lower interest rates and allows us to provide UK customers the safest, fastest and best credit loan available online or with any local pawn shop in the UK.
Because the credit loans are secured by valuables, we are able offer higher amounts for longer periods of time than typical payday loan companies, local pawnshops and competing no credit check loan providers.
Why should I use Borro if I have good credit?
We want to help you protect your good credit rating so even if you fail to pay off the pawn loan Borro will not report loan defaults to credit checking agencies. This is one of the reasons why more than 85% of our pawn loan customers pay off their credit loans, reclaim their goods, and return to us again in order to solve their short term cash flow problems. Our credit loans are also an ideal way to avoid unauthorized overdrafts.
Apply now for a credit loan at Borro.com, the world’s leading online pawnbroker
Pawnbroking goes hi-tech online
Borro.com is the world’s first online pawnbroker.
Some still have an outdated 19th century image of pawnbrokers, but more and more asset rich individuals are finding that the ideal way to solve a temporary cash flow problem while protecting a good credit rating and avoiding damaging and costly unauthorized overdrafts, is to arrange an online pawn loan from Borro.com.
At Borro, we offer a truly national end-to-end online lending service throughout the UK from the privacy of your home. Our secured loans start at £100, upto £100,000 for 1-6 months. Our pawn loans pose no credit risk or bad debt risk because we never check our customers’ credit ratings and we never report to UK credit rating agencies. In fact, bad credit ratings are no obstacle to securing a pawn loan from Borro.
How does a pawnbroking work?
You valuables are worth money so by lodging your valuables with a pawn broker, the pawnbroker is effectively offering equity release, but instead of the equity being released from your house through a second mortgage, it is advanced against the valuables you pledge with the pawnbroker during the loan. This ensures that you will never get into uncontrolled debt when using an innovative pawnbroking services such as ours.
Because our risks are lowered by this form of secured lending, we can offer customers lower interest rates, and lower cost loans.
Pay off your pawn loan whenever you choose
Pay interest only on the actual loan period you use. As a result, we offer pawnbroker solutions which are faster, cheaper and more flexible than comparable services from local pawn shops, national pawnbrokers, payday lenders or other short term online loan providers.
Manage your entire relationship with us online
From application; valuation; shipping; cash advance; account management; loan payback; redemption and return of goods. Borro’s national UK online pawnbroking service is fast, secure, discreet and very convenient.
Apply for a pawnbroker loan, now
