restorer-john
Addicted Member
I once bought a camera from a pawn shop where I had purchased many things in the past and knew them very well. About 1 week later, I had a call on my buzzer at home and a policeman asked me whether I'd bought a camera from xyz pawnshop. I said yes. He told me it had been reported stolen and he was there to take possession of it. He gave me a receipt for the camera being seized and told me to contact the pawnshop as they would likely reimburse me..
They refunded my money in full, but technically, they are not bound by law to do so, so I was happy. Some pawnbrokering chains in Australia offer a money back guarantee if the item turns up as stolen. They have a period after they buy where serial numbers are crosschecked in a national police database of stolen items, but sometimes, that period of time is not enough and the item is reported after a customer buys it.
Not sure what you guys have in the US, but our system is excellent. The national chains like Cash Cxxxxxxxxx are really good and give warranties, money back for faults/failures and their prices are crazy low at times. The days of the dirty old pawnbroker trading in stolen stuff appear to gone in this country AFAIK.
They refunded my money in full, but technically, they are not bound by law to do so, so I was happy. Some pawnbrokering chains in Australia offer a money back guarantee if the item turns up as stolen. They have a period after they buy where serial numbers are crosschecked in a national police database of stolen items, but sometimes, that period of time is not enough and the item is reported after a customer buys it.
Not sure what you guys have in the US, but our system is excellent. The national chains like Cash Cxxxxxxxxx are really good and give warranties, money back for faults/failures and their prices are crazy low at times. The days of the dirty old pawnbroker trading in stolen stuff appear to gone in this country AFAIK.