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StarTribune STARTRIBUNEXOM 0 TUESDAY, APRIL 1, 2008 Pawnshops: Where a bust can be a boom Max-It Pawn manager Cory Dunn and assistant manager Faith Switzer, right, talked as customer Nlaincy Mlikrut tried on a, ring at the Coon Rapids pawnshop recently. The current credit crisis, which has included a, spike in home foreclosures, has created for many a, need for quick cash. By PAM ILO U WAG IIE, * plouwagie@st,art,ribune.com The average pawnshop sees, a lot, come through its doors,- engagement, rings, TVs,, gu it,a rs,. But consider this,- In recent, years,, the Burnsville -based Pawn America chain has, given qluick loans, on an original Picasso, a 26-foot, cabin cruiser, a $75,000 flawless diamond and dozens, of other luxury items,. And as the economy worsens,, the chain's owner expects, he'll see more high-end merchandise pledged as collateral. Now Pawn America is offering a more discreet, way for the elite to hock their goods,. Called "Premier Loan," customers, are welcomed into a modern conference room in a Burnsville office park, where store officials will research an it,em's, value, the part,ies, will agree on a loan amount, and the store will cut, a check. "We provide loans, to people from all walks, of life," Pawn America founder Brad Rixmann said. "We have in the last, year seen more higher-dollar items, come into our stores.11 The pawn business is booming these days,, i nd ust,ry a na lysts, say a nd profits show. Area brokers, say they've seen more activity from people hocking goods, for qluick loans,, selling jewelry to cash in on the high price of gold and shopping for bargains,. At Texas -based Cash America, which calls itself the "largest, operator of pawnshops, in the world," third-quarter 2007 results, for its pawn and related businesses, show a 59 percent, gain in net profits, from the same period a year earlier. "You can look at all the publicly traded companies, and their bus,ines,s,es, obviously have benefited from this, current, economic cycle, " said Liz Pierce, a senior research analyst, at Roth? Capital Partners,. Some local brokers, also attribute increased bus,ines,s, to a cleaner image. Pawn America, for instance, has gus,s,ied up some of its retail stores,, giving them the feel of a Best, Buy store on the retail side and a bank on the loan side. They also market, heavily. The company jingle, "Pawn America is right, for you," is a staple on TV and radio. In the new Burnsville store, warm -toned wood graces, the walls, and soft , light,ing illuminates, jewelry counters,. Flat screen t,elevis,ions, advertise the chain's, services and tout, its community involvement,. Dan Colins, of Lakeville waited in line recently after he was laid off from his, air- condit,ioning and heating job. Using a surround -sound speaker system as his collateral, he was scrounging up cash and cred it to buy a furnace a nd i ns,ta I I it for a job he was doing privately. "You've got, to scramble nowadays," he said. He got, a $100 loan for the speakers,, he said, and will have to pay $12.50 in interest, and fees, after just, a couple of days, -- an amount, he reasoned was about, eqluivalent, to a family trip to St,arbucks,. If you do it smart, it,'s, not, a bad deal." If he doesn't, pay or doesn't, extend his, loan, he knows, the surround sound set, could end up for sale. In the same store, a suburban mom who didn't, want, her named used paid off her loan and got, her laptop back. She has, pawned it several t,imes, in the past, few months,, she said, because the high prices, of gas, and food were breaking into her t,ight, budget,. It's, helped me out in a pinch," she said. And she figures, it,'s, better than the potential of ruining her credit, by putting things, on plastic. "This, way, if II don't, have the money, then II guess II just, lose whatever it was I brought,." Pawn America sales, associate Damion Frelix said when he works, behind the counter to make loans, or buy people's, goods,, they s,omet,imes, volunteer their story of why they're there. There are always, surprises,, such as unexpected medical bills, and emergency car repairs,, he said. But gas, prices, have increasingly entered into the conversation, he said. "And lately, it,'s, I got, laid off,"' he said. Rot all customers, though, are out-of-luck workers. Pawn America's, Rixmann said high-end loans, s,omet,imes, go to bus,ines,s, owners trying to make payroll or waiting on a bill to be paid. It, will hold them over until they get, a payment, from somebody else. They can't, go to their bank and bring in their jewelry collection to qluickly secure a $10,000 loan, he said.