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I can't be 100% sure this guy isn't using the money for drugs, but his behavior is pretty suspicious.
Having been a social worker before becoming a Pawn Broker, I've seen a lot and I've learned that people will do some crazy things. The majority of the money made by the store I work at comes from buying gold from the general public and selling it to a refinery for profit. I buy from all walks of life and anything from wedding sets to gold teeth. Some people just want to sell their broken jewelry and some are selling to pay bills. No matter the story, I give a very fair price and I'll negotiate (that is a lot of fun). At the end of the day, I really like my job.
The first time I meet this man, he comes in with his wife. They are trying to sell a pair of diamond cluster earrings. The marking being what it is, diamonds are not re-selling very well. He strikes me as a bit strange and is slurring his speech just a little bit, but I still make the buy.
Two days go by and they come in again with a child. He hands me a bag of jewelery which is all women's jewelery. He tells me he needs to "get Christmas for my kid". This time, he's obviously impaired. At this point, I can't say he's on drugs, for all I know it could be prescription for an illness. I give him a good deal and, if he does use the money for the child's Christmas, it would be a good haul.
He comes in later that day and his attitude is completely different. He's pacing the floor and clearly agitated. He brings me a single earring. The stone is obviously plastic and something you might find at a dollar store. He tries to tell me that he paid $1,000 at the mall for the pair. I tell him I'm not interested and he gives me a sob story about his power being turned off and he has a young kid. He says "You've gatta help me out! Anything, $20, $50. I know you can re-sell it". I tell him I'm not interested and he leaves the store angry and hops into a car waiting outside.
The next day both he and his wife come in to sell more jewelery. They're both acting strange, but no child this time. At this point, they've sold a good bit of items to me in a short span. This lot was odd because there were grandmother pendants and they weren't old enough to be grandparents. I'm growing suspicious and I want nothing more to do with this. Buying stolen goods is a good way to loose money and anything I can do to avoid this puts more money in my pocket at the end of the year. Normally, I don't question it because it might be inherited, but this makes the 3rd day in a row. I casually ask where they got the grandmother pendant and she says "I'm selling it for my friend's grandmother". That is enough for me to back away. I tell them that that friend would have to come in because I'm not legally allowed to make this purchase. He interrupts "Oh come on, they gonna give me half so I can buy food for my little girl. We haven't eaten in 2 days". She offers to get this friend on the phone, but I just want to decline the sale. I tell him about some assistance programs I know of; however, he stated that he's the "wrong color". Having the background I have I know that a) skin color means nothing and b) most of the emergency food assistance are run by the churches and they use the honor system.
Maybe they are having a hard time, but they're going about it the wrong way. This store is for-profit and I can't go out giving people more money because they bring their kids into it. People lie all the time and I'd be out of a job if I fell for every single story. In this case, I'm protecting my job by refusing it. If there is a reasonable doubt that you're dealing in stolen merchandise, that's when you back away from the deal. We're required to hold everything for 7 days and input every item into a database that law enforcement can monitor. If it gets reported stolen, they can come and seize the items and the store loses that money.
Having been a social worker before becoming a Pawn Broker, I've seen a lot and I've learned that people will do some crazy things. The majority of the money made by the store I work at comes from buying gold from the general public and selling it to a refinery for profit. I buy from all walks of life and anything from wedding sets to gold teeth. Some people just want to sell their broken jewelry and some are selling to pay bills. No matter the story, I give a very fair price and I'll negotiate (that is a lot of fun). At the end of the day, I really like my job.
The first time I meet this man, he comes in with his wife. They are trying to sell a pair of diamond cluster earrings. The marking being what it is, diamonds are not re-selling very well. He strikes me as a bit strange and is slurring his speech just a little bit, but I still make the buy.
Two days go by and they come in again with a child. He hands me a bag of jewelery which is all women's jewelery. He tells me he needs to "get Christmas for my kid". This time, he's obviously impaired. At this point, I can't say he's on drugs, for all I know it could be prescription for an illness. I give him a good deal and, if he does use the money for the child's Christmas, it would be a good haul.
He comes in later that day and his attitude is completely different. He's pacing the floor and clearly agitated. He brings me a single earring. The stone is obviously plastic and something you might find at a dollar store. He tries to tell me that he paid $1,000 at the mall for the pair. I tell him I'm not interested and he gives me a sob story about his power being turned off and he has a young kid. He says "You've gatta help me out! Anything, $20, $50. I know you can re-sell it". I tell him I'm not interested and he leaves the store angry and hops into a car waiting outside.
The next day both he and his wife come in to sell more jewelery. They're both acting strange, but no child this time. At this point, they've sold a good bit of items to me in a short span. This lot was odd because there were grandmother pendants and they weren't old enough to be grandparents. I'm growing suspicious and I want nothing more to do with this. Buying stolen goods is a good way to loose money and anything I can do to avoid this puts more money in my pocket at the end of the year. Normally, I don't question it because it might be inherited, but this makes the 3rd day in a row. I casually ask where they got the grandmother pendant and she says "I'm selling it for my friend's grandmother". That is enough for me to back away. I tell them that that friend would have to come in because I'm not legally allowed to make this purchase. He interrupts "Oh come on, they gonna give me half so I can buy food for my little girl. We haven't eaten in 2 days". She offers to get this friend on the phone, but I just want to decline the sale. I tell him about some assistance programs I know of; however, he stated that he's the "wrong color". Having the background I have I know that a) skin color means nothing and b) most of the emergency food assistance are run by the churches and they use the honor system.
Maybe they are having a hard time, but they're going about it the wrong way. This store is for-profit and I can't go out giving people more money because they bring their kids into it. People lie all the time and I'd be out of a job if I fell for every single story. In this case, I'm protecting my job by refusing it. If there is a reasonable doubt that you're dealing in stolen merchandise, that's when you back away from the deal. We're required to hold everything for 7 days and input every item into a database that law enforcement can monitor. If it gets reported stolen, they can come and seize the items and the store loses that money.
I could tell he was after drug money from the burns on his lips.
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