How Pawn Shops Check for Stolen Items – Answer Revealed!

One question that often strikes my mind when it comes to the pawn industry is, “How Pawnbrokers verify that the items pawned are not stolen?” I am going to reveal the answer to this question in this blog.

In the 50s, 60s, 70s, and 80s – it would be challenging for a pawnbroker to determine whether the pawned item may be stolen or not. After all, ill-gotten goods don’t have signs on them that say “Don’t buy Me, I’m, Stolen and I Don’t Belong to this Guy.” Because of that reason, the pawn industry earns a bad reputation where bad guys got to sell their ill-gotten goods.

But now, things have changed a lot, and all pawnbrokers could rely on a national database of stolen items.  A big indicator is also the expression of the customer’s body language to find out whether the product belongs to them or not. Usually, when communicating with a customer at the pawn shop, the pawnbroker might ask themselves:

• Does he/she appear casual, like they own this item?
• Is he/she appear that they can afford something like this?
• Does he/she know a lot of information about the item?
• Does he/she have the proper paperwork and documentation for the products which they are pawning? If not, that might indicate the product may not belong to them.

While asking questions to the customer/seller, if he/she gets nervous or appears to be distressed by the questions or if they were unable to provide all those documentation to the pawnbroker, the pawnbroker may get a little suspicious that the item is potentially stolen or not belonging to them.

Final Recap,

The pawn industry has been striving a lot and had worked very hard to build its reputation back. They are also working closely with law enforcement to prevent stolen ill-gotten items coming into their stores.

So, if you have an idea to buy an antique piece from a Kansas City pawn shop, you can rest assured them that they will provide the best quality items at the best price.