From his store safe, Money Mizer owner Robbie Whitten pulls out a large gold ring topped with diamonds. The words “National Champions” on the side tell you what really makes it special.
He is glad to have it but feels sorry for the former college football player who felt the need to give up the once prized possession.
He opens a case and pulls out a 1921 Thompson “Tommy Gun” just like police used when battling Al Capone.
“Isn’t that something,” he said, handling the weapon.
Whitten and his father, Robert Whitten, have been in the pawn business for 32 years. They have made loans on all kinds of items including elephant tusks.
“When we opened this store on Manchester Expressway, pawn shops were all in south Columbus, most on Victory Drive. This area was considered upscale and people thought we were crazy,” he said.
Whitten owns stores in Phenix City and Dothan, Ala. He is now beginning to franchise the Money Mizer brand. The store in Auburn, Ala., belongs to a franchisee and so will stores planned in Macon, Ga., and Jacksonville, Fla.
A pawn is another term for a collateral loan, primarily a 30-day renewable loan. The pawnbroker lends money on all sorts of items, be it musical instruments, of which you’ll find many in his stores, jewelry or guns. The average pawn loan is $125.
Besides taking items in on pawn, Money Mizer sells new jewelry and sporting goods.
He cashes checks for a fee of two or three percent. “With 28 percent of Americans unbanked, with no checking accounts or credit resources, we are the primary source for small loans. It’s not feasible for a bank to make a loan of less than $10,000.”
He loves his work.
“This is an exciting business,” he says. “I love coming to work every day.”
What is the biggest misconception about pawn shops?
Some people still have that image of a pawnbroker as a guy wearing a visor sitting behind a cage and fencing stolen goods.
What is the biggest change in the business?
We do about 40 percent of sales online with sites such as eBay. It is also how we judge the value of some items.
How many people come back for what they have pawned?
It’s about 70 percent.
The image of a pawn shop customer is that of someone from a lower economic status. Is that true?
In the past, I’d say people bringing in items was 90 percent blue collar and 10 percent white collar. Now it’s about 65 percent blue collar and 35 percent white collar.
Do you prefer to be able to keep items to sell or do you want folks to reclaim them?
Either way, I make money. But if I buy something that customer may come in one time. Others may come in two or three times a year. We have customers who have been coming for small loans for 25 years. They need money to help pay bills in hard times.
Your business does well in hard times doesn’t it?
The pawn business is one of the oldest practices in the world. It is an exciting business with an outstanding return on investment. It is a business that is practically recession proof.
