BEST PAWNSHOP

The following article was published in the San Francisco Bay Guardian newspaper.

Pawnshops suffer from a serious public relations  problem. Most have to  endure the image of a vaguely disreputable business that walks a fine line between legal and illegal, not to mention the typical Hollywood stereotype of seedy locations, a tawdry  atmosphere, and down on their luck  customers. But for the most part, this reputation is undeserved. In these tough financial times pawnshops, or "loan companies" as they are better known,  are more becoming the last available place for the  poor and working class to get a quick loan. Nowadays you have to own a house or at least a car to get even a small personal loan from a  bank or credit company. Plus you have to endure a probing search into your  personal finances. By contrast, at a pawnshop you can safely and discreetly hock those valuable family heirlooms (or even your kid's Nintendo) with a minimum amount of fuss. You usually get four months to pay off  your loan. The specific terms depend on what it is you're pawning, but if you are not able to pay off the loan completely, you can pay only the interest and get a four month extension. For those of you who are not  down on their luck, a pawnshop is an excellent place to find bargains on everything from  answering machines to engagement rings. If you're not bothered by someone else's tragedy (and who is anymore, really?) the idea of  purchasing a stranger's wedding ring for a low price is an appealing one. Our favorite pawnshop is the unpretentiously named Pacific Loan Company. Pacific Loan has been a family owned business for 48 years. Most of  their customers are regulars. The  people there are helpful and friendly, and the shop has a nice neighborhood feel to it. As experienced shoppers know, you can negotiate for most items, and on our last visit we saw  excellent prices on both a pair of Smith & Wesson handcuffs and the ubiquitous televisions and VCR's that always seem to be the first things to go whenever someone needs a quick buck. -[30]-