You may not think of a pawn shop when it’s time to go Christmas shopping, but Joey Slipher of Southern Cash & Pawn would like to change that.
The store at 224 State St., McComb, offers not only a wide variety of guns, hunting accessories and ammunition, but also new jewelry, designer purses and musical instruments.
“We’ve got a great jewelry section this year,” Slipher said. “We started carrying new jewelry.”
The COVID-19 pandemic affected his loan activity as people got stimulus checks and tended to stay home and spend less money.
“It slowed the pawn business down,” Slipher said. “Loans slowed down because people didn’t need the money.”
To make up for the shortage in pawned items, he started carrying new ones. His jewelry ranges from $19 to $200. A separate glass case holds designer purses.
“We carry luxury handbags, something we never did before,” he said.
Slipher has “Guitars for Dummies” starter kits with acoustic guitar, sheet music, lesson books and other accessories. On Black Friday the price dropped to $99 and will stay there till they sell out.
Such new items will “maybe just expand our customer base a little bit more,” he said.
Slipher has always carried a big selection of guns and accessories.
“One of the really hot items this years are Sig Sauer scopes, rifle scopes,” he said.
“Nikon quit making rifle scopes and Sig Sauer acquired the Nikon lenses.”
The scopes start at $110.
“People looking for Nikon scopes, we tell them about Sig Sauer,” Slipher said.
A popular gun is a 12-gauge shotgun for home defense. It features a shorter barrel, three-inch chamber and screw-in choke. The Black Friday cost is $199 until they sell out.
“You could turkey hunt with it,” Slipher said.
Buckshot, No. 6 shot and BB shot are preferred ammo for home defense.
“We have a great selection of shotgun ammo,” he noted.
Slipher has rifles and other shotguns aplenty, and his handgun cabinets are fullly stocked.
Of course, pawn shops are more than just retail outlets. They’re also a place to borrow money by loaning them your merchandise.
“One of our major things that we do is loan money, and we loan it a lot,” Slipher said.
If someone is short on cash, they can bring something in — gun, lawn mower, musical instrument, you name it — borrow money on it and redeem it later. The shop will hold it for 30 days and provide extensions if necessary.
People can also sell items outright at pawn shops, eliminating the hassle of finding a buyer themselves.
For more on the pawn business, Slipher recommends the YouTube video “Illinois Pawn Customers.”
