rockin'robin
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Apr 22, 2007
- Messages
- 24,418
- Reaction score
- 551
The front porch of Matt and Melissa Hovey's trailer home in Middleburg is filled with clothes, antiques and furniture for their moving sale. It all has to go - at any price they can get.
They've both been out of work for months - he was a landscaper and she worked at a debt settlement company - and they are behind on their rent. They have to move, along with their autistic son, into Matt's mother's house. The married couple will now share bunk beds in Matt's old bedroom.
Anything they have - jewelry, family heirlooms, appliances - is up for sale because they are so far behind on their bills. They don't want to sell this stuff, but they have no choice.
"Come buy our life," Melissa writes on Craigslist, "because during these hard times, we would sure like to have a new one!!!"
In this tough economy, many people are scrounging through their homes to find stuff to sell to help pay bills. Pawn shops and second-hand stores - like Plato's Closet or Play It Again Sports - have reported increases in people trading in used goods. Others turn to Craigslist, eBay or The Times-Union's classified ads to directly sell their possessions to bargain-hunters.
Yolanda Walker, spokeswoman for Cash America Pawn, which has nine locations in Jacksonville, recently noticed a big increase in pawning and selling items in the past two years. Some of the biggest growth has been in scrap gold sales with people selling their used jewelry.
"Today's consumers are finding creative ways to make ends meet," she said.
'It's a very bad idea'
Yet, despite how tough things are financially, Walker said the majority of Cash America's customers pawn their stuff for loans and eventually come back to pay for their items.
Customers have to pay back their loan plus 25 percent interest per month within 60 days or the item goes on the selling floor. After that, they must pay the retail price, like anyone else.
And that's a problem, said Pieter de Jong, assistant professor of finance at the University of North Florida. He said the high interest rates that pawn shops charge are outrageous when you compare them to other kinds of loans.
"It's a very bad idea," he said. "On average, you pay a significant amount more on a pawn or payday loan than you do with even the interest on a credit card."
David Cox, 52, of Oceanway, pawned his red electric guitar at a Cash America on University Boulevard West on Monday. He received $40 in gas money for his pickup truck.
Cox has been playing guitar for 27 years, mostly gospel music, and hopes he can afford to buy his prized possession back.
"I love that guitar," he said, "but the economy is definitely tight. I'm on disability, so for me it's even worse."
Shirley Hull, manager at Cash America in Jacksonville for 16 years, said she often sees people get emotional about pawning their items.
"I tell people that you're lucky that you have something you canget some collateral on," she said. "Sure, sometimes people get emotional, but I think it's circumstances that they're in."
Clearing out the closet
Some are just selling items they don't need anymore.
Sean Driscoll, owner of two locations of Plato's Closet, a chain that buys and sells used clothes, said the number of people trading their clothes for cash has increased by at least a third this year at both locations. Sandy Fortin, owner of three Play It Again Sports stores in the area, said he's seen a 36 percent increase this year in people trading in used sporting goods.
Cruising through Craigslist, there are plenty of sob stories: people selling TVs, engagement rings and laptop computers because they lost their jobs and need to pay rent.
Craigslist's postings increased almost 100 percent nationally between January 2008 and January 2009. U-Exchange.com, another site that connects people who want to barter, saw a 173 percent increase in Web hits during the same period.
The Times-Union has seen an increase in ads for merchandise less than $1,000 because readers receive free ads online at Jacksonville.com.
Rusty Evans, 36, of Neptune Beach, was laid off about a year ago from Advantage Capital, where he was a junior account executive. He needs to pay bills, so he's been trying to sell his 16-foot sailboat on Craigslist for weeks now. No buyers yet.
He purchased it for $3,000 a few years ago, so he listed it as $1,100. Nobody was interested, so he dropped the price to $950. Then $700.
He said he needs money bad because his unemployment checks barely help him get by, but he can't just give his boat away for nothing.
"It's disappointing because this is my hobby," he said. "I'll definitely sail again, but it's on hold for now."
Melissa Hovey, 28, stands on her porch surrounded by things she just can't sell: antique golf clubs, Asian furniture, a hope chest.
She puffs on a cigarette as she goes through the items, but stops in her tracks when a garbage truck rumbles by. She looks up, startled.
"Sorry, I was scared for a second," she said. "Every time I see big trucks come down the road, I get nervous because I don't know if they're coming to shut off my power or not."
She has already sold her $1,500 jade-and-gold ring for $120 because she needed cash. Matt Hovey, 24, sold his dad's .22-caliber Marlin rifle from World War II for just $70.
Items that they originally decided they weren't going to get rid of, like their washer and dryer, they'll now try to sell for anything they can get.
"I just don't care anymore," she said. "I just want it gone. I've already lost most everything that matters to me. All that matters now is my family."
http://jacksonville.com/business/20...d_selling_goods_on_the_rise_in_tough_economy#
They've both been out of work for months - he was a landscaper and she worked at a debt settlement company - and they are behind on their rent. They have to move, along with their autistic son, into Matt's mother's house. The married couple will now share bunk beds in Matt's old bedroom.
Anything they have - jewelry, family heirlooms, appliances - is up for sale because they are so far behind on their bills. They don't want to sell this stuff, but they have no choice.
"Come buy our life," Melissa writes on Craigslist, "because during these hard times, we would sure like to have a new one!!!"
In this tough economy, many people are scrounging through their homes to find stuff to sell to help pay bills. Pawn shops and second-hand stores - like Plato's Closet or Play It Again Sports - have reported increases in people trading in used goods. Others turn to Craigslist, eBay or The Times-Union's classified ads to directly sell their possessions to bargain-hunters.
Yolanda Walker, spokeswoman for Cash America Pawn, which has nine locations in Jacksonville, recently noticed a big increase in pawning and selling items in the past two years. Some of the biggest growth has been in scrap gold sales with people selling their used jewelry.
"Today's consumers are finding creative ways to make ends meet," she said.
'It's a very bad idea'
Yet, despite how tough things are financially, Walker said the majority of Cash America's customers pawn their stuff for loans and eventually come back to pay for their items.
Customers have to pay back their loan plus 25 percent interest per month within 60 days or the item goes on the selling floor. After that, they must pay the retail price, like anyone else.
And that's a problem, said Pieter de Jong, assistant professor of finance at the University of North Florida. He said the high interest rates that pawn shops charge are outrageous when you compare them to other kinds of loans.
"It's a very bad idea," he said. "On average, you pay a significant amount more on a pawn or payday loan than you do with even the interest on a credit card."
David Cox, 52, of Oceanway, pawned his red electric guitar at a Cash America on University Boulevard West on Monday. He received $40 in gas money for his pickup truck.
Cox has been playing guitar for 27 years, mostly gospel music, and hopes he can afford to buy his prized possession back.
"I love that guitar," he said, "but the economy is definitely tight. I'm on disability, so for me it's even worse."
Shirley Hull, manager at Cash America in Jacksonville for 16 years, said she often sees people get emotional about pawning their items.
"I tell people that you're lucky that you have something you canget some collateral on," she said. "Sure, sometimes people get emotional, but I think it's circumstances that they're in."
Clearing out the closet
Some are just selling items they don't need anymore.
Sean Driscoll, owner of two locations of Plato's Closet, a chain that buys and sells used clothes, said the number of people trading their clothes for cash has increased by at least a third this year at both locations. Sandy Fortin, owner of three Play It Again Sports stores in the area, said he's seen a 36 percent increase this year in people trading in used sporting goods.
Cruising through Craigslist, there are plenty of sob stories: people selling TVs, engagement rings and laptop computers because they lost their jobs and need to pay rent.
Craigslist's postings increased almost 100 percent nationally between January 2008 and January 2009. U-Exchange.com, another site that connects people who want to barter, saw a 173 percent increase in Web hits during the same period.
The Times-Union has seen an increase in ads for merchandise less than $1,000 because readers receive free ads online at Jacksonville.com.
Rusty Evans, 36, of Neptune Beach, was laid off about a year ago from Advantage Capital, where he was a junior account executive. He needs to pay bills, so he's been trying to sell his 16-foot sailboat on Craigslist for weeks now. No buyers yet.
He purchased it for $3,000 a few years ago, so he listed it as $1,100. Nobody was interested, so he dropped the price to $950. Then $700.
He said he needs money bad because his unemployment checks barely help him get by, but he can't just give his boat away for nothing.
"It's disappointing because this is my hobby," he said. "I'll definitely sail again, but it's on hold for now."
Melissa Hovey, 28, stands on her porch surrounded by things she just can't sell: antique golf clubs, Asian furniture, a hope chest.
She puffs on a cigarette as she goes through the items, but stops in her tracks when a garbage truck rumbles by. She looks up, startled.
"Sorry, I was scared for a second," she said. "Every time I see big trucks come down the road, I get nervous because I don't know if they're coming to shut off my power or not."
She has already sold her $1,500 jade-and-gold ring for $120 because she needed cash. Matt Hovey, 24, sold his dad's .22-caliber Marlin rifle from World War II for just $70.
Items that they originally decided they weren't going to get rid of, like their washer and dryer, they'll now try to sell for anything they can get.
"I just don't care anymore," she said. "I just want it gone. I've already lost most everything that matters to me. All that matters now is my family."
http://jacksonville.com/business/20...d_selling_goods_on_the_rise_in_tough_economy#