Community & Charity

Your Local Pawn Shop Doing Good in the Community!

Call us today at (919) 231-6433!

Raleigh-Durham Area — Pearl Necklace and Dollars in Raleigh, NC
By assisting customers who are in need of help to solve temporary cash flow shortcomings, pawn shops prove to be an important and needed service that provides relief to its customers who would not be able to find immediate resources otherwise. From the business owner who is waiting on an accounts receivable fund to clear in order to make a business purchase or meet payroll, to an investor in need of a quick cash source in order to conduct a business transaction, to the person whose transmission unexpectedly failed a week before their next paycheck……. Pawn shops provide a fast, convenient and friendly alternative to going through the long process of dealing with a traditional bank or loan institution and they provide a needed service to those individuals who would not qualify for a traditional loan.
Having the service of a local pawn shop makes acquiring a loan fast and easy because there are no background checks, credit checks or piles of paperwork to sign in order to receive a loan due to the fact that it is an asset loan which is secured by personal property until the loan is paid off. Pawn shops are also more lenient and forgiving than traditional banks or loan institutions. They want their customers to reclaim their items and will typically work with customers who need extra time to pay off their loan. In addition, if for any reason a loan payment is late or not paid at all, it does not harm the customer’s credit rating. 
Not only do pawn shops help ease financial difficulties during hard times, they also provide a way for members of the community to sell items that are no longer needed. Subsequently, pawn shops are able to offer reduced prices on a multitude of products; thus saving customers cash and improving their ability to purchase additional needed items.  
Due to reality television in the recent years, the general population is becoming more aware of the pawn business. Although the pawn shops featured on reality television do not usually portray the daily events of a typical pawn shop, they do offer more insight to the business as opposed to how they have been portrayed in movies and novels in the years past. If you take into consideration the positive service that is provided to the members of the community through the personal asset loan business, it’s easier to see how pawn shops benefit the residents of the area and the surrounding community.
Keeping in line with striving to be a positive force in the local community, American Gold Exchange & Pawn donates a percentage of all its sales to charities that serve the Raleigh and surrounding area. It also encourages its employees and patrons to be active in the community in an effort to help others be socially responsible and improve the quality of life for those in need.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Q: What is a pawn?

    A: A pawn is a collateral or personal asset loan.  It’s a loan that is given to a customer on an item the customer has that has current value.  The item is held by the pawnbroker until the loan is paid off.

  • Q: What is a pawnbroker?

    A: A person who lends money on an asset. A pawnbroker also purchases merchandise and acts as reseller.

  • Q: What can I pawn or sell?

    A: You can pawn or sell almost anything of value that the store can resell.


    Items available to pawn or sell (also known as collateral or assets) include:

    • Silver, gold or platinum jewelry (in good condition or broken)
    • 24k gold coins and .999silver coins
    • TV’s 
    • Computers
    • Game systems
    • Home stereo equipment
    • Musical instruments
    • Tools
    • Various yard equipment
    • Firearms
    • Other miscellaneous items 

    Items we do not pawn or purchase include:

    • Car stereo equipment
    • Used computer printers
    • Clothing
    • Vehicles   
  • Q: How much is my item worth?

    A: We base all our pawn and purchase amounts on the used goods market for our area.  Our employees are trained to research the used value of merchandise in order for us to offer you the most money possible for your item. 

  • Q: Can I have more than one item in pawn at a time?

    A: Yes. Since a pawn is a collateral or personal asset loan and does not affect your credit, you may have multiple items pawned at the same time.

  • Q: Why do I need a valid government issued I.D. to pawn an item?

    A: When pawning or selling an item to the pawn shop, you are stating that the item is yours to pawn or sell, and by pawning or selling the item you are entering into a legal contract. The pawn shop is required, by law, to gather information from your Government issued picture I.D. and turn that information into local law enforcement at the close of each day.

  • Q: Who can pawn an item?

    A: Anyone who is 18 years of age and has a valid government issued identification card can pawn or sell merchandise that is their property.

  • Q: How long is the pawn or loan period?

    A: Pawns are for a period of 30 days.  We must legally hold your item(s) for an additional 60 days past the 30 day contract; therefore, you have a total of 90 days that you can have your item(s) in pawn without paying a fee before you are in danger of losing the item(s).   However, a fee will be incurred at the beginning of each 30 day period that the item is held by the pawn shop.  The contract can be extended for an indefinite period of time by paying the monthly fee.

  • Q: What is the maximum interest rate that a pawn shop can charge on an item?

    A: In North Carolina, the maximum interest that can be charged is 2% per month. Pawn shops can also add on additional charges, such as handling fees, storage fees, appraisal fees and more. The maximum for these additional fees can amount to 22% per month. However, American Gold Exchange & Pawn charges 20%.

  • Q: What if I don't come back for my item?

    A: There are no legal consequences if you do not return to pay for your item and it does not affect your credit rating.  If you do not return within the specified period of time, the item will become the property of the pawn shop and the item will be sold to recoup the price of the loan and fees.

  • Q: Can I sell merchandise if I don't want a loan?

    A: Yes!  If you have items that you no longer want or need, we can offer to buy them from you.  You must be 18 years of age, with a valid government issued I.D., because you will be signing a contract agreeing that you would like to sell the item and that the item is your personal property to sell.

  • Q: Does a pawn shop sell stolen items?

    A: Although it is common for people to think that items in a pawn shop are stolen, this is rarely true.  Pawnbrokers work in accordance with law enforcement to ensure that stolen items are not received or sold. A daily report is given to the police on items received along with their serial numbers and the license information from the person who performed the pawn or sale. The police compare these serial numbers with those of stolen merchandise. Criminals know that pawn shops are required, by law, to submit these reports to law enforcement and national statistics show that less than 1/10th of 1% of items received by pawn shops are reported as stolen.


    Pawn shops do not want to receive stolen merchandise.  Not only is it unethical, but when a pawn shop receives stolen merchandise and that merchandise is retrieved by the police department, the pawn shop loses the money.  It’s a business that the pawn shop owner is not interested in for multiple reasons.

How Does the Loaning and Selling Process Work?

What is the process to SELL an item?
  1. You bring an item that you no longer want or need into the store.
  2. We both agree on an amount that the store will purchase the item for.
  3. We test the item.
  4. We gather your information using a valid Government issued picture ID.
  5. You sign a contract stating that you want to sell the item, and that the item is yours to sell.
  6. We give you cash for your item.
The end.....it's that easy!

What is the process to PAWN (receive a loan) an item?
  1. You bring an item into the store to use as collateral for your loan.
  2. We both agree on an amount that the store will loan for the item.
  3. We gather your information using a valid Government issued picture ID.
  4. You sign a loan agreement stating that you want to borrow money against the item, and that the item is yours to pawn.     
  5. We give you cash for your item.
  6. You come back to pick up/redeem your item within 90 days or make a fee payment any time with the first 90 days, which will hold your item for an additional 30 days.

A pawn is a 30 day loan. We are required, by law, to hold an item for an additional 60 days past the original 30 day period; therefore, if an item has not been picked up or if a fee has not been paid to keep the item in pawn after a total of 90 days, the merchandise becomes the property of the pawn shop and may be sold to recoup the loan amount and fees.
Since a pawn is a 30 day loan, it incurs a fee, depending upon the amount of the loan, at the beginning of each 30 day period it is held by the pawn shop.

A fee may be paid as many times as you wish until you are able to pay to the entire loan plus the accumulated fees. 
You may pay extra on the loan in order to bring the principle amount of the loan down which will also result in lowering your interest payment/fee amount; thus making the pawn less expensive and financially easier to pick up. (This is not a practice that all pawn shops offer their customers, but we will gladly offer this option to our customers.)

Loan Example:

Tom is running short on cash for the week and his daughter just told him she needs $100.00 in order for her to attend cheerleading camp! He doesn’t want to disappoint his daughter, so he takes his portable generator to the pawn shop for a temporary loan on June 29. The pawn shop agrees to loan Tom $100.00 on his generator.

The fee for a $100.00 loan will be $20.00 ($100.00 x 20% interest/fees) for each 30 day period the loan is active.

Tom needs to make sure to either return to the pawn shop to pay a $20.00 fee or redeem (pick up) his generator within 90 days (by September 27) in order to not default on the loan and lose his generator.

If Tom returns to the pawn shop to redeem his generator any time between June 29 and July 29, it will cost $120.00 to pick up his generator. If he does not pick up his generator, another $20.00 will be incurred on July 30 until August 28th. (The date is August 28th and not August 29th because the loan is for a period of 30 days; the fee date will vary depending upon the number of days in each month). Therefore, if Tom returns to pick up his generator any time between July 30 and August 28, it will cost $140.00.

On August 29, another $20.00 fee will be added to the loan and Tom must either pick up is generator for $160.00 (the original $100.00 loan + 3 months of $20.00 fees) by September 27 or he can pay a $20.00 fee to extend the loan for another 30 day period.

Tom can choose to make monthly payments of $20.00 to the pawn shop or he can choose to wait until he picks up his items and make all his fee payments at one time, as long as he comes in by the end of 90 days Tom could also choose to come into the pawn shop, at any time during the 90 days, and make extra payments on his loan which would lower the amount of interest he would be paying on the loan.       
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