Hey y’all!

This week I was given the opportunity to spend some time with the National Pawn team at the Greensboro store on Battleground Ave. Initially, when I was approached with this prospect, I admit that I was a bit skeptical. I love shopping and have shopped in a multitude of venues from stores of the department variety to online boutiques based in other countries. However, I’d never shopped at a pawn shop; the thought had never even crossed my mind.

National Pawn has made it their mission to change the perception of pawn shops, one customer at a time. Change my perception they did indeed. I want to share how my experience at National Pawn changed five misconceptions I had about pawn shops…

1. “Pawn shops are dirty, disorganized and downright skeazy”.

When I first walked into the National Pawn store, I immediately noticed how clean and well organized it was. After speaking with the store manager, David Johnson, I found out that this organization was actually strategic! He had a vision for how he wanted his store to look, made a plan and executed it.

Though I’m not the most organized person, I do enjoy organization so this appealed to me greatly. Electronics were shelved with like devices and the same was true of the household items, jewelry, instruments and so on. Everything was neat and in its place.

2. “Pawn shops have poor quality merchandise”.

As David walked with me through the store, I couldn’t help but notice the quality of the merchandise; from the high end Versace watch to the nearly new push mower. There were a number of things that appeared to be new or, at most, very gently used.

Many of the things on display were not outdated, as I assumed they would be. There was a very nice iPad that caught my eye and even a Fitbit identical to the one I was wearing on my own wrist. They’re were a number of designer bags and even tennis shoes which had been released in the last few years.

3. “Pawn shops only sell jewelry and guns”.

By this point, I obviously knew this wasn’t true at all of this pawn shop. Of course there was jewelry (men have been cuttin’ up since the dawn of time, so pawn shops will continue to benefit from scorned women), but I in fact did not see one gun. I did, however, find a rack filled with DVDs, shelves of DVD and Blu-ray players and a semi-full wall of TVs (David’s strategic placement of televisions has obviously been good for business. Someone actually bought a TV while I was there). Needless to say, they offer a variety of products to appeal to many types of shoppers.

4. “Pawn shops make shady deals to make a sale.”

During our time, David made it very clear that his ultimate goal is to not only meet the customer’s need, but appeal to various budgets. As a result, everything in the store is fairly priced from the start (did I mention that really nice new iPad was only $299?!) So, if you’re looking for wheeling, dealing, hocus pocus and/ or shippy-shapping, I wouldn’t advise you to go to National Pawn.

David also took some time to school me on National Pawn’s money back guarantee on the jewelry they sell. Basically, if the item you buy doesn’t appraise for twice what you paid for it then you get your money back! David shared that this has happened once since the store opened a year ago. In that case they actually ended up reselling the ring to the customer at a cheaper price because they were overall satisfied with the product despite the minor cosmetic blemish. Talk about quality merchandise!

5. “People who work in pawn shops only care about making a sale and not the customer.”

Meeting the National Pawn team was hands down the best part of my visit. The energy was there as soon as I walked in the door. I was greeted enthusiastically and with a hug! That really impressed upon me because I’m a hugger (insert all the feels). Now it would be easy to assume that this was beefed up because I was an expected visitor, but I watched everyone who came in after me be greeted with the same enthusiasm. It’s clear that the team there enjoys what they do and it trickles down to the customer service.

Though I’d never considered shopping at a pawn shop prior to my visit to National Pawn, this experience has opened my eyes! While I was there, I picked up this sweet little baby!

Whoever owned it before me was the exact opposite of me when it comes to my treatment of purses (I’m an “everything but the kitchen sink” type of girl)! Y’all, it’s in pristine condition! I can’t wait to style it this spring.

Check out some other shots from my National Pawn visit below.

If you’re in the area, I encourage you to stop by and visit National Pawn’s Battleground location. If not, that’s ok too. There are 16 locations from Charlotte to Fayetteville, with plans to open another Greensboro location in the near future. If you drop into the Greensboro location, tell them Shiquita sent you! Then come back and tell me what you found!

A huge thanks to the National Pawn team for having me! I look forward to seeing them soon! 😉

As always, if you have any questions, comments or suggestions, talk to me! If you like what you see, subscribe!

Talk soon! 💋