EZ Pawn

This pawn shop is part of a franchise-type chain of pawn shops. This of course comes with certain benefits and drawbacks.



PROS



1. The shop is very, very clean, and has signs hanging from the ceiling that give it the feel of a department store rather than a stereotypical pawn shop.

2. I didn't look at their entire selection but I can say that they had a great variety of jewelry at a unbeatable prices. Some of the rings rivaled internet pricing, and pretty much all of them were priced lower than jewelry store prices.

3. It has a huge parking lot -- you won't need to hunt for a spot.



CONS



1. It was extremely busy. For one thing, the clientele brought their children with them, and these kids were pretty much all over the place. The other problem is mechanical in nature: the automatic sliding door for the store gives it a nice first impression when you walk in, but the problem is that the line was so long that the sliding door was constantly open because people had to stand in the vestibule.

2. Getting help with looking at the jewelry was very frustrating. We stood for quite a while and never had an employee approach us. We ended up having to wait in the pawning line (which again, was all the way to the door) to ask a cashier to have someone help us.

3. The jewelry cases are shelves rather than counters, so you pretty much have to have it open in order to closely examine the pieces; otherwise, they're practically at eye level. In order to do this, you have to hand over your ID. That's no big deal, but it is certainly a hassle to find an employee who has time to attend to you during the process of getting the keys, unlocking the case, taking your ID, withdrawing the piece you want to see, etc.



All in all I give this shop a three star rating. It has great prices and is very clean. However, there are people all over the place, so it takes forever to get help unless you are standing in line to pawn something. Coupled with the fact that the door was held open with cold winter air blowing in, it was a pretty frustrating experience. I think it would do this establishment some good to have a non-cashier employee on the floor to help with people who want to purchase (rather than sell) things.



However, I do understand that it was the weekend, so they may have been more busy than usual. If I had the option to rate this store 3.5/5 stars I would, but 4/5 stars is too high given the experience I had. So, 3/5 stars it is.