“No respectable gentleman or lady would ever be seen dead darkening the back-street doorstep of a pawnbroker.”

“The borrower retains ownership of the pledge except on default on the loan, and then the pawnbroker has the opportunity to sell those goods.”

“He said that the credit union had seen an end of the loan shark and the pawnbroker, who for far too long, had gripped people in poverty.”

“I went to the pawnshop to secure a loan against my grandmother's antique necklace.”

“She knew that she was in luck when she saw a small pawnshop tucked away in the corner of the alley.”

“Just as it had done in the direction of the pawnshop, the investigation came to a dead end everyplace else.”

“The business expanded from pawnbroking to take in jewellery and clothing, and for many years had a large trade among local country people.”

“But pawnbroking, cheque conversion and doorstep loans have been booming in recent years, feeding off poverty and inequality.”

“He is reported to have had a respectable pawnbroking business in Highbury, and another establishment which fenced stolen goods in the West End.”

“Premises visited included 25 traditional jewellers, 34 gift shops, two department stores, eight clothes stores and three pawnbrokers.”

“People either saved up for major purchases or did without banks and relied on pawnbrokers, loan sharks and store credit instead.”

“There were 47 pawnbrokers in the Borough, 38 of whom dealt in gold and silver plate, and 55 persons carried on business as watchmakers.”

“I had to go in and out of pawnshops and drug stores every day for more than four years.”

“Second-hand stores and pawnshops in Vancouver send in 400,000 routine reports each year on the items they purchase.”

“Like tax preparation services, pawnshops and auto dealers serve as middlemen for such loans.”