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Join us and be on reality TV

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All our customers, old and new, and friends are invited to take part in filming of a “sizzle” episode of a reality TV series based on pawnbrokers (wonder where that idea came from?).

A Mainland production crew will be on North Market Street Thursday and Friday, Sept. 6 & 7. And, if the action warrants it, on Saturday, Sept. 8, too.

So bring your most interesting, unique and outrageous items down and let one of our professionals review it for a pawn or a sale.

This show is completely unscripted. The producer tells us, what he sees, he tapes.

There will be video releases, so if you don’t want to be famous, we won’t force it on you. But we are anticipating a fun two days, and maybe many more if the show goes into series production.

Show your Maui spirit and be a star!

Or, if you are a regular customer, just come down and be regular. Kamaaina Loan will be in normal operation during the taping.

Pawn 101: HIgh value pawns

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At Bloomberg News, there’s a interview at Borro, a London pawn shop that brags it services the well-to-do. The owner says, “Where else can you get 50,000 pounds” on the same day?

Well, actually, you could do that at Kamaaina Loan, except we deal in dollars not pounds.

A $50,000 pawn is not that unusual. On Maui with its population of 150,000, we don’t do as many $50,000 loans as Borro might in London, with its population of over 10 million.

But a $50,000 loan is very doable, if you have the collateral. A couple of Rolexes might d — we have customers who have more than a couple of Rolexes.

We have lately opened a private transaction room to handle these big loans, and also to make it more convenient to do estate appraisals, which take some time.

But a $50,000 pawn loan? That doesn’t have to take much longer than a $50 pawn loan.

Call 242-5555 to make an appointment for your $50,000.

Don’t buy that iPhone now!

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So say the tech gurus, because (unconfrmed) rumors have it that the iPhone 5 will be out in a month.

In the past, that has meant that the older models (which remain available) drop sharply in price: to $0 if you are willing to sign a 2-year contract, sometimes.

Whether the rumor is accurate or not, retailers have started dropping the price of the iPhone 4S.
For you as an iPhone carrying pawn customer, what this means is that you will not be able to borrow as much on your phone from now on.

Smartphones are a very popular pawn item. It must be hard to part with your phone, but, hey, sometimes you gotta get a bridge loan to eat or pay rent.

Rolex sues online reseller melrose.com

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Rolex has online watch seller melrose.com, alleging it used counterfeit parts in older, pre-owned watches.

Melrose told the Los Angeles Times it has the right to sell used watches.

There are millions of authentic Rolexes out there, and at least millions of fakes. Know who you are dealing with if you are buying or selling.

What’s Olympic gold worth in pawn?

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An Olympic gold medal is only plate, not solid gold.

It’s really silver-gilt: thin, nearly pure gold over sterling silver.

At current prices of around $!,600 an ounce for gold and $28 an ounce for silver, the metal content of an Olympic medal is around $788.

Add in the sweat equity, though, and it’s priceless.

Are stocks a Ponzi scheme? How about bonds?

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Idly, I wondered about the “Dow 30,000” book I recalled seeing (but never reading) on a day when the Dow struggled, again, to get to 13,000 and when Bill Gross, the , declared that securities are a “Ponzi scheme” and we will never again see the returns of the past century.

I had forgotten that there were also “Dow 36,000” and “Dow 40,000” books, and learned — what I had not known before — that James Glassman, author of the “Dow 36,000” book, was a financial adviser to John McCain’s presidential campaign and is today founding of the George W, Bush Institute at Southern Methodist U.

That explains a lot.

What does this have to do with pawnshops? Nothing directly, but if you have assets, Kamaaina Loan can turn them into cash. Whatever number the Dow index is at

Your questions about pawning answered

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Tens of thousands of people have pawned property at Kamaaina Loan/Cash for Gold. Literally, tens of thousands.

But tens of thousands more have never made a pawn loan at all. And naturally, if you’re one of them, you have questions before you try it.

Like: OK, I’m pawning my (wedding ring, power tools, surfboard, guitar etc.), but I want it back. How do I know I’ll get it?

First, by dealing with the oldest established pawn shop on Maui – 36 years.

Second, all pawned items are stored in our insured and secure warehouse.

Third, if you forget the redemption date, you’ll get a reminder to come in, pay back your loan and retrieve your valuables.

Watch this space for more answers to questions newbies have about in the pawn world.