Cheap Diamonds and Easy Loans

has been around since 1979, and despite what you’ve heard, owner Chuck Sturdy really doesn’t want your stuff.

“We make small loans on things of value,” he explained. “We charge 10 percent, but after 90 days you forfeit your property.” He said that 80 percent of his pawn customers come back for their goods.

The remaining 20 percent of pawned items left behind can still pile up. Sturdy sells these items at a fraction of their retail price—enough to give him a profit over the original loan, but cheap enough to make sure the items find buyers quickly so he can recoup his investment.

For example, a customer came in with a digital camera to pawn, asking for a $40 loan. Sturdy’s 10 percent interest rate equals $4 a month, and the customer has 90 days to pay him back. If this customer chooses not to repay the loan, Study estimates he’ll sell the camera for $60 and make a $20 profit off the deal.

Some may wonder why people turn to pawn brokers, especially since most of the loans are very small and require the customer to turn over valuable property. It’s simple—the pawn business is quick, easy and quiet. Sturdy doesn’t do a credit check—he has your item as collateral on the loan, so he knows he can get his money back. All he asks for is a signature, your ID and a social security number. Customers can be in and out of his shop—with cash--in a matter of minutes.

Sturdy didn’t originally set out to be a pawnbroker.

“I got out of the service and like every other kid I did this and that,” he said. He decided he wanted to work for himself, so he borrowed money from his mom and opened a liquor store in Fenton in the early 70s. He found that friends and good customers often turned to him for loans, even offering to let him hold an item of value until they paid him back. He had worked at a pawn shop in St. Charles, so he understood what he was doing. Eventually he decided to close his liquor store and opened Fenton Pawn Shop and Jewelry instead. He said the pawn business was more profitable and had much better hours.

 “There’s a lot of interest in pawn shops since the TV shows,” he said. Sturdy said that the History Channel’s Pawn Stars is a joke, citing an episode where Chumley, one of the reality show’s low level employees, bought a hot air balloon for $35,000.

“If my guy ever bought an air balloon for $35,000, he’d be in the unemployment line,” Sturdy quipped. He said he doesn’t have time to call in “experts” to value items before he makes an offer to his customers.

“If I don’t know what its worth, I shouldn’t be in the business,” he said.

Sturdy said he’s getting less foot traffic since the old Meramec bridge was torn down, effectively putting his shop on dead end street. His retail customers vary from curious bargain hunters to professional flea market vendors.

To make up for the drop in traffic, Sturdy sells his more interesting pieces on eBay. He said that unusual items sell well on online because he can make the listings stand out and easy to search. There too much jewelry on eBay to bother listing it, so rings, necklaces and other jewelry still have a place in his shop. He also has a lot of musical instruments and power tools.

He said the high price of gold also gives him the option of selling jewelry for scrap if he can’t find a buyer.

Sturdy said that his diamond jewelry is a huge value to his retail customers, because he can offer pieces at about a third of the cost of mall jewelry. He even includes the cost of resizing a ring with the price. He gets a lot of engagement and wedding rings, with his prices starting around $200.

“I can get it resized on the spot if they need it in a hurry,” he said. He remarked that he’s seen many happy couples come through his shop looking for a diamond ring on their way to Las Vegas.