Have questions? We have answers. Here are the most commonly asked questions about the pawn process.

Customers turn to us, because banks and other lenders are not willing to provide the small dollar loans they need. Suffolk Jewelers & Pawnbrokers lends money on items of value such as gold, diamond jewelry, musical instruments, televisions, tools, laptops, bicycles and digital cameras. The average loan amount is between $100 and $250, although a loan can be as little as $26 or as high as $50,000, depending on the value of the collateral. Our customers can take out a pawn loan for up to 4 months and it can be renewed at any time. Pawn transactions are regulated on a local, state and federal level.

Pawn customers only borrow what they need. Our professionally trained staff determines pawn loan amounts based on the value of your item—its current appraised value, its current condition and our ability to sell the item. The amount of the loan offered is based on the wholesale, resale/secondhand value of the item, not the new price.

We are required by state law to use only a government issued photo ID card as identification each time a customer sells or pawns an item. We also accept US and International Passports. There are no exceptions to this rule, even if we know you personally and have conducted several transactions with you in the past. We are required to check for updated information on every transaction.

When you are ready to pick up your merchandise, simply return to Suffolk Jewelers & Pawnbrokers within the contract period with your loan receipt and pay off your loan including principal, interest and any fees and your item will be returned to you.

While an item is “in pawn”, the title and ownership of an item remains with the borrower until the loan defaults. The item is securely stored in a state of the art vault. A pawnbroker is not able to sell a pawned item unless the borrower fails to redeem or renew a loan at the end of the contracted period and the item is forfeited.

Interestingly, over 90% of all pawn loans at Suffolk Jewelers & Pawnbrokers are redeemed. Repeat customers make up much of our business. Some customers borrow against the same items regularly. We very much prefer that customers pay their loans in full and return for their property. When a customer loses an item, we’ve lost a customer.

Yes. Pawn shops are regulated by local, federal and state laws. We are subject to laws such as Truth In Lending Act, Equal Credit Opportunity Act, Fair Credit Reporting Act, Patriot Act, and Federal Trade Commission Rules on Data Privacy and Security Transfer. At the federal level, we are regulated by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and the Treasury Department.