WEST FRANKFORT, Ill. (WSIL) -- More people are turning to pawn shops to ease the pain of inflation.
Shawnee Trading Company in West Frankfort has seen a 40% uptick in customers, according to manager Dana Earnheart.
Earnheart says more than half the customers looking to sell or pawn their items need money for gas, groceries or other expenses.
Earnheart says most customers pawn their items and pay interest to try and keep it. But some customers, she says can't afford those payments and lose their valuables.
"They're in a bind right now. Yeah there's people that live paycheck to paycheck and when you bite into their income by that much it puts them in a bnd for sure," Earnheart said. "People are struggling and it's bad right now."
With more people coming in, Earnheart says they have a lot of valuables including game systems, guitars and jewelry. Earnheart says she's had to turn some people away in order to avoid overstocking on certain items.
