The counter

Straight answers about pawning, selling and what things are worth

Sample posts for this preview — the kind of plain-English writing that brings people in from a search instead of an ad.

Pawn loans

What a $500 pawn loan really costs you

Three percent a month plus three dollars storage sounds abstract until you see it as a number. Here's the full ninety-day arithmetic on a $500 loan, what a renewal actually resets, and the one fee most people don't ask about until it's on the ticket.

August 4, 20265 min read
Gold & jewelry

Karat, weight, spot: how we arrive at a number for your gold

Every offer on gold comes from three things you can check yourself before you leave the house — the karat stamp, the weight in grams, and that morning's spot price. Here's how those combine, why a payout is never one hundred percent of melt, and what makes a piece worth more than its metal.

July 21, 20266 min read
Before you come in

Five things worth more than you think (and three worth less)

Old tools, a Custom Shop guitar and a broken chain all beat what most people expect. Flat-screen TVs, printers and last year's tablet don't. A quick honest list, so the drive out to Hall Road is worth making.

July 8, 20264 min read

Sample posts for this preview.