David Holmes/Contributor
One of the most ancient forms of business, pawn shops, were common sights in China more than 3,000 years ago. This ancient form of commerce is alive and well in 21st-century Victoria, thanks to Esquimalt Trading Ltd., and a handful of other pawn shops serving a client base from across the Capital Region.
“We’re a family-run business, started by my father Ed Scott. We began in 1974 as a second-hand business. We used to do the ‘Swap and Shops’ at the Tillicum Mall site, back when it was a drive-in theatre,” explained current store owner Doug Scott.
“When they closed down we had a lot of extra stock, so we rented one of the side stores that were owned by Charlie Lowe who owned Fairway Market at the time, operating on a month-to-month basis, and it sort of grew from there.”
Today located at 897 Esquimalt Rd., Esquimalt Trading transitioned into a pawnbroker providing collateral loans, in addition to second-hand sales in 1976.
Today the shop carries a wide range of products from electronics to tools with an emphasis on jewelry, in addition to providing short-term loans for its customers.
“Dad was in the military; he was a medic. At first, the shop was sort of Mom’s day job. Dad would work at the base and Mom would look after the day-to-day operations. You’d have to say that I kind of grew up in this business,” Scott explained.
As they did millennia ago, pawn shops function by receiving valued items from customers that serve as the collateral for a small loan, with the goods being held for a time before being placed in the shop for sale. During this period the item is safely stored, allowing the owner to reclaim it by repaying the loan and interest. Only after a period of about 100 days, when the owner has not returned to reclaim their property, does it become available for purchase from the public.
“You can’t go to a bank for a $50 loan or a $100 loan, but maybe that’s what you need right now. That’s why the collateral loans we provide are so popular,” Scott explained.
Esquimalt Trading’s inventory includes a large assortment of jewelry, thanks in part to Victoria’s demographics. “There are a lot of estate sales in Victoria, with the family members coming into possession of jewelry from someone who has passed. Not knowing its value, and wanting to generate funds, these collections can come to us,” he said.
Evolving with the times and playing an active role in the community, Esquimalt Trading looks forward to continuing to meet the needs of its clients. “I’m happy that we’re still part of the community. We’re not only providing a service for the community, we’re also part of it, and hope to continue to serve in the years ahead.”
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