(This article originally appeared as "Pawn Connections" in the Fall 2018 issue of National Pawnbrokers magazine)

I remember when Facebook first came to my attention back in 2005. My college classmates were talking about a website where you could “connect” with one another and post messages on each other’s “walls”.  Our school had just become eligible to be part of this “social network” and I though hey, why not sign up and see what this is all about. Little did I know that within a decade, this Place for Friends (Facebook’s original tagline) would expand into the realm of marketing and sales, eventually becoming the third most visited website in the world.

These days almost everyone is shopping online, or at the very least doing online research before making a purchase. eCommerce is becoming a part of our national fabric, and retailers need to be ready to roll with the changes. Now you may say, "Wait, I'm not a retailer. I'm in the pawn business." But think about it—I'm sure that you've noticed a shift in the amount of items you're selling in your shop.

According to IBISWorld Reports, 55% of all pawn shop revenue in 2017 was generated from merchandise sales. We've been following the eCommerce trend for years at PawnMaster/Data Age, so this statistic doesn't surprise us. We want our customers to be able to extend their reach as far as possible, and our e-foro integrated listing tool gives them this ability. e-foro is a powerful tool on its own, but you need to have an understanding on how to best prepare your listings for each marketplace in order to maximize your earning potential.

If I would have told you ten years ago that Facebook would become the third most visited site in the world and a major player in the world of marketing and eCommerce, you would have looked at me like I had three heads. But that's exactly where we're at in this ever-expanding digital age. More than 2 billion people use Facebook on a daily basis. That's a little more than one fourth of Earth's population. If you don't have a Facebook page for your business, I have to ask; What are you thinking?!

Advertising is all about getting your message across and making it memorable. You’ve heard the messages, you know the taglines – Maybe she’s born with it. Taste the rainbow. Just do it. Where’s the beef? We’ve all seen cavemen, frogs, and pink rabbits hawking everything from insurance to batteries. Sometimes we remember the taglines more than the product. Great advertising brings the customer in and captures their attention, but you don’t have to be a nationwide company to make yourself memorable.

Steve Richards, Steve's Trading Post, Joplin, Missouri

Steve Richards had been using Premium Software to run his gun and pawn shop since 1990, but he found that it couldn’t keep up with his expanding business. Steve needed a software product that was able to change with the nature of the pawn business, so he turned to PawnMaster. The stability and reporting power of PawnMaster was exactly what Steve was looking for in a software product.

Bill Daigle, Parlour Pawn, Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada

Bill Daigle is the general manager of Parlour Pawn, overseeing almost 30 employees in several different departments. After initially having a difficult time finding a pawn software that could keep up with their expanding inventory, Parlour Pawn turned to PawnMaster. With PawnMaster’s bin location system, Bill and his staff are able to safely, securely, and easily manage their 15,000+ pawns.

Martin Strasser, Premier Jewellery and Loans, Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada

Martin Strasser had been using a custom-designed pawn software for years, but development costs and the amount of inventory he was dealing with led him to look for a stable platform with superior support. After researching PawnMaster and meeting with our team, Martin felt confident that he chose the best pawn software for his ever-growing business.

Action figures. Posters. T-shirts. Statuettes. Halloween costumes. Plush dolls.

Lincoln Nail, Castle Rental & Pawn, Northwest Arkansas

Lincoln Nail manages a multi-store operation in Northwest Arkansas. One evening, he received a call from a pair of Data Age technicians who had gotten an alert that one of the hard drives in Lincoln’s busiest store was about to fail. The technicians sprung into action and were able to pull backed-up information from Digi-Shield, getting Lincoln back on his feet as if nothing had happened.

Tom Parker, Progressive Pawn, Alma, Georgia

Tom Parker didn’t have any background in the pawn business before deciding to open his own shop in his hometown of Alma, Georgia. After a crash course in pen-to-pad pawn transactions, an acquaintance suggested that Tom should investigate PawnMaster. Tom was so impressed with PawnMaster’s capabilities and the training he received that he joins us at Data Age for training sessions every three years to polish up his skills.