Clay Today staff

GREEN COVE SPRINGS – The town’s newest pawn shop is open for business offering great prices on everything from guitars to jewelry.

Still Big Cash Pawn manager Jeff Dixon understands if some people in town seem reluctant to come inside the new store at 710 N. Orange Ave.

"Pawn shops get such a bad rap on TV," Dixon said. "It’s not remotely like that … People should come in here to see how clean and how friendly this place is. We are a very retail type environment. Not cluttered."

For those looking for a good deal – either to sell an item or pawn it – they will also find a friendly environment. Inside the store, 710 N. Orange St., are a variety of items ranging from musical instruments to jewelry to firearms.

The Green Cove Springs store – opened in December in what formerly was a boat dealership 9 3 is one of four Big Cash Pawn shops in the Jacksonville area owned by Bill Williamson of Middleburg. The original store is at 276 Blanding Blvd. in Orange Park and has continued to perform well for the company, Dixon said.

"(The Orange Park store) has been real successful. We opened there in 1992 and it has been a successful retail store and has a good clientele," he said.

Jewelry continues to be a very popular item at all the stores, Dixon said. For those selling gold jewelry they are getting dollar because gold prices have skyrocketed in light of the lagging economy both in the United States and abroad.

"Now is time to sell gold. That stuff is worth a ton. It’s higher now than it was in 30 years … Gold is very, very excellent commodity. People can be looking for pocket change or big money. They could have broken chains or watches that could be worth hundreds of dollars right now," he said.

The business was looking for an opportunity for another store and the Green Cove Springs location seemed ideal .

"When we came out to Green Cove Springs we really liked it. It’s a great area. It was an existing building and it was just perfect for what we were looking for," Dixon said. Really the area didn’t have anything out here. There’s only one other pawn shop out this w ay. We said let’s try it out."

The location is also great for Dixon because he was commuting from his Orange Park home to the Southside store. "It’s definitely on the right side of the (Buckman) bridge," he said. "The people on the Southside are great but this is going to be great, too."

Big Cash Pawn has a reputation for treating customers well and for paying out fair prices, Dixon said. That reputation carries over when its customers pass along that fair treatment in word-of-mouth testimonials.

"We do pay more than a lot of shops around. I know what stores do from Jacksonville pay and I pay above and beyond what they do," he said. "You do that so people feel like you treated them fair and they come back again."

Anyone looking for jewelry should check out Big Cash Pawn. The jewelry selection is wide ranged and all items have been refurbished back to like new condition, with the exception of the original retail price tag, Dixon said. "We are selling gold to our customers at today’s scrap value, a deal you will never see in the retail market, saving big money for anyone buying," he added.

Joining Dixon at the store is assistant manager Mandy McNeil and Ray Rohr, who assists with sales.

Store hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Friday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. Call (904) 529-1439 for further information.