Fort Mill lawmaker introduces tougher regulations for pawn shops

The next time you try to sell an item at your local pawn shop, you may be asked for identification.

S.C. Rep. Raye Felder of Fort Mill has prefiled legislation in the General Assembly calling for tighter regulations for South Carolina’s pawn shops, requiring sellers to produce identification before an item is listed for sale.

“After speaking with members of law enforcement, I have realized that this is starting to become an issue,” Felder said.

In some cases, shoplifters are trying to directly sell stolen goods to pawn store, while in others, stolen items are returned to traditional retailers and returned for store credit. Typically, items returned without a receipt are not exchanged for cash.

But Felder says criminals will take things one step further. That store credit is then sold to a pawn shop for cash for pennies on the dollar.

“I think it’s a way to deter crime,” Felder said. “If you know that you no longer have a market for this stolen item or the gift card you’ve obtained for these stolen items, then I think the crime is deterred.”