It's not yet 10 a.m., and there already has been a regular stream of customers coming into the American Goldmine Pawn Shop in St. Joseph. They are busy browsing through the bright and sparkling shelves of 10,000 CDs and DVDs, walls of TVs, stereos and electronics, dozens of electric guitars and other musical instruments, washing machines, tools, fishing poles, the mega jewelry counter and endless shelves of other merchandise that fill the building.

"You can find anything here," says customer Jamie Stanton. "Even Barbie dolls."

Her husband, Jason, agrees. He bought his Pioneer car stereo here. Although he looked at traditional stores, he says he found a better deal here.

So why is it that pawn shops, for some, still conjure up images of a dark, seedy place with a shifty-eyed guy wearing a cap in the back?

"They probably were that way 75 to 100 years ago," says Dennis Kovac, American Goldmine owner. "In the late '60s or early '70s, Texas was probably the pioneer bringing pawn shops out of the dark ages."

Pawn shops today are highly regulated, he says. In fact, some, such as CashAmerica, are listed on the New York Stock Exchange. American Goldmine is the largest pawn shop in Missouri, and he's been in business since 1981, but he says people still have misconceptions about how they operate. Here are some answers to some of the most frequent questions:

WHAT'S A PAWN?

It's not trading your stuff for money, he says, although they occasionally buy quality items outright. A pawn is a 30-day loan, using what you bring in as collateral.

"About 70 to 80 percent of people end up keeping their merchandise," he says. "Our goal is to do everything we can to get the merchandise back in their hands," he says. "We don't want to own the merchandise; that's the myth."

You actually have up to 90 days before you forfeit it, and even then they will work with you. And if you don't pay it off, that's OK, too.

WHAT DO THEY TAKE?

"Our motto is 'If it ain't junk, we will probably take it,'" he laughs. The one thing they don't take much of is clothing. But they take just about everything else from DVDs to cars and boats. All the CDs and DVDs are put through a machine that buffs and polishes them like new, and some sell for as low as $1 each.

What about warranties?

Everything is tested to make sure it works, he says, before it's accepted. But since it is used, don't expect a full warranty. At American Goldmine, they give you 48 hours to return it.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

You bring in your item. They decide on a price. You must show state-approved identification, and they take a photo of you and the item. It all goes in their computer system, then your item is shrink-wrapped and put in storage to keep it in good condition. The interest rate is based on the amount you borrow. The higher the loan, the lower the rate. Generally, it's around 20 percent for items under $250, and it goes down to 10 percent for loans of more than $500.

COULD IT BE STOLEN?

When items are accepted, serial numbers and other information is put into a computer program, leadson line.com, accessed by police departments. If there should be a match, the item is pulled. But that happens less than 1 percent of the time, Mr. Kovac says, and it's usually from a theft charge made by people who know each other.

ARE THERE BAD PAWN SHOPS?

Regulations differ from state to state, but Mr. Kovac says if they are not computerized, only deal in cash and seem more like the Hollywood stereotype, you should probably go somewhere else.

"There's bad pawn shops, just like there are bad attorneys or bad doctors," he says. "Overall they are good, but everybody has their bad apples. Just like anything else, do the homework."

Lifestyles reporter Sylvia Anderson may be reached at sylviaanderson@npgco.com