West Okoboji Pawn, Inc.

What West Okoboji Pawn, Inc. does

West Okoboji Pawn, Inc. is a family-owned pawn shop founded in 1991 and operated continuously for 30+ years from a single storefront at 1508 Terrace Park Blvd in Milford, Iowa. The business is owned and operated by two co-owners, Becky and Lucy, lifelong local residents with specialized expertise: Becky holds GIA Diamond Grading certification and Lucy brings hands-on tool knowledge. The shop serves the local Milford and surrounding Iowa community with a traditional pawn shop offering of short-term cash loans secured by collateral (gold, jewelry, firearms, tools, electronics), outright purchases of used goods, and trade/exchange transactions. Operations run Monday through Saturday, 11am-5pm, with a Sunday closure.

The revenue model combines pawn loan interest/fees (transaction fees on 30-day collateralized loans), retail resale of purchased items, and firearms sales/FFL transfers. The company holds a Federal Firearms License, enabling new and pre-owned firearm sales, NICS-compliant background checks, and FFL-to-FFL transfers for online purchases at a $20 fee. Distribution is primarily walk-in retail, supplemented by an eBay storefront (str/bojijewelsandmore) that extends jewelry sales to a global online audience, and a Facebook page for local community engagement. The business is BBB Accredited.

The business model is geographically constrained — handgun sales are limited to Iowa residents, and the physical footprint is a single retail location. There is no proprietary technology platform, no mobile app, no API, and no software products. The company is privately held with no external institutional investment, no subsidiaries, and no M&A history. Marketing is minimal: a Facebook page, Google Maps listing, and the eBay marketplace are the primary digital channels. The customer base is a horizontal segment of local community members seeking short-term liquidity, affordable used goods, or firearms purchases.

Name

West Okoboji Pawn, Inc.

Legal name

West Okoboji Pawn, Inc.

Website

https://westokobojipawn.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

West Okoboji Pawn is a family-owned pawn shop in Milford, Iowa, founded in 1991 and operated by two co-owners. It offers collateralized cash loans, buys/sells jewelry, firearms, tools, and electronics, and serves local Iowa customers plus online jewelry buyers via eBay.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Pawn Shop Services

NAICS

Jewelry Retailers (458310)

SIC

Retail-Jewelry Stores (5944)

akta.pro primary industry

Traditional Pawn Loans (Pawnbrokers) (FSAKALAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Pawn & Collateral-based Jewelry Retail (CRAKAGAL)

Keywords

• Pawn shop services
• Collateral lending
• Secondhand retail
• Firearms dealer
• Used jewelry sales

Headquarters

HQ city

Milford

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Pawn Loans: Short-term cash loans secured by collateral items. Customer brings valuable item (gold, jewelry, firearms, tools, electronics), receives cash loan, item is held for 30 days while customer repays loan plus charges. Standard pawn shop model.
2. Retail Sales: Purchase of items outright from customers and resale through the shop or eBay. Items include gold, jewelry, firearms, tools, electronics, musical instruments, video game systems, DVDs.
3. Firearms Sales: Sales of new and pre-owned firearms as a Federal Firearms Licensed dealer. NICS background checks required. Also offers FFL to FFL transfers for online purchases for a $20 fee.
4. Trade/Exchange: Buy, sell, trade transactions for various items including gold, jewelry, tools, electronics, and other valuables.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

West Okoboji Pawn, Inc. is a locally owned pawn shop in Milford, Iowa that provides short-term cash loans secured by personal collateral (jewelry, gold, firearms, tools, electronics, musical instruments) and buys and resells pre-owned merchandise. The shop, founded in 1991, serves walk-in individual consumers in the Iowa Great Lakes region and supplements in-store sales with an eBay storefront for jewelry.

Product overview

West Okoboji Pawn is a traditional pawn shop offering a unified set of retail and lending services centered around short-term cash loans secured by valuable collateral. The core offering consists of pawn shop services, firearms sales and pawning, gold and jewelry, electronics, tools, and musical instruments. The shop also operates an eBay store for jewelry sales. Services are provided through a single physical location in Milford, Iowa, with no technology platform or software products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Pawn Loans Short-term cash loans issued to individual customers in exchange for personal items (jewelry, gold, firearms, tools, electronics, musical instruments) left as collateral, with the loan repaid (plus interest/fees) for the return of the item. Available to walk-in customers at the Milford, Iowa store.
• Jewelry Sales Sale of pre-owned jewelry, including pieces sold through the in-store inventory and the company's eBay storefront, to individual retail buyers.
• Firearms Sales Sale of pre-owned firearms from the Milford storefront to qualified individual retail buyers, through the shop's firearms dealer operations.
• Used Tools Sales Sale of pre-owned tools acquired through pawns or purchases, offered to walk-in individual customers at the Milford store.
• Used Electronics Sales Sale of pre-owned electronics taken in as collateral or purchased outright, sold to individual retail buyers in the store.
• Used Musical Instruments Sales Sale of pre-owned musical instruments acquired through pawns or purchases, offered to walk-in individual customers.
• Gold Buying Outright purchase of gold (and related precious-metal items) from individual sellers, providing immediate cash in exchange for the metal.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Petersen Firearms InstructionminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRecommended firearms instruction provider for permit classes. The company directs customers to Petersen Firearms Instruction for firearms training and permit classes, creating a referral relationship.
• Ducks UnlimitedminorOthersActive supporter of Ducks Unlimited conservation organization. The company supports wildlife conservation efforts in the local community.
• Pheasants ForeverminorOthersActive supporter of Pheasants Forever conservation organization. The company supports habitat conservation for pheasants and other wildlife in the region.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• PawnAmerica: Mid-size U.S. pawn shop chain with stores across multiple states, offering pawn loans, firearms, jewelry, and electronics. Closely aligned service mix and customer segment with West Okoboji Pawn.
• Value Pawn & Jewelry: Regional pawn shop chain operating across the southeastern U.S., offering pawn loans and retail sales of jewelry, electronics, tools, and firearms. Directly comparable in product mix and customer use cases to West Okoboji Pawn.

Broad incumbents

• EZCORP, Inc. EZCORP operates one of the largest pawn shop chains in the U.S. and Latin America, offering pawn loans and retail sales of jewelry, electronics, and tools. Directly comparable business model to West Okoboji Pawn but at vastly greater scale and geographic footprint.
• Sotheby's: Global auction house specializing in fine art, jewelry, watches, and collectibles. Overlaps with West Okoboji Pawn in pre-owned/vintage jewelry resale but at the high-end luxury segment with very different scale.
• eBay Inc. Global online marketplace where West Okoboji Pawn already operates its jewelry store. Overlaps in pre-owned jewelry and collectibles resale at vastly greater scale; relevant as the platform peer and indirect competitor for online jewelry buyers.
• FirstCash Holdings, Inc. FirstCash is a leading operator of pawn stores in the U.S. and Latin America, plus short-term consumer lending in Mexico. Same pawn loan + retail resale model as West Okoboji Pawn, with multi-state scale and public financial reporting.
• Cash Converters: International pawnbroking and second-hand resale franchisor operating stores across multiple continents. Offers pawn loans and buy/sell of jewelry, electronics, and tools — the same core services as West Okoboji Pawn.

Regional players

• Cabela's / Bass Pro Shops: Major U.S. retailer of firearms, hunting, and outdoor sporting goods. Overlaps with West Okoboji Pawn on the firearms and outdoor-related inventory side, but operates at very different scale and does not offer pawn lending.

Emerging players

• EstateSales.net: Online platform aggregating local estate sales and liquidation events, where jewelry, tools, firearms, and electronics are commonly resold. Comparable as a competing channel for the inventory types that flow through West Okoboji Pawn's buy/sell pipeline.
• 1stdibs: Online marketplace for vintage jewelry, watches, and luxury pre-owned items. Comparable to the eBay jewelry channel of West Okoboji Pawn in serving out-of-area buyers seeking pre-owned and vintage jewelry, but at a higher-end positioning.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/WestOkobojiPawn
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/west-okoboji-pawn

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about West Okoboji Pawn, Inc.