If you’ve watched TV in the last year chances are you’ve seen commercials for the History Channel’s “Pawn Stars” or perhaps TruTV’s hit show “Hardcore Pawn”. Suddenly pawnshops are in the spotlight. According to this article, we have the Great Recession and the popularity of reality TV to thank.

This side of the short-term credit market is experiencing a miniboom and creating an opportunity for investors. Pawnbrokers are seeing waves of homeowners unable to qualify for credit cards, entrepreneurs looking for seed capital, and small-business owners struggling to make payroll. In some cases pawnshops are stepping in where the banks are stepping back.

“We’re servicing people that in the past had easy access to credit,” says Todd Hills, CEO of Pawngo.com, an online pawn operation that launched in June of this year and specializes in high-value loans. “Ninety percent of our customers are college educated or own a home. They’re in the $75,000 to $150,000 range in income. Bank solutions have dried up.”