There are not many pawn shops in NYC any more. Instead, there are "appraisers". Herald's is a throwback to those straight-shooting days. Located just off Canal Street in trendy Soho, it showcases the standard pawn shop items: stereos, toasters, jewelry galore, and sometimes a mink or two. One locked case contains knives and a few handguns, though the guns look pretty dusty.
Harold Gaines is a short bald white man in his middle fifties with a bit of a paunch. He always wears a white shirt and a tie, though both frequently look like they've been slept in. He doesn't seem to have any assistants, but he nevertheless keeps the store open from 9 am to midnight 7 days a week. He gets his lunches and dinners delivered by local restaurants. If he does close the store for business or other reasons, it is the talk of the neighborhood. Death and taxes may be the only sure things, but the "Open" sign in Harold's window runs a close third.
It's hard to get the better of Harold in a business deal, though people always try. His prices are usually reasonable, though he sometimes marks up the strangest things. Oddly enough, patrons of the New York Public Library are among Harold's best customers. He has been known to hunt down special items for them.
If you ask Harold why he named his shop "Herald's" instead of "Harold's", he may laugh and tell you that the sign painter got it wrong when he first opened over 25 years ago, and it was too much trouble to change it. Or he may just laugh.