As the Spring semester comes to a close, students with cluttered residence halls or apartments have a need to get rid of unwanted or unnecessary items.

Televisions, VCRs and other electrical equipment often have to be unloaded, said John Geery, manager of Jayhawk Pawn and Jewelry, 1804 W. Sixth St.

“Around late May and late July we see students bringing in televisions and other electronic equipment,” Geery said. “Whenever students move, we usually see them in here.”

Pawnshops in Lawrence are preparing to see an increase in student activity within the next month as graduation approaches and students move out.

“I got a lot of video games and some other electronic stuff I want to sell after I’m out of the dorms,” Cory Abbott, Leavenworth freshman, said. “I just don’t really need them all.”

The money pawnshops will give for items does not change, Geery said, but if the store has enough of one item they will turn the offer away.

He said people come in trying to sell TVs expecting to get as much as $20, but usually they can only offer $5 or so because 20 other students are trying to sell their TVs.

Although the pawnshops see more students at certain times of the year, students trickle in with all sorts of things to sell, such as an aluminum art easel, Geery said.

Musical equipment can also be pawned for some extra cash or an investment in a future purchase.

“I sold a bass amp,” Evan McGuire, Dodge City freshman, said. “I needed a new one and just wanted some cash for it.”

Jewelry is also a big part of a pawnshops’ business.

Students, mainly girls, want to sell rings or other jewelry, said Doug Wahl, owner of Lawrence Pawn and Jewelry, 944 E. 23rd St.

“We see a lot of girls that bring in these little rings that often we don’t even want,” he said.

Men can sell back jewelry, too.

“I sold back a watch once to get some money,” Abbott said.

He said he couldn’t remember what he used the money for but that it must have been a frivolous buy.

“I probably blew it that night,” he said.

Jewelry and electronics are the main types of items sold and bought at a pawnshop, but some things are a little strange.

“People in general can bring in the weirdest things,” Geery said. “I once had a student try to pawn turkey breasts around Thanksgiving.”