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Christopher McMickle sees customers in his Greensboro pawnshop who have always struggled to make ends meet.

Like the woman dressed in tattered clothes who recently came in with her daughter, who wasn’t wearing shoes, so she could get quick cash for her jewelry.

But the recession is also drawing a different set of customers to pawnshops: those who had never stepped foot in one before but are now jobless and desperate.

“More of, I guess, the upper-class person that maybe was like in real estate or something like that, coming in and pawning their jewelry or stereo equipment, whereas before it was people you could tell that were struggling,” said McMickle, who works in sales at Money Unlimited Pawn & Sales at 2607 S. Elm-Eugene St. in Greensboro.

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Say goodbye to Circuit City. All of the stores, including the one on Wendover Avenue in Greensboro, are closing for good today.

The Richmond, Va.-based electronics retailer announced in January it was liquidating its remaining 567 U.S. stores and laying off about 34,000 employees after failing to find a buyer or secure refinancing under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

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Get your movie popcorn and soda for only a buck.

Carmike Cinemas, which has movie theaters in the Triad, announced this week it’s selling 16-ounce drinks and 46-ounce popcorn for $1 each on Tuesdays.

The “Stimulus Tuesdays” promotion begins Tuesday at all of its 250 movie theaters.

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Covenant Church United Methodist, 1526 Skeet Club Road in High Point, is hosting a large consignment sale this week.

Items from 200 consignors will include maternity wear as well as thousands of used children’s items such as spring and summer clothes, furniture, toys, bikes, outdoor toys, baby equipment, books and videos.

The sale is from 5 to 9 p.m. Thursday; 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday; and 8 a.m. to noon Saturday. Free child care is available from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Friday, and most items will be 50 percent off Saturday.

For more information, visit covenantconsign.com.

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Renting movies has never been cheaper.

In March, you can rent movies for free twice a week at Redbox, which has rental kiosks throughout the Triad at places including Harris Teeter and Lowes Foods.

On Wednesdays, visit Redbox’s blog at blog.redbox.com for a free movie code.

Redbox is also continuing a promotion where you can sign up for text messages for a free movie rental on Mondays. Details at redbox.com.

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Do you have a retail news or shopping tips for Savvy Shopper? Contact Mike Fuchs at 373-3465 or
michael.fuchs@news-record.com