Personal Money Store may be your portal for payday loans, but if you have your eye on an appliance, electronic device or piece of furniture and want to must up the liquidity to be able to get what you want, payday loans may not always be the most direct route. Utilizing the services of a rent-to-own company in order to pay the bill over time has been a popular method for some consumers, and Rent-A-Center is one of America’s largest, most publicized rent-to-own companies.

3,000-plus stores across the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico

According to rentacenter.com, the Plano, Texas-based Rent-A-Center and its 19,000 employees offers consumers “an easy, affordable way to furnish their homes without incurring a continuing obligation and without needing access to credit.” Name brands are on the menu, as well as same-day delivery, 90 days same as cash and an early purchase option. Interesting, Rent-A-Center repairs merchandise still on rent at no charge to the consumer and they offer them a substitute while the original is being repaired.

In addition, Rent-A-Center offers the “RAC Worry-Free Guarantee,” which is billed as “100% satisfaction or your money back.” Not only do you not need credit to apply, but RAC will match competitor prices. If you aren’t satisfied with your Rent-A-Center item, you can return it within the first week and the full first payment will be refunded.

Online traffic for rentacenter.com: Recovering after a fall

According to the online metric site compete.com, rentacenter.com hit 600,000 unique visitors in January 2009. Unfortunately, a steep decline followed. Numbers for December 2009 were 505,014 unique visitors, which was a 7.92 percent improvement over the previous month. The trend since the heights of January 2009 has been to increase, but there’s still road to travel. Total visitors for December 2009 was 687,185, a 6.71 percent increase over the previous month.

Getting to rentacenter.com meant using Google.com (20.63 percent of traffic), Yahoo.com (10 percent) and Facebook (5.63 percent). It comes as no surprise that “rent a center” is the most frequently used search term (netting a whopping 42.98 percent), while “rentacenter.com” (4.01 percent) and “rentacenter” (2.87 percent) followed up.

If it’s good enough for Magic, Rent-A-Center may be good enough for you

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Payday loans aren’t the only short-term consumer credit service that is growing in popularity with higher-income consumers these days. According to Maria Halkias of The Dallas Morning News, rent-to-own stores like Rent-A-Center (America’s largest) are seeing more higher-income customers than they have in years. This is an expected byproduct of the current recession: Rent-A-Center’s year-end figures actually exceeded expectations.

Similar results have been reported in the pawn shop industry. Such returns have even prompted many cash advance outlet stores to expand their offerings to include pawn services. Some have also ventured into the buying and selling of gold, which makes particular sense when the value of the U.S. dollar is low. Cash America Director of Public Relations Yolanda Walker said people are finding “creative ways to make ends meet.”

Sign of the times

The trend of Rent-A-Center, payday loan stores and pawn shops looks to continue as the economy suffers. The need for credit doesn’t sleep, and more people are being rejected by traditional (bank) financing avenues. Halkias finds that current Rent-A-Center customers have “average household incomes in the $20,000 to $50,000 range.”

Yet with current economic burdens such as they are, renting a replacement refrigerator for $17.99 a week is what the average family can afford. Buying a new one can be a distant dream. Similarly, when emergency funds are needed in a pinch and traditional banking fails to fill the bill, consumers can rely upon payday loans for their speed, convenience and discretion. Moreover, rates that are commonly in the $15 to $20 per $100 range for two-week loans are much more affordable than the distressingly common alternative of relying upon checking overdraft protection.

If your refrigerator goes out, where will you put your magnets?

More middle class people are seeking quick payday loans and renting appliances instead of buying. People with steady incomes are starting to realize that traditional loans or credit cards aren’t their only options. They are also finding out that the refrigerator and washing machine don’t have any sympathy during a recession.

Payday loan for repairs

When the refrigerator or the oven goes out, people generally don’t want to simply forgo eating  until their next paycheck. The best option, of course, is to get the appliance fixed. If you don’t have enough cash on hand, you can get quick payday loans and, with the right repair person, have it fixed in time for dinner.

Rent-A-Center for replacements

In some cases the appliances can’t be fixed. And who has the money nowadays to buy a new washing machine? In these cases, more and more people are taking advantage of Rent-A-Center and other companies that offer these types of appliances for rent.

I can see how this would be a huge benefit for college students and other people who move around a lot and generally don’t have much money.

Changing times

Even people who do have extra cash are starting to rent instead of buy. With lenders so leery of borrowers, and borrowers so leery of lenders, renting is looking like a better option than getting a loan.

“We continue to see higher-income consumers relative to average income levels of a few years ago, most likely driven by the credit-tightening,” said Mitchell E. Fadel, Rent-A-Center president and chief operating officer.

Rent without losing a cent

Most rental places, including Rent-A-Center, have rent-to-own options. This can be a savior for people with less-than-stellar credit. The category of what’s considered “good credit” is shrinking. Places that help people who have been turned away from more traditional means of acquiring credit are getting more and more customers. Between quick payday loans and rental options, a financial emergency doesn’t have to turn into a financial crisis.

Related articles

• Another Way To Get New Furniture (jerichooncbs.blogspot.com)
• Pier 1 May Close 125 Stores (shoppingblog.com)
• Banks Make for Lousy Lenders, Landlords (bostonist.com)