Polson's prince of pawn

POLSON — Todd Coutts isn’t your typical pawn shop owner.

“I don’t buy it if I wouldn’t put it in my own home,” the owner of Wild Horse Trading & Loan Company in Polson said.

Unlike traditional pawn shops, Coutts’ business model is what he calls an “upscale pawn shop” which he says have been popping up all over the country. They deal in high-quality used items including firearms, jewelry, musical instruments and electronics, among other things.

“Our store is really like several different stores under one roof: a gun store, a jewelry store, a gallery, a gift shop and a music store,” Coutts said.

Wild Horse, which has been open since 2011, isn’t his first such shop. Coutts has owned and operated Montana Sales & Loan in Missoula for more than 20 years.

“We just wanted to do something different,” he said. “And because there are a lot of regular folks out there who have things they want to sell, we just wanted to make an upscale store that stood out from the rest.”

Coutts bounces between his Missoula store and Wild Horse, leaving the day-to-day operations in the hands of manager Ed Blair.

Coutts said the opportunities for an upscale pawn shop like Wild Horse were even more promising in Polson than in Missoula.

“It’s kind of fun up here in Polson, too, because where do you go to buy a trumpet or a guitar?” he said.

Coutts and his family moved to Polson 11 years ago, but it took him awhile to find the right location for the store.

“From day one, I wanted to open a store up here, but it took me eight years before I finally found the right spot,” he said.

Their location on state Route 35 and Heritage Lane was perfect. Coutts said he was a little disappointed when Walmart decided to move up the hill into its new store, but he’s excited that Murdoch’s home improvement will be moving into the old Walmart’s location.

“We’re glad that Murdoch’s is going to be moving into the old Walmart,” he said. “That’s going to be a big plus for us. We do miss Walmart being at our back door.”

He doesn’t expect the change in surroundings to effect business too much, though. While he occasionally visits an auction, the majority of the merchandise in his shop comes through the front door.

“Because we’re more of an upscale store, word is out there and people bring us really good stuff all the time,” Coutts said. “There are always people moving, upsizing, downsizing. There’s a continuous flow of stuff being bought and sold out there.”