Those who have driven through the intersection of Pioneer Way and Grandview Street lately have likely seen a giant banana standing on the street corner.

Derek Bennett, the man in the banana suit, has been standing there seven hours a day, six days a week, since the beginning of the month. He waves a sign for Trader MaGee’s and lures curiosity seekers into the new shop at Pioneer Square behind Kitsap Bank.

“People slow down and look, some of them smile and wave,” Bennett said. “It’s kind of embarrassing.”

Bennett’s street-corner capers are working. Trader MaGee’s has been buying and selling gold and silver since Feb. 1.

“I would say about three-quarters of the customers come in from seeing Derek,” Office Manager Haley Haas said.

The store’s owner, Mike Berdine, said the store is a buying center for a much bigger location in Bremerton that has been buying and selling goods for a year.

“We do a lot of electronics, boats and motorcycles,” he said. “We sell everything from jewelry to motor homes. We’ve had tremendous success, because there’s nothing like it around here. People have been coming to the Bremerton store saying, ‘When are you coming to Gig Harbor?’ ”

While the local store is small and carries a selection of retail jewelry, it still handles the same amount of business.

“We’re a top-rated power seller,” Berdine said. “We have a lot of stuff on eBay where people can shop.”

The store offers layaway for big-ticket items with no interest. Berdine said gold and silver prices are at an all-time high.

“That’s why I’m here: The metal markets are so high,” he said. “Gold is over $1,700 an ounce. Even wealthy people are digging through their closets and cashing in on this. About 90 percent of what we buy is broken, unused jewelry people had lying around.”

What sets his business apart, Berdine said, is if a person brings in a sellable piece of jewelry, he will buy it instead of just valuing it for the metal.

“We pay for the stones, not just scrap,” he said. “We don’t hand people a pair of tweezers and say, ‘Go in the parking lot and pull out the stones.’ If it’s a good piece, I’ll clean it up and sell it.”

Berdine buys gold by the karat weight because that’s what its value is based on.

“People are constantly telling me, ‘The last time I sold gold, they didn’t do that,’ ” Berdine said. “We’re not new to the game. We don’t just throw it on a scale and say, ‘It’s gold.’ We show them that they’re getting paid for the specific karat.”

Berdine buys pawn tickets, a new concept for the states, but not in Europe.

“A lot of times when someone pawns something, they can’t come up with the money to buy it back,” he said. “Then they have to pay interest on the loan. I tell them, ‘Look, you’re going to lose it anyway. Let me buy that from you.’ I buy the pawn ticket and give them a fair price for it. It’s a nice service.”

One thing Berdine has learned from experience is that his line of business requires a lot of compassion. He often can tell when a person is having a hard time parting with an object that has sentimental value and will sometimes ask a person to come back after they have time to think about it.

“We have a stellar reputation for walking our customers through the transaction,” he said. “People are hurting for money. A lot of people don’t want to sell what they’re selling. I don’t want to capitalize on a person who is down and out. These are tough times for everyone.”

Sellers who have large items can email a photo and information about it to Trader MaGee’s. If interested, Berdine will send someone out to pick up the item or pick it up himself.

“I do house calls,” he said. “People hear about the Craigslist crazies, but I’ll pick the stuff up and pay cash for it. I buy a lot of whole estates.”

In those situations, the trader will keep the large sellable items, but things like clothing and kitchen utensils go to Goodwill.

“We don’t do pots and pans,” he said. “But when we buy an entire estate, we have truckloads that go to the Goodwill. But that’s OK. It’s good to give to someone who gives back to the community.”

Trader Magee’s buys and sells coins, silver, gold, tools, electronics, sporting goods, music instruments, jewelry, cameras and more. It is located at 3616 Grandview St. in Gig Harbor. For more information, call 253-858-7001 or visit www.tradermagees.com.

Lifestyles Coordinator and reporter Susan Schell can be reached at 253-853-9240 or by email at susan.schell@gateline.com.