In Stave 4 of "A Christmas Carol," the people at Old Joe's shop are secondhand dealers who are purchasing stolen goods from the charwoman, laundress, and undertaker who stole them from Scrooge's deceased body. They are haggling over the prices of the items they obtained.
In Stave 4, these are the undertaker, Mrs Dilber the Charlady and the laundress. They have "aquired" some of the dead Scrooges belongings and are at the beetling shop attempting to sell their ill aquired goods
In "A Christmas Carol," the junk dealers were selling items that they had acquired through shady means, such as stolen goods or belongings taken from deceased individuals. These items included old clothes, jewelry, and household items.
Scrooge and the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come observe the four in a seedy part of town. They were Old Joe, the junk dealer (who seems accustomed to fencing stolen goods), and three people who have come to sell things. The three are Scrooge's laundress (Mrs. Dilber), his charwoman, and an undertaker's assistant, and all have taken possessions from Scrooge's home or person after his death.
IN Victorian London like many large cities of its time there were traders. Many were specialists like butchers, bakers and green grocers.
SCrooge (and Marley) were merchants and warehousers of goods(normally corn) but they also ran a money lending business and a property rental business
In "A Christmas Carol," Old Joe is a rag and bone merchant who buys stolen items from the dead Scrooge's housekeeper. He is known for being shady and dealing in questionable goods. Old Joe plays a minor role in the story, but his character exemplifies the harsh realities of the lower class in Victorian London.
He owned a beetling shop, somewhere where colith and materials were bought and then hammered to make the fibers thinner in material for resale. he also bought some dubious items which may or may not have been legal
At that time (1843) London would have many street traders as well as small family owned businesses. London was also a central port from importing such things as corn and transhipping goods across Britain of the time therefore people of London would if they had any money purchase from these traders
The old man looking for Scrooge's old things in "A Christmas Carol" is a pawnbroker, who buys and sells second-hand goods. Scrooge's belongings are being sold to the pawnbroker after his death as he had no family or close friends to inherit them.
The three thieves brought stolen goods to Joe in "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens. They were Ignorance, Want, and Desperation, symbolizing the consequences of greed and selfishness in society. Joe is a pawnshop owner who unknowingly purchases these stolen items from the thieves.
In "A Christmas Carol," Joe Miller is the sea-faring uncle of Ebenezer Scrooge's former fiancΓ©e, Belle. He is mentioned in passing as having tried to salvage some of Scrooge's negative reputation after he turns bitter and cold-hearted following their breakup.