Pawnshops thrive come new school<\/p>\n
Oyos Saroso H.N., The Jakarta Post, Bandarlampung<\/p>\n
A housewife in her 50s hurriedly entered the state-owned pawnshop
\nin Bandarlampung city, on one recent morning. The moment she
\nreached the customer service counter, she took out three flower-
\nmotif bed sheets wrapped in plastic. Not long after, an appraiser
\nheld the three packages and wrote a figure on a piece of paper.
\n"A hundred and twenty," the appraiser told the cashier next to
\nhim.<\/p>\n
The cashier then handed over Rp 120,000 (approximately
\nUS$12.60) to the lady, with three documents denoting the value
\nand the due-date for redemption of the items.<\/p>\n
Rohanah (not her real name), acknowledged that she had to pawn
\noff her three cherished bed sheets because she needed the money
\nto register her two children in school. "I needed cash fast.
\nThere was no other way but to pawn the belongings still
\navailable," said Rohanah.<\/p>\n
She had previously pawned off her 14-inch TV set and 10 pieces
\nof batik cloth of various types in early July. The TV set was one
\nof her cherished belongings that she still hopes to get back as
\nit provides her with entertainment.<\/p>\n
The 10 pieces of batik cloth, among them the Sidomukti,
\nParangrusak and Trumtum types that she got in Yogyakarta, were
\nher personal collection, inherited from her parents.<\/p>\n
For Rohanah, the beginning of the new school term means that
\nshe has to visit the pawnshop. According to her, the pawnshop is
\nthe only place where she can immediately and easily obtain money
\nwithout going through complicated procedures.<\/p>\n
For her, the pawnshop is exactly true to its motto, which
\nreads "Solving problems without problems".<\/p>\n
"I usually take thing to the shop at the beginning of a new
\nschool term for my children's schooling needs. It costs hundreds
\nof thousands of rupiah just to register one child. I have to
\nregister two of my children in new schools (one in junior high
\nand the other in high school) and another one who is in sixth
\ngrade. My husband only works as a construction worker whose
\nearnings are not regular," said Rohanah.<\/p>\n
Besides Idul Fitri holidays, pawnshops are often packed at the
\nstart of a new school term -- as they were last week. Clients who
\ntrade in their belongings not only come from the low-income
\nbracket like Rohanah, whose most valuable property is a TV set,
\nbut also those from the middle to higher income levels, as can be
\nseen from the daily turnover and types of belongings brought in
\nby them.<\/p>\n
A staff member at the pawnshop on Jl. Pattimura in
\nBandarlampung, Yadaeni, said that the value of belongings brought
\nin by customers ranged from Rp 20,000 to hundreds of millions of
\nrupiah.<\/p>\n
Yadaeni said that the office still accepted things of nominal
\nvalue, because besides being business-oriented, it was also
\ncarrying out a social function.<\/p>\n
"We will accept customers who only pawn off one piece of
\ncloth, as long as its value is not less than Rp 20,000 after
\nbeing appraised," said Yadaeni.<\/p>\n
According to Yadaeni, the pawnshop on Jl. Pattimura does an
\naverage daily turnover of Rp 100 million. Most of the things put
\nin hock by customers are gold jewelry items, motorcycles and
\ncars.<\/p>\n
Manager of the Jl. Antasari branch pawnshop in Bandarlampung,
\nTun Imanuddin, explained that his office had launched a new
\nprogram in the past year, called the creation pawning system.
\nCustomers no longer need to leave behind their belongings at the
\npawnshop, that way it does not need to be stored there.<\/p>\n
"Customers of the program can get money and still take home
\ntheir belongings, but their documents have to be clear. Before we
\napprove loans, we will conduct a survey on them first of all,"
\nsaid Imanuddin.<\/p>\n
According to Imanuddin, nearly 50 percent of his clients have
\nopted for the program because they consider it more beneficial.
\nClients can get fresh funds without having to leave their
\nvaluables with us as collateral.<\/p>\n
If someone borrows money, the person can still use his or her
\nvehicle because the pawnshop only keeps the vehicle ownership
\nbook.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/pawnshops-thrive-come-new-school-1447893297",
"image": ""
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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