Pawnshops thrive come new school

Pawnshops thrive come new school

Oyos Saroso H.N., The Jakarta Post, Bandarlampung

A housewife in her 50s hurriedly entered the state-owned pawnshop
in Bandarlampung city, on one recent morning. The moment she
reached the customer service counter, she took out three flower-
motif bed sheets wrapped in plastic. Not long after, an appraiser
held the three packages and wrote a figure on a piece of paper.
"A hundred and twenty," the appraiser told the cashier next to
him.

The cashier then handed over Rp 120,000 (approximately
US$12.60) to the lady, with three documents denoting the value
and the due-date for redemption of the items.

Rohanah (not her real name), acknowledged that she had to pawn
off her three cherished bed sheets because she needed the money
to register her two children in school. "I needed cash fast.
There was no other way but to pawn the belongings still
available," said Rohanah.

She had previously pawned off her 14-inch TV set and 10 pieces
of batik cloth of various types in early July. The TV set was one
of her cherished belongings that she still hopes to get back as
it provides her with entertainment.

The 10 pieces of batik cloth, among them the Sidomukti,
Parangrusak and Trumtum types that she got in Yogyakarta, were
her personal collection, inherited from her parents.

For Rohanah, the beginning of the new school term means that
she has to visit the pawnshop. According to her, the pawnshop is
the only place where she can immediately and easily obtain money
without going through complicated procedures.

For her, the pawnshop is exactly true to its motto, which
reads "Solving problems without problems".

"I usually take thing to the shop at the beginning of a new
school term for my children's schooling needs. It costs hundreds
of thousands of rupiah just to register one child. I have to
register two of my children in new schools (one in junior high
and the other in high school) and another one who is in sixth
grade. My husband only works as a construction worker whose
earnings are not regular," said Rohanah.

Besides Idul Fitri holidays, pawnshops are often packed at the
start of a new school term -- as they were last week. Clients who
trade in their belongings not only come from the low-income
bracket like Rohanah, whose most valuable property is a TV set,
but also those from the middle to higher income levels, as can be
seen from the daily turnover and types of belongings brought in
by them.

A staff member at the pawnshop on Jl. Pattimura in
Bandarlampung, Yadaeni, said that the value of belongings brought
in by customers ranged from Rp 20,000 to hundreds of millions of
rupiah.

Yadaeni said that the office still accepted things of nominal
value, because besides being business-oriented, it was also
carrying out a social function.

"We will accept customers who only pawn off one piece of
cloth, as long as its value is not less than Rp 20,000 after
being appraised," said Yadaeni.

According to Yadaeni, the pawnshop on Jl. Pattimura does an
average daily turnover of Rp 100 million. Most of the things put
in hock by customers are gold jewelry items, motorcycles and
cars.

Manager of the Jl. Antasari branch pawnshop in Bandarlampung,
Tun Imanuddin, explained that his office had launched a new
program in the past year, called the creation pawning system.
Customers no longer need to leave behind their belongings at the
pawnshop, that way it does not need to be stored there.

"Customers of the program can get money and still take home
their belongings, but their documents have to be clear. Before we
approve loans, we will conduct a survey on them first of all,"
said Imanuddin.

According to Imanuddin, nearly 50 percent of his clients have
opted for the program because they consider it more beneficial.
Clients can get fresh funds without having to leave their
valuables with us as collateral.

If someone borrows money, the person can still use his or her
vehicle because the pawnshop only keeps the vehicle ownership
book.