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Pawnshop industry whose history is more than 1,000 years, is an ancient Chinese commercial. Such an ancient industry can exist now, it means the society has the needs, but if we read ancient books, legends, drama, we would find pawnshop industry often been labeled as a negative label, pawnshops always be regarded as the place of "exploitation", "oppression". Pawnshop industry wants to have a foothold in the community, while it always stays in the dark, and is difficult to open a new situation, which have to say that it is an original sin!
The original sin is related to humanity. If people went to the pawnshop, it means they need money, and pawnshops help people meet their immediate needs, it seemingly mutually beneficial, but the pawnshop would impose an interest charge, which lead to the negative perceptions: "rebound guy”, "usury" ,etc.. After nursing a grievance, people would generate a meatality-- " forced to seek help, but also hate".
Since 16 years old (1974), I went to the pawnshop as an apprentice, at that time pawnshop was facing the period of social changes, I was personally present on the grand occasion. In the pawnshop industry prosperous period, I have witnessed Taiwan''s overall economy from poverty, the development towards prosperity, but also have saw everything like the interdependence and contempt between pawnshops and pawnees.
When I was young, I was determined to make the pawnshop industry to be a convenient and respectable industry, for example, most people criticized the interest rates, under my efforts, the rates decrease from 108 percent annual interest rate to today''s gold loan interest rates only 6%. I also raised a number of management pawnshop industry, such as adopting computer management system, improving the pawn tickets to be precise and refined, strengthening the security systems and safety equipment, implementing the insurance system, the client quality when the product storage provides identification standardization work, service attitude shift to professional and caring manner.
Nowadays, Depawn Shop ,which I managed, has been beyond Taiwan 2000 private pawnshops, no matter in the business scale or the social reputation. I feel honored about that. But the fact that the development of pawnshop industry in Great China is really worrying, because most of the pawnshops operate as banks towards lending patterns, which only deepened the pawn negativestereotype, but also created many troubling security problems.
Originally, pawnshop industry was closely to the society. With the pace of social development, a growing number of high-class customers or vendors have intensive interactions with pawnshop. Through pawnshop’s innovation services, these high-class customers or vendors are satisfied with the cash flow, good storage management, and the way to get the market information. In addition, for other individual customers, they can transform their fine jewelry, expensive artifacts etc. to cash through pawn shops, to solve the problem of financing needs and keep hold on the goods.
In the future, with my efforts, pawnshop industry will be a new financial services.
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