In the daily film and television drama plots, we can often observe that when the poor and needy characters are faced with an unsolvable dilemma, they often resort to pawn and hand over their precious things to the pawnshop for evaluation, but they accept a very low exchange value.
For pawned items, the usual criterion in pawnshops is "insect and rat bites, ragged and dilapidated, and worthless". In this way, why do many people still choose to enter the door of pawn shops without hesitation? Let's get a glimpse into the history of pawnshops and how they were called in various dynasties.
Pawn shops originated during the Northern and Southern Dynasties. As early as the Tang Dynasty, it was known as the "quality bank"; In the prosperous and powerful Song Dynasty, it was renamed "Changsheng Library". As we all know, during the Song Dynasty, the commodity economy was prosperous and attracted worldwide attention, both in terms of domestic economic level and foreign scale, far exceeding other countries in the same period. As a result, the Immortal Bank flourished during this period. Many ** nobles and wealthy people have invested in the operation of the Changsheng Treasury, because they can indeed make huge profits from it. Only when the commercial returns brought by a certain way of making a profit reach a certain level can it attract many investors and make it prosperous.
Until the Ming Dynasty, pawnshops officially decided to name "pawnshop" and carried out pawn business in order to make a profit. To ensure maximum profits, pawnshops have developed unique "internal passwords" and means. In order to demonstrate authority and win the trust of the people, the pawnshop has formulated a series of strict rules. If a customer brings a collection to the pawnshop, the owner will not only try to devalue the goods, but also sell the ownership of the goods to the pawnshop at the lowest possible price**.
As for the reason for this operation, it is precisely because of the fact that pawnshops are able to maximize the huge profits. Through the way of etiquette, we realize that pawnshops are also divided into two types: "living pawns" and "dead pawns". Among them, death refers to the pawnshop's one-time purchase of the item in full, after which the item and the owner are no longer involved. On the other hand, the pawnshop will keep the item and pay a certain amount of money to the owner. Within a certain period of time, if the owner can successfully raise enough funds to restore the item to its original state, the pawnshop will be willing to return the item.
However, it is worth noting that the pawnshop is not a charity. During this period, they will charge interest charges as agreed. If the owner fails to pay the ransom on time, the pawnshop has the right to extend the redemption period as appropriate. However, in the process, the ransom amount will inevitably increase along with the principal, so that the two will accumulate year by year. When the owner is finally unable to pay the balance, the living pawn turns into a dead pawn, and the pawnshop can legally acquire the goods.
Some people may ask that there are many pawnshops, and there may be differences in the redemption amount given by each one, so why not choose a pawnshop with a higher redemption amount for pawning? In response to this problem, there is a consensus in the pawnshop industry, generally speaking, the latter is relatively cheaper than the previous one. What is the reason for this? It turns out that they have a set of methods that are well versed in human nature - when the appraisal and valuation of the first pawnshop is completed, some buyers dislike the ** too low and may seek the next pawnshop. At this time, the clerk will also pack the items and hand them over to the buyer, so that the customer can go to the next store at will.
When the pawnshop owner carries his goods to the next shop, the shopkeeper can often easily determine whether the customer has already had a valuation at another pawnshop by simply looking at it.
Take clothing as an example, when the first pawnshop completes the valuation process, but when the owner is not satisfied with the valuation result and decides to bring the goods to the next store, the informed shopkeeper will deliberately fold the cuffs of the clothes a few points in the process of packing the clothes, which is actually a secret consensus among industry peers.
As for other types of items, there are also ways to convey information, but it is important to note that not all items are accepted by pawnshops, and they also have items that are expressly forbidden.
First of all, pawnshops are explicitly forbidden to collect divine robes and costumes. Why is there such an unwritten rule? Mainly due to the reluctance of pawnshop owners to touch things that are tainted with "fate", even if such clothes are priceless, few people are willing to buy them, because the special atmosphere set by them is really a little uncomfortable.
Secondly, the pawnshop refuses to accept all kinds of jewelry that does not have economic value or other things that may not be profitable, this information is also for people to understand and accept, after all, the essence of pawnshop business is to make a profit, and things that cannot bring benefits will naturally not be accepted.
In view of the lucrative nature of the industry, a large number of businessmen invested in pawn shops, and those who came for help were mostly in a state of financial emergency, but they still did not give up the assets they held. As a result, they had to pledge their property in some form in the hope that they would save enough money to redeem it later.
Therefore, this undoubtedly provides a "potential" opportunity for pawnshops to "depress" **, knowing full well that even if they try to depress the item**, there is still a good chance that the mortgagor will choose to pawn the goods.
When the pawnbroker walks into the pawnshop, they usually raise their hands and present the item to be pawned in front of the shopkeeper before proceeding to the next negotiation session.
In ancient societies, materials were extremely scarce, especially in poor families, so even a worn padded jacket or an old leather jacket could still be used as a corresponding amount.
Another point is questionable: why do pawnshops always build their counters very high? Is it just for "convenience"? If you look closely, it's hard to find the slightest convenience, right?
In fact, there are many deep-seated reasons for this. Before and during the early Qing Dynasty, the height of the counters in pawnshops was within the normal range, but over time, the counters began to increase in height.
There are many reasons for increasing the counter, the first purpose is to avoid attacks as much as possible, after all, in a pawnshop, the negotiation process between the two parties is fierce and bumpy, for example, an item that originally cost 60 taels of silver may end up selling for only 30 taels. When the counter is raised, these problems are alleviated accordingly; More crucially, at the psychological and tactical level, standing higher does have the advantage of controlling a certain dominant situation.
Another important reason comes from preventing malicious actors. When a pawnshop receives a valuable treasure, the towering counter can block the view of those with bad intentions.
These criminals who intend to commit robbery are looking for speed, precision and ruthlessness, but when the counter is heightened, it is difficult for them to move quickly, which is equivalent to leaving valuable time for the pawnshop to respond calmly. As the proprietors of pawnshops, they will also recruit some strong bodyguards so that they can take effective measures to rescue them at any time in the face of sudden crises.
The most important point is that this design can effectively avoid any form of private communication between the shopkeeper and the pawnbroker, and ensure that the economic interests of the pawnshop are not infringed to the greatest extent.