Pawnshops accept nearly any item as long as it can be resold, and although the items have changed over the years, in many ways the pawnshops of today are the same as those from decades ago, a proprietor with more than 20 years experience in the business said.
“Today, people pawn electronics, jewelry, cars and houses, but there have also been people who have pawned gold teeth, grenades, body armor and even dogs,” pawnshop owner A-chuan (阿全) said.
Pawnshops first emerged in Taiwan when it was still an agricultural society, as the economy was not good and many people had no other option when they needed money, he said.
Photo: Huang Liang-chieh, Taipei Times
“Back then, people would pawn pots, pans, quilts, clothes and other items ... for emergencies. That is why people often say that anything can be pawned,” he said.
Pawnshop owners typically check online to determine whether an item has value, and whether it can be sold legally, A-chuan said.
“Another pawnshop owner once told me that he accepted six grenades under the insistence of the customer,” he said. “Police later came by and seized the grenades, but returned them after confirming them to be replicas and not live weapons.”
A-chuan said he was once approached by a Taoist priest who wanted to pawn bulletproof vests, but after checking the saleability of the vests with other proprietors, he did not accept them.
The strangest item he received was a golden retriever, he said, adding that he prefers not to accept pets as they must be cared for while in his possession.
Separately, police are encouraging pawnshop owners and the public to report any suspicious behavior involving pawnshops.
There have been recent fraud cases involving people claiming to be investigators who convince people to pawn their property, police said.
In one case, a woman in Taichung surnamed Chou (周) received a call from someone claiming to be a police investigator, police said.
The caller told Chou that her identity and National Health Insurance card information had been compromised, and asked her to pawn one of her properties and put the money into a designated account to be used as part of the investigation.
The pawnshop owner contacted the police, saying the situation seemed “abnormal,” and Chou was spared from losing her property, police said.
Another case involved a woman surnamed Wu (吳) who inadvertently gave NT$2.5 million (US$78,311) to a group of people after she joined an investment group through Facebook.
The group then encouraged her to pawn her property to get more funds to invest, police said, adding that the pawnshop owner in that case also contacted the authorities.
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