Nanjing University student Wang Huan walked into a local pawnshop with her brand new desktop computer. "I've finally found a home for my new computer this summer," laughed Wang as she signed a two-month contract with the pawnshop. She received 900 yuan (US$112.5) for her Hewitt Packard desktop computer.

"I'll redeem my desktop as soon as I come back to the university," Wang told China Daily.

Wang is one of many university students who hocked their possessions at local pawnshops at the very beginning of their summer vacation. Though their circumstances differ, the students all make a common vow: they will buy back their possessions when school starts again.

"In late June and early July, tens of college students came to our pawnshop," said Hu Bo, vice-president of Jingbao Pawnshop in Beijing. "They mostly hock the digital products, like computers, digital camera and MP3."

Soon after Wang Huan left the pawnshop, she walked directly to China Construction Bank and deposited the 900 yuan.

"I don't need this sum of money at all," she explained, "but the pawnshop is a good place to store my desktop and solve my biggest problem this summer."

Wang's biggest problem was carrying the heavy desktop computer home for summer holidays. The summer vacation is about two months long and most of the students return home. "It is quite unsafe to leave my brand new desktop in an empty dormitory," she said.

"Besides, a great many valuable materials are stored in my computer. How can I cope with next semester's experiment if I lost this important data?"

When Wang returns to university her desktop will be safe, secure and in good condition.

Easy and fast way

For some, the pawnshop is the last act of desperation and the result of too much fun.

An 18-year-old freshman from a local university rushed to the nearest ticket-booking agency as soon as he got out of Beijing Jingbao Pawnshop. Minutes before, he had pawned his Canon digital camera. The young man, who refused to reveal his name, needed the money to buy a train ticket back home. "I just cannot ask my parents for the money again. In the past semester I spent too much money on the Internet bar," he said.

The pawnshop is an easy and fast way to help him get by. "When I come back to the university next year, I would tighten my belt and try to redeem it. Then my parents will not know it."

Pawnshops are ideal for the cash-strapped university students who happen to run out of their pocket money. Most of their "bankruptcy" is due to their excessive spending on clothing, parties and Internet.

"Most of us just find it too hard to tell our parents about it, and we dare not ask for more money because of entertainment," said Xu Jinjin, a junior from Jinling Institute of Technology in Nanjing.

Some of university students, especially those in their first year away from the hometown, only know a little about how to arrange their finances. Because of the long-accustomed dependence on their parents, they often find themselves trapped in financial difficulties when living independently.

"Our financial crisis often comes up near the end of a semester, as we have exhausted almost all the budget," Xu said.

Xu said the pawnshop is a simple solution to their short-term financial difficulty as an average deal only takes about 10 minutes.

Student visits to pawnshops are spreading across a dozen cities throughout China, including Beijing, Tianjin, Harbin, Nanjing and Yangzhou. Some people are baffled by the new trend. The pawnshop concept sounds too old fashioned for many Chinese.

"It reminds me of the 10-year old Lu Xun (one of the greatest Chinese writers in 1920s and 1930s) who had to lift his hands high to reach the counter to hock clothes and get money in return to buy medicine for his father," Lin Wei, a 50-something middle school teacher said.

Lin cannot understand why today's elite students need to resort to selling their possessions.

Most college students in China were born in a one-child family and it seems that their parents have provided them with enough cash.

Government employee Xu Kun, 34, was also baffled by the pawn-shop trend. "I'm really curious about why the pawnshop becomes a fad among them. Is it because they are short of money or anything else?"

According to Hu Bo from the Beijing Jingbao Pawnshop, about 80 percent of students hock their possessions for storing purposes.

"We would set a time with the customers as soon as we get their stuff." As long as the customers give back the principal plus storage fees before this time limit, the pawnshop would return these customers' possessions.

Wang Liang, a sophomore from a local university also recently hocked his desktop in Beijing Baoruitong Pawnshop. He was a happy customer.

"The pawn interest is not so high, just about 4.7 percent," Wang said. "I hocked my computer for 100 yuan (US$12.5). One month later, I only need to return 100 yuan and an additional 4.7 yuan. Then I would get my desktop returned."

University students are not always the happy hockers. Sometimes they enjoy looking for bargains.

Teng Fei, a postgraduate student from Capital University of Economics and Business in Beijing, is a regular customer.

Bargain deals

"When speaking of pawn, many people would think of those helpless," Hu Bo smiled. "But today's pawnshops are not only a place for the poor, but also a haunt for many rich guys who want to get richer."

All the items, even those unused goods are regarded as second-hand when the pawnshop displays them for sale and the prices are low.

"There are many new and unused items for sale in the pawnshops as many customers come here to pawn some of their gifts," Yang Jiankun, assistant general manager of the Huaxia Pawnshop in Beijing explained.

According to Yang, most of these customers had owned a digital camera or MP3 before they received such kind of gifts and they hock these unwanted gifts.

Teng Fei said some new digital cameras only sell for 15 per cent of their market price. "Moreover, you don't need to worry about the quality of these goods," Teng added.

It is widely held that poor quality comes out as the biggest headache for the customers in a second-hand market. However, as all the pawn items would go through a rigorous examination of the experts in the pawnshop, the customers would feel assured of the quality when faced with an array of catching exhibits in a pawnshop.

"I like to stroll around these pawnshops. I got my earrings, Panasonic MP3 and even my laptop here," Teng said.

Zhou Wei, a postgraduate student in Beijing recently bought a necklace at the pawnshop after receiving her pay cheque from her part-time job.

"I'm very satisfied with the price, and more importantly I know it is not a fake as the experts in the pawnshop have appraised its quality," Zhou said.

(China Daily August 16, 2006)