Thursday, August 23, 2018

PAWNING 101: OKAY BA MAGSANGLA?



A few years back, whenever I hear the word "sangla" or "pawn", I get the jitters. I don't know why but maybe because in our culture, pawnshops have always gotten a bad reputation in the past. Perhaps because it has negatively been portrayed in the movies which have been associated with shady characters. ~ This is how I felt about the "sangla thingy" until namulat ako sa katotohanan.

Kayo ba, what's your take on "sangla"

If I were to recall, I would always see my mom purchasing jewelry to her trusted kumare's "wantosawa. Then I would ask her why does she keep on buying those jewelry eh ang "mahal- mahal" naman. And each time I would ask the very same question, she would always answer "investment" yan.


My mom and I are the opposite when it comes to jewelry. Kung sya sobrang hilig sa jewelry, ako naman yung walang kahilig -hilig — well not until ngayon na medyo nag-mature na ako. (I prefer to use "nag-matureinstead of ngayon na "tumanda" na ako haha!) Kidding aside, it was only a few years back when I get to appreciate gold and white-gold. 

I don't know ha, pero during my younger years —hindi ko alam why I always refuse whenever my mom gives me a piece of jewelry. Perhaps baka kasi nagka-trauma ako dahil I always tend to lose the other pair of my earrings kaya I conveniently settled and preferred "fashion jewelry" instead. But then again sabi ko nga, things have changed and lately, I've been hooked sa jewelry. 


You might ask, what made me change my "feelings" to jewelry? Well, dahil I have gotten to learn its value. Sabi nga ni Mama, 'pag-may gold ka, investment yan kasi hindi bumababa ang value ng gold, but instead tumataas pa. Oo nga naman and come to think of it, people pawn jewelry for an emergency so they can have fast cash. 

I have this short story to tell and share with you —

Prior to getting married, syempre my "pa-pogi" "then boyfriend"~ now my husband gave me a number of presents and one of it is jewelry. (I'm crossing my fingers na sana hindi nya mabasa toh' coz this is the first time that I'm going to share this....) So ayun na nga, he gave me a set of earrings and a ring. Sa kakulitan ko, I sneaked out and went to the nearest pawnshop in our place which is Cebuana Lhuiller and to my surprise, the set which he gave me has been appraised at PhP 28,000.00 !— that was my first-time ever na makapasok sa pawnshop and seriously kinakabahan ako because 1. Someone might see me and might think something negative na kesho I'm bringing and pawning a jewelry sa sanglaan and 2. Baka mahuli ako ni boyfie, and he might thought na bakit ko isasangla yung gift nya. Haha! 


I know, I Know! Ngayon I just laugh about it na lang, but then if you also feel the same about pawning a jewelry, then I guess you gotta' have a change of heart. This is the reason why I am blogging about this kasi I'd like to change how you see and feel about pawning too.

Going back to my appraised jewelry set (not the one in photo), I was quite surprised na ang taas ng appraisal ng Cebuana Lhuiller. Kaya after I was able to get my jewelry appraised, binaon' ko na sila sa lupa and tinago ko na for fear that I might misplace it or lose it. Haha! Seriously though, at the back of my mind, I am so happy and thankful kasi I know that I have something on hand and there's Cebuana Lhuiller that I can turn to in times of emergency. 

You might ask, why Cebuana eh there are a lot of other pawnshops naman. My definite answer is TRUST. You see, when I brought the hard-earned gifted jewelry set of my then boyfriend to the pawnshop, Cebuana provided me with the most honest and highest appraisal possible. The entire appraisal transaction was fast and easy which took about 10 minutes maximum. I wasn't able to experience the whole "sangla" process but the staff who did the appraisal was very kind to explain na if ever I decide to "sangla' the set, they will secure the jewelry in a sealed pouch with my signature on it. At that time I felt that Cebuana Lhuillier has got my back. With their Pawning Service, one can never go short in any amount. I also learned that they actually accept an array of items — from jewelry to gadgets, as collateral. And isa pa, knowing that they lead the pawning industry by offering safety and the highest appraisal rate within the industry, bakit pa ako maghahanap ng iba

Oh and you know what, the very kind "Ate" even gave me a very brief "jewelry lesson 101" on how to spot and identify the Karat of gold through their colors. I may have not become an expert but I greatly learned from it. So alam ko na if yung binibigay sakin ni husband eh fashion jewelry lang o hindi. haha! joke lungs! 


But anyway, just to share with you what I learned from"ate the appraiser" : gold daw has 3 common colors which are "yellow" "white" and rosegold". White gold normally is 14 or 18carat. If you see a gold that's deep yellow~ that's 22-24carat which are usually the "saudi gold". Light yellowish in color are normally the 14carat ones and those with yellowish brown in color are usually the 9 or 10carat ones.

So you see, I know that sometimes we encounter situations that demand us to spend more than we’ve budgeted for. And these may be due to emergencies or miscalculated budget, business transactions or at worse, talagang kulang lang talaga yung on-hand money natin. But whatever the reasons are, first, we must not be hard on ourselves for not being prepared enough to attend to those sudden needs.

With all of that being said, while there are several creative options to come up with money, pawning an item is perhaps one of the easiest and fastest ways to generate cash. That, it is the perfect place to get short-term loans that aren’t available from banks or traditional lenders. It's true that up to now, there is still this stigma that pawning is an embarrassing way to generate money when times get rough, pero, pero, pero.... dapat natin isa-isip na mas maganda pa din mag sangla kesa- mangutang.


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Jaimie 

xx THE MERMAID IN STILETTOS xx
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1 comment:

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