But all pawnshops are not alike: state-run pawnshops are doing well, but there has been a wave of closings among private pawnshops. There are also notable differences in the status of persons bringing in items to pawn. Poor people hock their sandals, while a rich man puts up a gravel transport ship that would cost over a billion NT dollars to build-the tendency towards "M-shaped collateral" is very obvious.
可同樣是當鋪，命運卻大不同：公營當鋪出現典當潮，民營當鋪卻出現倒閉潮；典當人的身價也大不同，窮人當藍白拖（拖鞋），有錢人則當造價十多億元的運砂船，當品的 M 型化趨勢明顯。