From discarded items, many small traders have built stable livelihoods.
"Old you, new me"
Two years ago, Mr. Nguyen Van Toan on Hang Kenh Street worked as an industrial cleaner. While cleaning houses, he noticed that many families threw away a lot of old things that were still in good condition. Feeling sorry for them, he asked for them or bought them at a cheap price to use. From there, he came up with the idea of selling used goods.
Mr. Toan said: “Many things are no longer valuable to some people but are useful to others. At first, I only sold a few household items that I got from cleaning. After opening a store, I went to scrap collection points and set up groups to exchange old items to have a more abundant source of goods.”
Not only doing business in the market, many people also choose to sell used goods online because they do not need large capital or rent a place. With just a social network account, sellers can easily reach customers.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Hang, owner of a second-hand shop on the group " Hai Phong Second-hand Goods", said that online trading is very convenient. Thanks to the groups, the store can find suitable buyers and collect items that others want to liquidate. According to Ms. Hang, the profit from second-hand goods is quite attractive, usually reaching 30-40%, with some items reaching up to 60%. The items are very diverse, from clothes, books, electrical equipment to household appliances, helping the store always have new items to sell.
Many potential risks
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Although it brings a stable income, the second-hand goods business also has many risks for both sellers and buyers. According to Mr. Pham Van Duy, a second-hand goods trader in Tan Hung ward, not all items bought can be sold immediately but must be sorted, cleaned, and repaired. There are things that are bought and then realized cannot be repaired and have to be discarded.
"Once I bought a few used washing machines at a cheap price, but when I brought them home I discovered that the control panel was seriously faulty. Because the machine was so old, it was very difficult to find replacement parts. If I had to replace it, it would have cost millions of dong, and I wouldn't have made a profit. In the end, I had to sell it as scrap metal to recoup my capital," said Duy.
Many shop owners compare their workplace to a “junkyard” because the warehouse has all kinds of items, some rusty, some outdated. Many items cannot be sold for a long time and must be thrown away. “There is profit but also a lot of loss. Old items cannot be kept forever like antiques,” said Mr. Duy.
The risk also often falls on the buyer. Because of the desire for cheapness, many people bring home low-quality goods, which break after a few days of use. With electrical and electronic equipment, the most common hidden fault is that the item looks quite new on the outside, works well when tested, but problems arise when purchased and used. It is worth mentioning that most of the items do not have a clear origin, do not have a warranty or only have a short warranty, when broken, the buyer can only "suffer the loss".
Ms. Nguyen Thi Hoa in Le Thanh Nghi ward once bought a used air fryer for a third of the price of a new one. It worked fine when tested, but after two weeks it short-circuited and had to be repaired, costing nearly half the original purchase price.
Experienced people say that to limit risks, when buying used goods, customers must check carefully and ask clearly about returns, especially with electrical appliances. However, even when being careful, risks are still difficult to avoid. Therefore, both sellers and buyers need to be alert and understand the product clearly to avoid the situation of "losing money and getting sick".
HAI MINHSource: https://baohaiphong.vn/nghe-mua-cua-nguoi-chan-ban-cho-nguoi-can-527955.html
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