Sale of pre-loved items slowly picking up

PETALING JAYA: The popularity of secondhand shopping in Malaysia is regaining its momentum, with business owners starting to see a pick-up in sales.

For some, however, it is a gradual process because they say the pandemic has altered consumers’ spending habits.

Marcus Tey Wan, who runs a business importing and supplying refurbished gadgets from China, said the pandemic has pushed gadget ownership and usage to a new high.

“During the lockdowns, all adults and children were cooped up indoors, and they could only rely on their smartphones, tablets, laptops or computers for work, study and entertainment.

“That was when the need for smart devices surged. Even children from underprivileged families needed a tablet for online learning,” he said.

Tey, who has three outlets in the Klang Valley and an online store, said his business returned to about 60% of pre-pandemic days.

Chia Say Wei, 50, who owns the One Stop Buy & Sell Enterprise in Puchong, said his business returned only 30% so far.

“I focus more on buying and selling used office furniture and audio systems.

“Although our economy fully reopened last year, many companies still practised a hybrid of working from home and the office. So our sales have been rather slow,” he said.

Chia, who has been running the family business for close to a decade, said he used to see better days when he got many calls from consumers asking to buy their used furniture before upgrading to new ones.

“But this trend slowed down after the pandemic,” he said, adding that he hopes for more public and private projects to take place and stimulate consumption in the local market.

Cyberpreneur Yasmin Mohammad, who is behind several online operations selling pre-loved designer bags and accessories, said her business only picked up about three months before Hari Raya.

“I sourced for more varieties months before the festive season so that my customers have the time to decide and arrange for instalment payment,” she said.

However, she said business during normal times has been rather slow, and customers have become more thrifty with their money amid the uncertain economy.

Johnson Goh, the co-founder of Unearth Store, which mostly deals with used furniture, said that pre-owned goods are no longer limited to serving the B40 community.

“With the pandemic and the current economic climate, we have seen an expansion of adoption among a few sub-groups, such as rental property owners, businesses and hipsters, who look for unique items or ‘fix me up’ projects that they can work on in their free time,” he said.

With a growing awareness of environment, social and governance (ESG) practices, Goh said some consumers are practising the “think second-hand first” mentality.

He said the pandemic has more or less pushed the used goods market forward, and its effects on the global supply chain has made consumers to think more local.

Jalan Jalan Japan’s social media editor Spencer Wing said more consumers, including those from the M40 and T20 income groups, enjoy buying certain used goods.

“Toys and collectable anime figurines are popular. Tableware and kitchenware appeal to certain sections of the community.

“Many of them are almost like new, seldom torn and tattered,” he said, adding that reusing helps lighten the load at landfills.

SME Association of Malaysia president Ding Hong Sing said the pandemic has created more demand for used items, thanks to the Internet.

“More people are also getting environmentally conscious, while more businesses adopt the ESG practices to be sustainable in the long run,” he said.

However, he said the ongoing global credit crunch means businesses need to brace themselves for greater challenges this year.