Ha Tinh: Earning tens of millions of dong from selling 'second-hand goods' online

Every month, Ms. Nga sells thousands of second-hand products from clothes to handbags... earning about 15 million VND.

6 years ago, Ms. Nguyen Thi Nga in Ha Tinh City started her career in selling used clothes. Initially, she rented a shop for 3 million VND, plus staff wages and electricity and water, the monthly cost was approximately ten million VND. Although sales were stable, she could not save much because of the high overhead.

At the end of 2012, Ms. Nga decided to close her store and switch to online sales. At first, she faced difficulties because she had few customers and did not know how to effectively advertise her products online. But once she had a regular customer base, sales began to increase.Currently, her online shop's monthly revenue is about 60-80 million VND, after deducting expenses, the profit is 20 to 30 million VND.

Handbags are one of the favorite items of second-hand goods enthusiasts.

"The biggest advantage of selling online is that customers only need to sit at the computer and click the mouse to choose the item they like instead of opening the package directly and having to fight to buy. In addition, selling online helps me connect with buyers everywhere, instead of just serving a small group of local customers like before," said Ms. Nga.

According to Ms. Nga, since selling goods online, the business scale has become larger.before. In addition to retail, she has now switched to wholesale.First 2 months of the year,New customers to the shop increased by 50%,Revenue increased by 50-60% compared to the same period last year.

Depending on the origin (USA, Japan, Korea, Australia...), newness and product (clothes, accessories, shoes), the price of each container is different, averaging 5-8 million VND. The packages are air-sealed, weighing 50-100kg.The strength of used goods is winter clothes, because the quality is good, the price is much cheaper than new goods, and in the summer, accessories are popular.

"A 100kg package of imported down jackets, some of which are bad, will be as good as new after just one wash. The selected jackets are sold for 500,000-700,000 VND while the average original price is only 100,000-120,000 VND per jacket," Ms. Nga added.

Containerized goods usually weigh 50-100kg.

Not selling wholesale like Ms. Nga, but Ms. Hai Linh in Tan Binh District, Ho Chi Minh City also earns tens of millions of VND each month by retailing "sida clothes and shoes". Linh's motto for selling container goods is beautiful, high-quality, unique, and affordable.

In addition, Ms. Linh also registered for a pay-per-view service on Facebook to attract more customers, and added product introduction videos to increase the reach to everyone. In general, the total cost for the above activities accounts for about 10-15% of monthly revenue. Thanks to good business strategies, her shop's products always sell out quickly. Every week, she imports dozens of new packages. During peak months, Ms. Linh's profit is nearly 50 million VND.

However, to get to where she is today, she has also experienced many difficulties. Besides the beautiful packages, there are also bad packages with many old and torn items, which are very difficult or impossible to sell, and at times like that, she lost all her capital."Selling goods in bulk is a matter of luck. Online shopperscan not see with eyes or touch with handsSo dissatisfaction with product quality is very common".

To keep customers, she accepts to lose on shipping and allows buyers to return products. Ms. Linh believes that online sales and customer service are very important. In addition to taking care to make the items beautiful and of good quality, the owner also has to update the opening schedule for customers on her personal page every day and every hour.

Sharing their experiences in helping to successfully sell used goods, Ms. Nga and Ms. Linh both said that to choose a good source of goods, sellers should pay attention to the origin of the goods.In terms of newness, American and Australian shrimp have the most stable quality, avoiding 80% of risks, but are usually large in size.

Japanese and Korean products are not as new as European and American products, but their designs are diverse and fit Vietnamese sizes.If you are new to selling used goods, you can choose "cut legs" (packages with old or torn products removed). The price of these products is higher butless risk, when gradually stable can take the whole case.

For online retail customers, you should choose reputable shops, enthusiastic consultants, with clear addresses and account numbers to avoid fraud.

According to VNE