Used goods find few takers amid dampened Tet shopping spirit

By Vien Thong January 18, 2023 | 06:25 am PT

Used items are listed on trading platform Cho Tot. Photo by VnExpress/Dy Tung

Online sellers of secondhand goods are finding few takers as people are tightening their purse strings after a year of economic challenges.

Anh Duyen in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 3 listed 10 items for sale on social media, but a brand-new skin care product was the only thing could sell and at half the market price.

"All the remaining items are functional and listed at very low prices, but I still could not sell them," she said.

"Selling used stuff is not easy this Tet compared to previous years," she said. referring to the Lunar New Year, which falls on January 22 this year.

The weeks before Tet are usually a time for shopping, but people are finding that this year it is more challenging than usual to sell things.

Minh Loc of HCMC’s Thu Duc City offered his iPhone 13 Pro Max 512GB on social media for VND22 million, 15% less than the market price, but could not sell it though there were 16 inquiries.

One of them agreed to buy but only if he could pay in three monthly installments, he said.

"My price is VND3-4 million lower than at smartphone stores, but it still is difficult to sell."

On used goods trading platform Cho Tot, the number of inquiries for used smartphones has fallen by 10% this year and by 33% for new ones.

The same trend has been seen in the cases of other products such as refrigerators, washing machines and air conditioners, which fell by 14%.

Demand is down by 10% for electronics, 9%for tourism and services, and 4% for furniture.

Used clothes recorded a 9% growth.

Facebook group Sai Gon Cho Lac Xoong, where 75,800 members buy and sell used goods, has been seeing low activity in recent weeks, its founder, Dam Ha Phu, said.

"People’s incomes are down and so they are not spending big on items. The only way to sell is to list at extremely low prices."

Except for clothes and some other very cheap items, other categories are not traded much, he added.

Sellers like Thu Xuan in Go Vap District have no choice but to make cut-rate prices to sell quickly: She recently sold a VND3 million electronics coupon for VND2 million.

"I have been selling hotel coupons at 50-70% of their value," she said.