P21B worth of goods trapped in PH households, says study

OLX Philippines head of business development, sales and marketing Me-anne Bundalian and managing director RJ David. Rissa Camongol

Imagine this: There are billions of pesos worth of untapped wealth that can be found right inside our very own homes.

A website and a study say that it is possible. In fact, they have the numbers to prove it.

The Philippines has P21 billion worth of unused household items that could still be sold, according to a study by classified ads website OLX Philippines.

Formerly Sulit.com.ph, OLX Philippines (olx.ph) has recently launched its “Yesss, Yaman!” campaign in its commitment to educate Filipinos on the “hidden” wealth inside their homes and the value of selling pre-owned items online.

“Magbawas ng kalat sa bahay para gumaan ang buhay (unclutter your home to improve the quality of your life),” said OLX Philippines managing director RJ David.

Value from unsold items

Pre-owned items that are still in good condition could be sold to others who may find them useful, said David.

“Someone out there can get value from those unsold items,” he said.

The study was conducted for OLX Philippines by global research company TNS in June to July this year.

TNS has a presence in over 80 countries and is part of Kantar, one of the world’s largest insight, information and consultancy groups.

The first of its kind in the country, according to OLX, the study showed that households have a vast number of items that are no longer in use yet are still in good working condition.

‘Preloved’ stuff

Done on a random sampling of 500 households in urban cities in the country, the study asked the respondents to list down household items they were no longer using but were still in good condition.

The data gathered from the sample was then projected to the population to estimate the accumulated value of unused items in households in the country.

Based on the study’s projections, TNS was able to compute a total of more than P21 billion in pre-owned items that are still in good working condition found in households in the Philippines.

These items include electronics, clothes and fashion accessories, vehicles and automotive merchandise, home appliances and other collectibles.

Of the P21 billion, almost half, or 48.8 percent, are unsold but still working electronic gadgets such as computers, mobile phones, audio and video appliances, cameras and video game consoles; 21.2 percent are automotive items like cars and accessories, motorcycles and helmets; 14.3 percent comprise fashion items such as clothing, jewelry and watches, shoes and bags; 9.2 percent are home appliances such as household and kitchen items, furniture and household accessories; and collectibles are at 6.5 percent, which include babies and children’s products, bicycles, sporting goods, books and magazines, musical instruments, CDs, VCDs and DVDs, luggage and artworks.

Old but still functional computers are estimated to be worth P3.8 billion; mobile phones, P3.5 billion; unused clothing may be worth P1.5 billion, while kitchen appliances are at P1.08 billion, according to the statement released by OLX Philippines.

The study also measured the participants’ willingness to sell their unused items. About 41 percent of those surveyed said they are okay with selling their “preloved” stuff, while 56 percent said they are open to trading these items online.

“Selling second-hand items is a smart way for Filipinos to upgrade their lives,” said Arianne David, head of operations of OLX. “(They) can earn extra cash from stuff they don’t need while buyers get a fair deal.”

The buy-and-sell website is also advocating the use of the Yaman Checklist.

Saying “may nakatagong yaman sa bahay mo (there is hidden wealth inside your home),” OLX encourages potential sellers to first make a list of their preloved items that are in good condition. Then, using the Yaman Calculator, they can check for the value of the items on their list to determine how much they can sell these items for.

Yaman Calculator may be accessed online at yamancalculator.olx.ph.

Easier to navigate

With the rebranding from Sulit.com.ph to OLX Philippines, David said they have also made changes within the site. Before, he said, the site’s features, which were focused on merchants, were a bit complicated. Now, he said, “simple individuals like you and I can sell anything.”

He said OLX has realized the value of making the system easier to navigate for more users.

“We just need to educate the market now that they can sell through OLX as fast and as easy as possible,” said David.

All one needs to create an account is a unique mobile number. An email address is no longer required.

Here is how it works: Go to olx.ph. Create an account using a phone number. Post an ad. Hear from interested buyers and decide on mode of payment.

Selling is a breeze at OLX, said David.

There have been stories from online sellers where “they posted their ads in the morning and they were able to sell it in the afternoon,” he explained.

He also had his own experience where he was able to sell an item within 15 minutes of posting an ad online.

“I believe when you sell something that’s in demand, and you post it at a very good price, there will be a lot of people who will start to call you,” said David.

They have also made the searches more localized. For users who live in Cebu, for instance, their searches would show them results within their own vicinity instead of giving them results from Metro Manila and other cities.

600,000 users

The website has so far more than 600,000 users that have posted their items for sale.

OLX also has a mobile app for iOS and Android, as it sees that up to 90 percent of traffic to their site will come from mobile users in the future.

Apart from online transactions, OLX helps those who are not yet familiar with how the website works through a team going around neighborhoods and villages asking people if they have second-hand stuff for sale, according to Me-anne Bundalian, OLX Philippines head of business development, sales and marketing.

Called brand ambassadors, they go around places in Metro Manila and Cebu equipped with their own mobile phones with Internet access or hotspots so they can assist potential sellers in posting their items online and getting instant feedback from possible buyers.

First-time online sellers can also send requests to OLX for personal assistance in doing an inventory of their stuff to determine their potential selling value.

OLX can send someone to their place, said Bundalian. Though eventually, she said, “we want them to do it on their own.”

Not everyone has a stable job. Sometimes, their income may not be enough, she said. “We’re not saying that (online selling) will replace whatever source of income they’re having, but this may help augment it. At the end of the day it’s still up to the Filipino to make his life better. We’re just saying OLX could be of help to them in realizing that.”