To start this blog article, let me explain to you what Ukay-Ukay Business is.
WHAT IS AN UKAY-UKAY BUSINESS?
Basically, Ukay-Ukay is a Cebuano dialect term that refers to digging or sifting through a pile of clothing to discover clothes at a lower price. Ukay-Ukay is a Philippine business that specializes in the sale of used foreign retailed products such as clothing, bags, shoes, and other accessories at discounted prices. It originated in Baguio City, where it was known as Wagwagan. According to Vincent Cabreza (2001), they began by setting up a stall and selling used goods on the sidewalks of Baguio City, and then expanded to other locations. Over the course of two years, the Ukay-Ukay business generates a daily gross income of ₱1.2 million, and the wagwagan is renamed wagwag, which also means Ukay-Ukay or the act of dusting off old garments.
Wagwag products originate in Hong Kong and the United States, and when they arrive in the Philippines, they are transported to various locations in Baguio City and Manila via Balikbayan boxes. These items were originally donated to other countries by Hong Kong and came from people’s garage sales in the United States (De Castro, 2001). As a result, these imported retailed clothing are offered in the Philippines at a low and affordable price.
Now that you know what the Ukay-Ukay Business is, let’s look at how to start launching this business.
If you’re interested in starting a steady stream of income amidst the pandemic with cheap budgets and capital, this blog article is for you.
Here are some useful tips for launching an Online ukay-ukay Business.
1. Plan and Research
You must prepare and research before starting a business since, without a plan and additional information about your intended business, it may fail. When you’re doing research, you’ll want to know who your target buyers are and what their age ranges are. Is it aimed at adults, millennials, or kids? And how your clothing satisfies their needs.
In planning, suppliers sell their things in large bales, which are then divided into Men’s t-shirts, Women’s t-shirts, Cargo trousers & shorts, Blouses, Skinny jeans, Denim Shorts, Dresses, and other categories of clothing, you’ll need to know what clothes you want to sell.
You must research the specific market you wish to service so that your stocks are acceptable when you begin your online business.
Furthermore, if you decide to run an online ukay-ukay business, keep in mind that not everyone on social media is a potential buyer, seller, and supplier.
2. Purchase supplies and finance your business
You do not need a large sum of money to establish an ukay-ukay business. As we begin at the bottom, you will only require a minimal amount of capital that you are confident will be sufficient to launch your business.
As we all know, having a business requires knowing what’s your strategy to finance your business.
Tip: Since selling ukay-ukay is essentially selling other people’s worn and pre-loved items, why not sell your pre-loved clothes as well? This way, you can get rid of the things you don’t use anymore in a positive way by selling them to others at low and cheap costs.
You’ve just started your online ukay-ukay business, and you’ll need a few items to get it off the ground. You’ll require the following items:
- Cloth hanger
- Clothing rack
- Mannequin
- Markers
- Calculator
- Record Book
Customers will appreciate your business and the time you put into gathering the items you need for your Online Ukay-Ukay if you do it this way.
3. Look for trusted suppliers.
If you want to buy clothes from a supplier, the best way is to look for suppliers in your town. You should join a Facebook group with certified possible suppliers if you want to discover a direct provider of ukay-ukay. My acquaintance, who is an internet reseller, has a seller with a potential supplier who delivers high-quality products.
Although some online sellers bale things in Korea and Japan, they tend to be expensive, but the products are in good shape, and the bales of products are sometimes too far from the original bales.
However, be cautious because not everyone online is trustworthy, and you should use greater caution when conducting financial transactions.
4. Pricing your Items
You must have a strategy for pricing your thing to sell it. To recover your initial investment, price them higher than usual.
This method is usual when you’re just starting off, but you can still drop your price after you’ve recovered the original cost of the bale you bought from the suppliers after a few weeks.
5. Be accommodating to your consumers and demonstrate that you care about them.
When someone purchases something from your business, you’ll need their information so you can figure out what they’re interested in, and they’ll become your target buyers.
You should treat them with kindness and respect as they become more valuable to your business. Take their advice into consideration because this will be a big help while acquiring your next bale of supplies.
6. Registered your Online Business
The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has issued a memorandum stating that “persons conducting business through any type of electronic media” must register their internet firm.
In this way, you will be a certified online business owner and have the authorization to sell on social media other than those buyers, and even resellers will trust you.
7. Advertise your business
When you run an internet business, you need to advertise your products. Some sellers look for someone who can help them advertise their products. However, you can simply promote your product by posting it to various Facebook groups and letting your community know about it.
These are the tips to apply to launching an online ukay-ukay business that will help you expand and influence people to start a business amidst the pandemic.
These are a good place to start if you want to establish an online ukay-ukay business, but keep in mind that not all businesses will thrive; there will be ups and downs, and all you must do is trust yourself to get through them.
These tips can not only help you be more efficient while establishing your business, but they can also help you have an impact on your consumers, which is especially important during a pandemic.
“The biggest risk a person can take is to do nothing.”
– Robert T. Kiyosaki
Entering the ukay-ukay business will be risky but taking a chance will allow you to grow and gain enough information and understanding. It will be a great opportunity for you and others to sell and buy ukay-ukay products amid a pandemic. Furthermore, people who start with nothing and put their trust in this type of business will learn and thrive.
If you are interested in planning to go for this business here is the link to other blogs and books to buy to fulfill your understanding of starting this business amidst the pandemic.
Link source: http://rainmakerph.blogspot.com/2018/07/how-to-start-ukay-ukay-business-in.html
Link source: https://bookshop.org/books/business-plan-for-ukay-ukay/9798634747491
Leave a Reply