Ukay-Ukay Online Business: Yay or Nay?
If you live anywhere in the Philippines, you’ve probably already heard of the term ‘ukay-ukay.’
But if you’ve been living under a rock or simply unaware of the goings-on in the local market, here’s a quick definition to help.
What is ukay-ukay?
Ukay-ukay refers to secondhand goods, sometimes called ‘preloved’ or ‘pre-owned’ items, sold for a profit. It takes its name from the Filipino word ‘halukay’ which means ‘to dig through,’ an action that many ukay-ukay buyers do as ukay-ukay merchandise in traditional settings is often sold in piles, without much thought about the presentation.
The most common ukay-ukay merchandise is preloved clothes, probably because of how easy they are to source, what with the fast fashion industry making people buy and dispose of clothes in the same breath. Also, they’re cheap and easy to transport and sell. After all, clothing is a basic necessity, while fashion just cycles through the ages and, frankly, is just a matter of personal taste.
Aside from clothing, other secondhand items like shoes, bags, and accessories are commonly sold in ukay-ukay stores (known as ‘thrift shops’ in English).
Ukay-ukay has always been popular with the Filipino masses. Ukay-ukay stores are spread throughout the big cities, in markets, around schools and universities, and near train stations like the MRT and the LRT. Basically, ukay-ukay stores can be found where the people are.
For ukay-ukay stores, the business of selling secondhand clothes and other items can be quite profitable, providing them with a steady stream of income, with so many locals patronizing their trade.
The Baguio night market is a testament to Filipinos’ love for ukay-ukay. While many people come to the Philippines’ summer capital to enjoy the cold weather, the crisp breeze, and delicious strawberries many also come to its famous night market which is mostly filled with ukay-ukay stores. It is so popular that it has actually become a tourist attraction in Baguio.
Ukay-ukay businesses have traditionally been done through physical stores, often plain rented spaces with racks and racks of secondhand clothes and shoes. However, like many other industries, it has been forced to transition online once the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020.
And as it moved to the online space, it gained traction, able to reach more customers in the different parts of the Philippine archipelago. The rise of the ukay-ukay business owners then followed, with more and more entrepreneurs seeing the great interest in inexpensive yet functional clothing, especially during these hard times.
Now, the question is:
Do you also want to start your own ukay-ukay online business?
Let’s go over its pros and cons to help you decide on whether to push through or not.
The appeal of ukay-ukay
Filipinos love ukay-ukay for a variety of reasons. And we’ll be sharing with you three of the biggest ones.
1. It is affordable
Ukay-ukay, by nature, is less pricey than brand new items. This is a good thing for both sellers and buyers.
For sellers, you can basically open an ukay-ukay online business with zero capital if you already have the basic gadgets (ex. smartphone and PC/laptop) and start with your very own preloved items. Bundles and bales also come at a wide range of prices, often at ₱500 to ₱10,000. (Note that better quality ukay-ukay usually comes at a higher price.)
For buyers, secondhand clothes can go for as low as ₱10 - ₱50 in the cheapest ukay-ukay stores. That’s very affordable for the masses given how brand new clothes, even unbranded ones, are often sold at ₱99 or higher in malls.
The low price can be attributed to the fact that they are preloved, meaning they can come with signs of wear like stains and loose threads. And since they’ve probably been in storage for a season or two, they may not be the trendiest things at the moment.
However, this is not a problem for sellers and buyers with repair know-how or diskarte (i.e., the ability to work around tricky situations). With some mending, laundering, and styling, they can transform ukay-ukay into something that looks as good as new!
Those with an eye for fashion can easily create great outfits from their ukay-ukay hauls. In fact, Filipino influencers and fashionistas like Mimiyuuuh, with 4.32 million Youtube subscribers, as well as Bretman Rock, with 8.89 million Youtube subscribers, are known to feature ukay-ukay items in their vlogs, stories, and even in a Vogue interview! And just when you thought it can’t get any better, Heart Evangelista, often considered the Philippines’ very own crazy, rich Asian buys from ukay-ukay shops for some of her incredibly chic outfits.
And if you’re lucky, you might even chance upon some brand new items amongst other preloved merchandise, from previous owners who probably regretted and never worn an item they bought. Now that’s a jackpot!
2. It is a treasure trove of unique items
When you go to an ukay-ukay store, it’s not like going to the malls or brand stores that follow the season’s trends as well as a set brand style. Each piece of clothing comes with its own story, and items can come from all kinds of brands including expensive ones!
(Remember when, in one of her ukay-ukay adventures, Mimiyuuuh found the exact same top as Jenny’s from Black Pink? That made news!)
Styles also come from different seasons, many already phased out, so you can definitely get some unique merchandise that will give your style that extra oomph!
As a seller, you can take advantage of this by putting together, styling up, and prominently displaying your unique items. As a buyer, go ahead and create the look you really want.
3. It is sustainable
When you’re selling or buying secondhand goods, you’re basically reusing merchandise that would otherwise have been thrown away and added to the growing trash problem worldwide. Ukay-ukay also does not involve the production of new materials, which results in a comparably lesser carbon footprint than other industries. Moreover, it gives the less fortunate access to usable merchandise such as clothes, shoes, bags, accessories, and even appliances at a fraction of their price when brand new.
Check out mi.hermana.ph if you want to see how it’s done or buy vintage accessories collected and sold by sisters gifted with hearts for sustainability.
Risks of an ukay-ukay business
As in all industries, an ukay-ukay business also comes with some risks. Can you conquer them?
1. Items come in differing quality
Some would come looking brand new, if not entirely brand new. These you could sell at a high price, even just a fraction cheaper than the actual retail price in malls.
Most would appear slightly used, which can be sold at a lower price. However, these can often be reworked to fetch a higher price.
And many would be very worn, and can only be sold for a very low price.
2. Luck plays a huge role in the business and determines how many sellable items you get per ukay-ukay bale
In a business where you manufacture your own products, you control how many products you have at one time and how much they would sell for. An ukay-ukay business is a little riskier. You won’t know how many high-quality, medium-quality, or low-quality products you will have to deal with until the moment you open your bale. Even the best suppliers cannot guarantee that all the items in their bales are sellable.
3. Pricing and marketing become trickier since product quality varies
When you cannot control which products you get to sell and what condition they arrive in, you have to be a lot more clever and flexible when it comes to pricing and marketing.
Price should be determined based on product quality, quantity, and investment. Keen eyes should be used to determine the value of a product based on brand and style as well.
As for marketing, you have to know which products from an assortment are best styled together or individually. Preloved items tend to come in different styles and varying conditions so you need to know how to play around to make them look appealing nonetheless.
But don’t let these challenges stop you from starting your very own ukay-ukay business online, because these can be overcome with the right preparation and know-how.
And we’re here to help you turn ukay-ukay into a source of income with a fast ROI.
The basics of starting an ukay-ukay business online
One of the most asked questions about ukay-ukay on Google is, “Is ukay-ukay business profitable?”
By now, you must know that the answer is a big “YES.”
It is affordable and well-loved, meaning you can start an ukay-ukay online business with a relatively small capital and earn through the patronage of many Filipino buyers.
Just look at these successful ukay-ukay sellers who now earn up to ₱450,000 per month!
But of course, it will also depend on your business know-how and diskarte. So to help increase your chances of success, we’ve outlined the basics of starting an ukay-ukay business online.
1. Study your market
Before splurging on trendy ukay-ukay bales, first, learn about the people to whom you will be selling your goods. Even if you have the cutest short dresses on display, if your market turns out to be women in their forties with a classier taste in clothes and more interest in bags, then you will find little success.
So study your potential customers. Find out what they like or need by checking out what’s being sold the most by your direct competitors. Create a customer profile with all the information (ex. age, sex, location, interests) you need for targeted marketing efforts.
In doing so, you will be able to choose the best merchandise to sell and design the most convincing marketing materials.
2. Research ukay-ukay suppliers and the different ukay-ukay bales available in the market
There are many ukay-ukay suppliers available in the market, sourcing products locally and internationally. There are also different ukay-ukay bales, each with a different code depending on the supplier. Some contain mixed items while many are much more specific, containing only one type of item like silk maxi dresses, shoes, knitwear, or bedsheets. They also come in different weights and amounts.
Choose your supplier and bales wisely. Your supplier should be accessible and ideally not too far away to avoid expensive shipping fees which usually start at ₱450 pesos/bale.
Pick bales that match your market and your budget. Aside from local sources, bales also often come from countries like the U.S., Canada, Japan, Korea, and China. Note that while Asian bales can be trendy, Filipinos are more familiar with Western styles and brands, making U.S. and Canada bales quite popular.
Of course, manage your expectations, especially when buying bales that come at a low price as they often contain items that are older, more damaged, and out of style. Sinakos, for example, refers to a super cheap ukay-ukay bundle comprised of low-quality clothes that other sellers have already discarded at a very low price.
Some of the usual ukay-ukay bale brands found in the PH are Supremo, Aloha, Ultima, Bea, VIP, and Ichiban. There are many, many more ukay-ukay brands for you to choose from, so go ahead and explore!
3. Price your products accordingly
Ukay-ukay is a risky business because not everything inside an ukay-ukay bale share the same quality. Some are almost new while others are somewhat used, well-used, or even unusable.
To ensure that you get back your money’s worth, divide and conquer.
Group your merchandise depending on quality, style, and demand. Separate what cannot be sold (maybe use them for other projects later on). Items of higher quality should have the highest price, while items of lower quality should reasonably have a lower price.
It’s simple math but ensure that once you’ve sold most of your goods, you should have more than the money you invested initially. You can also read our blog article on how to set the right price for your products for more pricing insights.
4. Be ‘ma-diskarte’
Sure some items you’ll find in your ukay-ukay bale can come in less-than-perfect states, but that shouldn’t be the end of the world. Be ma-diskarte
Learn how to sew so you can fix minor tears in clothes and other merchandise. You can even rework some pieces so they become stylish again. For example, why not turn some old sweatshirts into cropped tops for that cute look the Gen Z loves? If you keep coming out with great looks, you’re sure to retain customers as well.
Do laundry and learn how to remove basic stains so more items become sellable. The more items you can sell from your bale, the more profit you can get!
Some of the most well-known ukay-ukay sellers can attribute their success to being ma-diskarte. Check out WEAR ARE YOU NOW APPAREL to see how good business can go when you know how to (re)work your items!
5. Invest in product photography and marketing to sell
On the internet, aesthetics is everything. Hype up interest in your products by investing in product photography.
Buy good lighting that will make the colors pop. Learn how to do flat lay with well-thought-out themes for that instant magazine look. You can also style up a mannequin or even model your merchandise yourself to show your customers just how good your merchandise can look with the right mixing and matching.
In a pinch, you can always hire professional product photographers.
You can sell anything with proper marketing. And while visuals are a great start, you can also venture into paid ads for better reach, use your social media platforms for engagement, and maybe even go the live-selling route that’s so popular nowadays. Let your potential customers know you exist to start selling.
Lastly, choose the best ecommerce platform for your ukay-ukay online business
Of course, your ukay-ukay online business can only truly fly if you partner with an ecommerce platform that can address your needs as an online seller.
Luckily, there’s Cafe24. We are the top ecommerce platform in South Korea. And now that we’re in the Philippines, we are ready to give Filipino online entrepreneurs a top-of-the-line ecommerce experience.
Sophisticate your customers’ buying experience by having your own website where your customers can skip commenting ‘Mine’ on your product posts and proceed with checkout instead. We also have order management solutions so you can keep up with your business from the get-go. Payments and shipping are also easier with our local and global partners including Paypal, PayMaya, PayMongo, and NinjaVan.
With us, starting an ukay-ukay online business is definitely a ‘Yay!’. Just check out how we helped The Mood House by TSC achieve success in their ukay-ukay online business.
Starting an online business can take a lot of work, especially when you’re just starting. But, as in all things, if you do it smartly and determinedly, you can find success!
Click here to sign up now.
