Earn from Household scrap
Dec 08, 2006
WE are hanging by the cliff of 2006. For <br>some reason, the new year always lends a lot of promise and dreams. People make many resolutions and cuddle in big dreams. But there are those who consider the new year as a time to fashion out a new look in their homes – which means getting rid of all
By Raphael Okello
WE are hanging by the cliff of 2006. For
some reason, the new year always lends a lot of promise and dreams. People make many resolutions and cuddle in big dreams. But there are those who consider the new year as a time to fashion out a new look in their homes – which means getting rid of all the old stuff from the previous year like fridges, carpets, furniture, kitchenware and even cars.
But what do you do with all this old stuff? Do you become an old-item collector by stashing them away in the store with the rest of your rusty sigiris? Perhaps you burn them, offer them to friends or dump them somewhere in the backyard, where they form landmark features!
You do not have to be stranded with your old household items. Some people are more than willing to help you get rid of them. Many shops dealing in second-hand household items within town, Katwe, Wandegeya and Kibuye can pay for them or sell them for you.
They will come over to your home and pick whatever you do not need – all sorts of electronics, furniture, fridges, cookers, chairs, tables, carpets, beds, flat irons, radios, name it.
Most of them specialise; either dealing in electronics, furniture or carpets, but some can help you get rid of virtually anything. 2nd’s Please at UMA Show grounds, Lugogo is one such example. They will help you sell anything at home from a car to novels.
“If there are people with anything they no longer need, we ask them to call us. For things like sofa sets, beds, cookers or fridges, we pick them from their homes free of charge and for the cars we take pictures which we display in the shop,†says Christopher Ayine, the managing director.
However, Ayine says, whether it is furniture, a car or an electronic gadget, they only decide to pick or advertise the sale of an item after their technicians have thoroughly examined its condition.
“We want to make sure that our clients do not have to buy substandard items which will require repairs all the time. We prefer quality and original second-hand items. Most of our items have no problem because we get them from expatriates who are either making routine replacements or leaving the country,†he says.
2nd’s Please does not buy items from people. In stead, it keeps and helps find market for peoples’ items except for novels, which they buy at no more than sh3,000. They don’t determine the prices of any items.
Ayine says they leave the owners to decide how much they would like to sell their items and only come in to guide them not to set the price above the market value of a similar new item. And the final price of the item includes a 20% increment of the owner’s asking price as commission.
“If the owner decides he wants to sell a sofa set at sh500,000, we price it at sh600, 000,†explains Ayine.
Wand General Electronics near Stanbic Bank in Wandegeya takes a 25% commission from the owner’s asking price once the item has been sold. However, the item could be sold much more than the owner’s initial asking price and he or she is not expected to have a share of it.
The uniqueness of Wand General Electronics (who will only buy your electronic gadgets) however, is that, it is among few shops that will also buy non-functional items you dumped and forgot in the store.
“We are also a repair shop. In as much as the gadget might be down, we believe some parts can be used to repair other items. We assess the extent of damage to, say a television, radio, video deck or any other electronic then we decide how much we can pay for it,†says David Keju, the manager.
It is hard to miss the collection of second-hand electronic merchandise while driving through Katwe’s market streets.
Both sides of the main market street in Katwe is lined on either side by shops selling cookers, fridges, music systems, televisions, VHS decks and DVD players among others imported from Asia and Europe. While a majority can accept items from homes, a few do not.
Similar shops that buy second-hand items from homes are in Kibuye. Commission rates vary from one shop to another, but mostly range from 20 to 25%.
Furniture shops on Luwum Street do not primarily deal in second-hand household items as they used to three years ago.
“Ugandans stopped offering their household items for sell and it was expensive importing second-hand items,†noted one woman in the shop.
But she said if someone wants to sell their second-hand furniture or carpet, they could still reach an understanding. They either buy it from you or sell it and earn a 20% commission from the sell price.
WE are hanging by the cliff of 2006. For
some reason, the new year always lends a lot of promise and dreams. People make many resolutions and cuddle in big dreams. But there are those who consider the new year as a time to fashion out a new look in their homes – which means getting rid of all the old stuff from the previous year like fridges, carpets, furniture, kitchenware and even cars.
But what do you do with all this old stuff? Do you become an old-item collector by stashing them away in the store with the rest of your rusty sigiris? Perhaps you burn them, offer them to friends or dump them somewhere in the backyard, where they form landmark features!
You do not have to be stranded with your old household items. Some people are more than willing to help you get rid of them. Many shops dealing in second-hand household items within town, Katwe, Wandegeya and Kibuye can pay for them or sell them for you.
They will come over to your home and pick whatever you do not need – all sorts of electronics, furniture, fridges, cookers, chairs, tables, carpets, beds, flat irons, radios, name it.
Most of them specialise; either dealing in electronics, furniture or carpets, but some can help you get rid of virtually anything. 2nd’s Please at UMA Show grounds, Lugogo is one such example. They will help you sell anything at home from a car to novels.
“If there are people with anything they no longer need, we ask them to call us. For things like sofa sets, beds, cookers or fridges, we pick them from their homes free of charge and for the cars we take pictures which we display in the shop,†says Christopher Ayine, the managing director.
However, Ayine says, whether it is furniture, a car or an electronic gadget, they only decide to pick or advertise the sale of an item after their technicians have thoroughly examined its condition.
“We want to make sure that our clients do not have to buy substandard items which will require repairs all the time. We prefer quality and original second-hand items. Most of our items have no problem because we get them from expatriates who are either making routine replacements or leaving the country,†he says.
2nd’s Please does not buy items from people. In stead, it keeps and helps find market for peoples’ items except for novels, which they buy at no more than sh3,000. They don’t determine the prices of any items.
Ayine says they leave the owners to decide how much they would like to sell their items and only come in to guide them not to set the price above the market value of a similar new item. And the final price of the item includes a 20% increment of the owner’s asking price as commission.
“If the owner decides he wants to sell a sofa set at sh500,000, we price it at sh600, 000,†explains Ayine.
Wand General Electronics near Stanbic Bank in Wandegeya takes a 25% commission from the owner’s asking price once the item has been sold. However, the item could be sold much more than the owner’s initial asking price and he or she is not expected to have a share of it.
The uniqueness of Wand General Electronics (who will only buy your electronic gadgets) however, is that, it is among few shops that will also buy non-functional items you dumped and forgot in the store.
“We are also a repair shop. In as much as the gadget might be down, we believe some parts can be used to repair other items. We assess the extent of damage to, say a television, radio, video deck or any other electronic then we decide how much we can pay for it,†says David Keju, the manager.
It is hard to miss the collection of second-hand electronic merchandise while driving through Katwe’s market streets.
Both sides of the main market street in Katwe is lined on either side by shops selling cookers, fridges, music systems, televisions, VHS decks and DVD players among others imported from Asia and Europe. While a majority can accept items from homes, a few do not.
Similar shops that buy second-hand items from homes are in Kibuye. Commission rates vary from one shop to another, but mostly range from 20 to 25%.
Furniture shops on Luwum Street do not primarily deal in second-hand household items as they used to three years ago.
“Ugandans stopped offering their household items for sell and it was expensive importing second-hand items,†noted one woman in the shop.
But she said if someone wants to sell their second-hand furniture or carpet, they could still reach an understanding. They either buy it from you or sell it and earn a 20% commission from the sell price.