Making Big Money

(Dealer in Old Goods: His ad board is extraodinarily large, on which he wrote wanted old items including old wristwatches, speakers, pagers, air-conditioners, cellphones, video recorders, fax machines and TVs.)

When you are in Hong Kong, go to the neighbourhood of a residential area, especially those which are old or where there are the old government subsidised housing estates. Their neighbourhoods are more lively and exotic.

Being in such neighbourhoods, you are destinated to see one or two roadside dealers in second-hand goods. They operate in a similar fashion: a man sitting on a chair next to a wooden ad board or placard on which the wanted second-hand items are listed out. Some dealers may even display broken T.V. and Hi-Fi sets to catch attention. For small second-hand items like a broken GX100, customers usually bring and sell them to the dealers for a minimal price. If the items are bulky like an unwanted desktop com-puter, custo-mers can first agree on an approximate buying price with the dealers who will then quote an exact amount at where the items are.

(Attention Seeking: A broken washing machine was displayed alongside the ad board to catch attention)

Don’t belittle these dealers who may be ragged in clothing or manners. There are more than meets the eyes.

Their wealth can be an eye opener. These dealers look for every money making opportunities, like in government auctions where used and confiscated items are auctioned away for a cheap price in large volume. These dealers will sell all the acquired second-hand items to the less developed countries. How much money will this earn the dealers? Big money.

I met a man migrated to Hong Kong from the Mainland China in the 1990s. After some unsuccessful endeavours, he started selling second-hand cellphones to the so-called third world countries. Some years later, he managed to buy in unsold old models from big-name mobile communications companies. His own company has made a fortune by selling these old models to people in the poorer countries. When I visited his place, I was shown to his bed which costed around US$20,000.

(Attention Seeking 2: Another way to catch attention is to write the ad on a placard in neon colour.)

No, I don’t envy him but now that you know selling used stuff can actually get people rich.

If you are curious about the true colours of these ordinary, rich dealers, you may try the old neighbourhoods in Yau Ma Tei (literally, Oily Sesame Place), Mongkok (Bustling Corner), Shek Kei Mei (Stone Gorge’s End), San Po Kong (New Cattail Hillock) and the side streets of Tsim Sha Tsui East on the Kowloon side, and Fortress Hill, Tin Hau (Heaven’s Goddness) and Sheung Wan (Upper Circle) on the Hong Kong side. These are destinations accessible by the underground railway, or, MTR as known in Hong Kong. Of course, there are much more to see in the New Territories. But it should be talked about in some other posts for a variety of topics.