The Online Shop

About 9 months ago, me and my sister had this idea of putting up an Online Ukay Shop in Facebook. The idea was inspired by the The Fab Grab at Multiply who also sells second hand and ukay clothes. With a thousand pesos on our wallet, we bought several items in Carbon, took pictures with Magee as the model and uploaded them in Facebook. It was well accepted by some friends and our Batch 1 was SOLD OUT in less than a week. Well, that's how we started and the rest they say is history.

We're now on our Batch 26. We admit that there were times when we really get frustrated especially when we still have a lot of items that are not yet sold. It's really a risk but usually we would just give them away or keep them for ourselves. Most days, we get lucky to have sold the entire batch. We don't really care much about the profit --- we're not even keeping a record of our expenses versus income. The most important thing is that we're enjoying what we do despite the risks. It's also like a bonding session with my sisters. You just imagine our excitement while waiting for the bundle to be opened. And we have so fun during styling and photo shoots. We share the load --- somebody will take care of the ironing the clothes, the photographer, post process the photos and uploading in facebook and somebody also takes care of the kitchen to make sure that we're not working on an empty stomach. It's what we call "division of labor". Afterall, we also share the benefits --- the model gets to have one free item, it's where we get my siblings' allowance and it takes care of my daily ride to and from the office. 

We also get to meet new friends. Everyday, we get several friend requests from people we don't even know. We now have about 500 plus friends in facebook --- some we know and others are merely strangers. We try as much to get to know them especially during meet ups and some of them would really come back and purchase again. 

It's not really our bread and butter as we maintain full time jobs but this hobby turned business keeps our sanity in tacked and has served as a stress-reliever. Whenever we hear the word "ukay", everything seems to brighten up and we always look forward to that Saturday ukay adventure as sisters.

Click below to visit our online shop...

It started out as a hobby...

Back in college, our landlady introduced us to ukay shopping. She would always brag about her ukay finds in Carbon --- which is said to be an ukay haven in Cebu. Her ukay finds were always signature brands from Ralph Lauren, Gap, Mossimo, Abercrombie to mention a few. As a student on meager allowance, I cannot afford to buy clothes that are sold at the mall. Every Sunday, my housemates and I would head to Carbon to search through heaps of clothes --- it's like searching for treasures and when you find them, you'll never let them go. 

From then on, I got hooked! Even when I started working, I always find time to go on ukay spree. I find it therapeutic and a never-ending conquest for fab clothes.

I am not ashamed to say that half of the clothes in my closet are from ukay. And it's not just clothes --- I also have shoes and bags and belts from ukay. Some are authentic and original items at a lesser price. Call me cheapskate but I think with all the prices of commodities increasing nowadays, it's okay to wear ukay. You can never really distinguish an ukay from a brand new one once you wear it.

And this blog will chronicle my ukay adventures. I will feature some of my precious finds as well as our thriving online business (I will talk about that in a separate post). I will also share some secret places where one could find the best ukay in town. 

So, welcome to my space...I hope you'll stick around!