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Urban Chat: The season of giving'¦ and glam garage sale hunting
âJakarta garage sales, where you can buy secondhand designer handbags for a cool 3,500 US dollars,â an expat tweeted last weekend
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'Jakarta garage sales, where you can buy secondhand designer handbags for a cool 3,500 US dollars,' an expat tweeted last weekend. I smiled at the absurdity of it all, at the reality of it all.
The terms 'garage sale' and 'yard sale' have been around longer than I've lived and are typically used
to illustrate individuals selling used belongings in their garages or front yards.
The unwanted belongings can be anything from 3-seat couches to knickknacks in different ranges of wear-and-tear that determine the prices. It's all cash-and-carry, with little cash being exchanged.
Either because of status or hygiene, for a long time Indonesians weren't into buying someone else's used items as personal as clothing, linens, toys or cutlery.
But as a cash-strapped student in the US, I fell in love with the mad dash to scour one bin after another, outmaneuvering other 'hunters' for the chance to find a US$15 bookcase or a $10 mohair sweater.
I became so good at thrifting (exploring thrift stores and garage/yard sales for good finds) that a roommate joked I should be granted another MBA for Scoring Cool Stuff on a Crappy Student Budget.
In recent years, garage sales have gained popularity in urban Indonesia. Seeking clothing, toys, electronics or soft furnishings, a growing population of young Indonesian urbanites, mostly from the middle class, have shrugged off their parents' reluctance to buy secondhand items as long as the items meet their needs and budgets.
Some upper-middle class individuals have ventured beyond needs to wants, and this is where the likes of $3,500 secondhand handbags come in.
'Branded garage sales' is a term found in countless group chats, private text messages and public social media posts, with 'branded' loosely applied to fashion items of recognizable brands. The pricing pretty much mirrors the real retail hierarchy of these brands, minus the wear-and-tear factor.
A good condition Gap top may fetch just Rp 25,000 (US$2), a pair of Nine West sandals may go for Rp 150,000, an old but classic Gucci handbag could cost you Rp 3-5 million, while last season's studded Louboutins in mint condition will still find a buyer for close to Rp 10 million, and so on and so forth.
Sometimes sellers get together and rent spaces in cafes, salons or apartment lobbies. If the sellers are celebs or socialites, the items get fancier and less worn, with more cachet attached. Big ticket payments are made easier by bank transfers or portable electronic data capture (EDC) machines that sellers must have borrowed from actual business outlets.
I have no idea about the brand of the handbag mentioned in the tweet above, but $3,500 can easily get you a mint condition Chanel 2.55, Lady Dior or any canvas tote bag from Hermès ' which easily retails above $5,000 as new.
Personally, I've never bought or sold anything in a garage sale for more than $500, but I know a much swankier market exists and is growing.
Crazy? Wait until you witness a secondhand, yet much coveted Hermès Birkin in exotic skin snatched for a 'reasonable' $9,000 two hours into a glam garage sale on a rainy weekday.
Not everyone is hunky-dory happy about this phenomenon though.
Some call it a distasteful display of wealth (such a show off!), a cheeky evasion of tax (will those private sellers file a tax report?) or even a blatant lack of social empathy (why can't they donate all proceeds to charity?).
Having been to most versions of garage sales both as a seller or buyer, for charity or not, I probably have a biased opinion. But I'll share it anyway.
I think individuals are entitled to trade, purge or donate their belongings in any manner they see fit.
Instead of extra cash, often what these sellers need is to clear their overflowing closets for next season's designer duds ' lavish, but certainly not illicit.
In a country with a harrowing income level gap, I see why it may seem indecent that the haves don't donate whatever they make off the discarded goodies they've so comfortably procured in the first place, but just because they don't give away the garage sale proceeds, it doesn't mean they haven't generously made donations elsewhere.
Seizing on the morality of others is often a slippery, snaking slope that even the wisest souls can gracelessly fall into.
But that's just me. What do you think?
While you're pondering, I'll step outside for a bit. A couple of interesting garage sales are going around in J-town ' one for charity, the other not. If you want to know where they're at, don't be too shy in asking. I promise I'll be most charitable.
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Lynda Ibrahim is a Jakarta-based writer with a penchant for purple, pussycats and pop culture.
