Eighteen-year-old Ananda Ramadhan Putranto was not born when iconic British band the Beatles shook the global music scene in the 1960s and 1970s.

However, it did not stop the high school student from buying a vintage cassette of the Beatles’ songs from the 1970s.

“I bought it because I like the Beatles, even though I don’t know a lot about the band. It is rather unique to see and own a cassette from the 1970s,” Ananda recently said after paying for the tape at an exhibit in Blok M Plaza shopping mall, South Jakarta.

His schoolmate, Rio Chandra, meanwhile, decided to buy a calendar from the year he was born.

“It was really interesting because I could buy something showing my birth date. It was affordable too for a high school student like me,” he said.

In recent years, youngsters like Ananda and Rio have started to show an interest in vintage goods, with them flocking to the exhibit, which lasts until Sunday.

The exhibit, organized by Komunitas Djadoel, sells vintage merchandise, such as old commercial posters, stamps, tin toys and rotary dial telephones.

“Besides selling products online through social media and other e-commerce websites, we open stalls at bazaars to sell our wares,” said Adi, 42, one of the sellers.

Most of the products sold at the exhibit are ordinary things that people used to see in their daily lives in the past, such as the calendar.

“People usually buy things as a birthday gift or for their private collection. I think some people buy things for history documentation writing purposes because they buy in large numbers,” said Nuri Nurhayati, 37, the calendar seller.

Although the exhibit sells goods produced years or decades ago, people who go to the event range from high school students to the elderly.  

“Our customers are from high school students to older people. However, more older people buy things than younger people because of the nostalgia,” said Edward, 38, another seller at the exhibit.

Adi said vintage merchandise had their own charm. Buyers could be individuals or community groups interested in collecting vintage products.

Vintage products sometimes also carry sentimental value, which is a strong selling point.

“Sometimes, a mother will say ‘Look, Mom had one of these when I was your age!’ to her children when she see one of our products. And then she’ll buy the item,” Edward said. (kkk)

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