Banyak barang lama? Here’s how much you can get from selling them online!

Some of us might have been using the extra time at home to do some spring cleaning and clear out the junk we have – not to mention all the extra stuff we’ve been buying online. But you should think twice before throwing everything out because you might be able to get some cash by selling them online – in some cases more than what you paid for them.

Our editor found this out the hard way when he cleaned his room and put his entire collection of BM-translated mangas into the donation box, only to find that there were people willing to pay good money for them. So, to make him feel worse we went to Mudah and Carousell to see how much they would fetch.

We ended up finding a bunch of things that would probably just throw or give away that could potentially give you enough spare cash to to…uh… buy more stuff. Do keep in mind that these figures are agak-agak based on what we’ve found, so if you nak lebih accurate you can always check it yourself.

So let’s start with one item which most of you probably have a mountain of, which are…

 

1. Old comics and magazines [RM3 – RM150]

Translated mangas such as Mutiara Naga and Budak Getah will probably have some nostalgic value to you. And if they’re in good condition, they might even have monetary value.

Popular ones such as Budak Getah could fetch up to RM10 per book, depending on the condition. This is more than double the original selling price which was around RM4.80, probably because they’re now out of print, making them rare collectibles. Less popular mangas, or those in worn-out conditions would probably fetch between RM3 to RM5, which is basically the original price (Also, guess who threw out their complete Mutiara Naga collection before checking online).

Local comics by publishers such as Gempak Starz has a market too. We found someone who bought a copy of Absolute Gengkey at RM150 to complete their collection.

In case you have older magazines, it’s also worth a try as there are quite a few listings of these at RM20. In some cases, the older the better, such as older editions of Mastika, when they used to be more like Reader’s Digest.

 

2. Old CDs and cassettes [RM20 – RM200]

If all you have are pirated CDs, forget about it – the online secondhand market is purely for original copies. And the prices they’re selling for is quite surprising, because just like comics, CDs are actually appreciating in value. This writer admits that he’s an old fart, because he remembers ori CDs used to cost around RM40. But people have been buying these old copies for RM60 to RM100, which are 1.5 to 2 times what they used to cost.

At the risk of sounding even older, those prices were for albums by veteran ang moh artists such as Kenny Loggins and Celine Dion. Sadly, most CDs of local artists we found were selling for around RM20 BUT there are exceptions. We actually found someone buying a copy of local band Butterfingers album for RM200(!).

As for old cassettes, they generally go for roughly RM20 or RM30, which is not bad because they used to cost around RM18, so they seem to keep their value.

 

3. Toys [RM10 – RM10,000(!!!)]

If you used to hoard the free toys from a Happy Meal, they do seem to have some value, as they’re selling for RM10 per toy. We also found these Ultraman action figures which go for RM15 each.

But the prices start going up when we go into adult toys territory – and by that, we mean action figures. These figurines can go upwards of RM100 or more, so based on our days of staring at these toys and their pricetag from behind the glass window, they do keep their price or slightly appreciate.

The real money maker is in collectibles. If you’re a diehard toy collector, you might already know this, but toys such as Bearbrick can be worth a few thousand today, and some are even selling for more than RM10,000.

 

4. Air fryers [RM150 – RM400]

In case you’re wondering why there’s a section just for air fryers, it’s because when lockdowns started last year everyone around the world was buying air fryers. If you’re one of those who caught the cooking bug but found most of your dishes ending up on Masak Apa Tak Jadi Hari Ni?, you might feel it’s time to cut your losses and sell it online.

If it’s any consolation, you’re probably not alone – search “air fryer” on any online marketplace and you’ll find hundreds of listings for second-hand ones that are barely used.

Cheaper air fryers are typically resold for around RM150 to RM200, while canggih ones such as Philips could be resold for below RM400. 

 

5. Clothes [RM5 – RM150]

Looking at secondhand clothes online does feel like going into a bundle store, as the prices seem to be the same. Cheap daily wear, from t-shirts to jeans to dresses from unknown brands would go between RM5 to RM10. Clothes from fast fashion brands such as Uniqlo vary, but they would go from roughly RM30 to RM80.

Vintage clothes or expensive brands is where it starts getting pricey, as they start selling from RM100. We said vintage by the way, not just old okay, there’s a difference.

As for shoes, your average sneakers would go between RM50-100. But nicer shoes such as dress shoes can go for RM100+. The same goes for leather boots such as Doc Martens, where they can still command RM150 even if they look beat up.

 

6. Board games [RM20 – RM150]

Regular family board games such as Uno and Monopoly would go for between RM20 to RM50, depending on the condition. A cursory check shows that buying a new Monopoly set would cost around RM100, so you’ll still get some value from the game after ruining your family’s relationship during the MCO.

Games meant to ruin friendships instead, such as Risk could still get you RM150 if it’s in good condition, which is only a small drop from the original price of around RM180. Same goes for other popular ones for board game nights such as Pandemic and Settlers of Catan, which we also spotted at around RM150. Do note that these are for *original copies* so don’t be surprised to find cheaper ones online for half the price.

 

7. Furniture [RM50 – RM1,500]

If you’re thinking of selling your IKEA furniture online, you’re facing stiff competition because basically every other listing are items from the Swedish manufacturer.

But regardless of its manufacturer, selling second-hand furniture seems to have a general rule: if it’s around a year old and still in good condition, you can list it at 80% of its value. Any longer, and you should look at selling it at around 50 to 60% of its original price.

But if you lazy to check your receipt, the rule of thumb for marhaen furniture is roughly:

• Chairs: RM50-100
• Sofas: RM200-700
• Tables/desks: RM100 – RM500

One item that seems to hold its value regardless are gaming chairs, which are the iPhones of furnitures. No matter how old, they seem to be selling at roughly 70% of their original price. Top-of-the-line used gaming chairs such as the Secretlab Omega was selling for RM1,499, while the original price is closer to RM2,000.

 

8. Exercise equipment [RM50 – RM2,000]

If your exercise equipment are now just glorified towel racks and door stops, it’s probably time to sell them off. In general, you’ll probably end up selling them at 50% of its original price. So at a glance, it would look like this:

• Towel rack Pullup rack: RM50 to RM80
• Dumbbell sets: RM100 to RM150
• Barbell sets: RM200 to RM300
• Really big towel rack Pullup towers: RM250 to RM500

As for treadmills, it varies on the canggihness. Cheaper ones tend to lose value, so expect to sell them at half price. Canggih ones such as from NordicTrack only lost around one-third of its value, and are still sold at around RM2,000.

We noticed a similar pattern with spin bikes, so if you bought an RM3,000 bike, you should still be able to sell it for RM2,000+.

 

9. PC peripherals [RM10 – RM150]

Even old PC equipments are still worth something. Those old square monitors (not box CRT monitors, those belong in a museum) you used to have can be listed for around RM50. LCD monitors meanwhile are around RM200, but it would depend on the size.

As for peripherals such as mice and keyboards, if you have cheap wired ones, expect to sell them for RM10 to RM20 at most. Meanwhile, if they’re branded or wireless, you basically have to sell them at half price. A quick survey showed wireless mice go for between RM30 to RM80, while wireless keyboards go for RM50 to RM150.

 

10. Pinggan mangkuk [RM1 – RM1,500]

We can’t change the contents of Malaysia’s cabinet, but we can change the one in our kitchen. For plates or bowls, no-name brands are being let go from between RM1 to RM10. Ikea plates aren’t that much better, and they’re selling between RM5 to RM10. If you bought some fancier plates, those can go for around RM50.

The only exception for these prices are Pyrex crockeries. We now know why our mothers are mad if you even touch it, and would unleash the fury of 9 levels of hell on you if you even chip it slightly.

We found two plates that go for RM300, while rare ones can be worth thousands. Since they’re collectibles, these prices should be expected – just make sure not to sell your mom’s crockeries and say we recommended it (auntie, we swear we warned them). To check if your mom’s Pyrex is more valuable than you, you can take a look at this guide.

 

11. Old coins [RM2 – RM4,000(!!!)]

We usually hate coins – if we get them, we would just dump them in a bekas until it’s full, then deposit them into the bank. But there’s actually a chance that some of them could be a rare coin. And the price for some of these are insane – a one-cent coin from 1976  was auctioned off for RM4,000. Interestingly, rare one-ringgit coins are worth lower with the max being RM180 due to the number of fakes circulating in the market.

Of course, the downside is that you’d need to sift through your mountain of coins, so unless you know what you’re looking for, it might just be a frustrating exercise. To get an idea of what these coin buyers are looking for, you can read about it here.

 

One person’s trash is another person’s treasure

After literally spending hours and going through hundreds of listings, the one thing we’re sure of is that you’ll be surprised at what items people will buy. Some would buy it to complete their collection, some people just like bargains, and there are those who just like the idea of using second-hand things to avoid waste.

Although we also looked at other sites like eBay, it seems that Mudah and Carousell are the more popular sites for selling and buying second hand stuff in Malaysia. We even found people putting up pets for adoption, but that’s a different topic altogether.

But if you’re feeling generous, you can probably just donate your old items and avoid the hassle of receiving “PM best price” in your inbox – because we know how much of a hassle PMs can be.  But if you feel like getting some cash from it instead, it’s always worth searching online to get a rough idea of the value. Who knows, you might be able to salvage some cash for it instead of giving up and sending it to the surat khabar lama man *COUGHlikeoureditorCOUGH*