Their trash, their treasure

[MarrickG]

It's a chance to clear out his storeroom.

It's also an opportunity to mingle with other residents.

Mr Hashim Suni and Mr Mohd Hashim Abdul Wahab are among the Singaporeans who turn entrepreneurs on some weekends.

Mr Hashim has been taking part in a monthly flea market held at Block 787 Choa Chu Kang Drive near Yew Tee MRT.

The flea market, which started last year and opens from 11 am to 8 pm on the first weekend of every month, is organised by the Yew Tee Zone 9 Residents' Committee (RC).

Flea markets have been catching on in HDB estates.

At the Yew Tee flea market on the weekend of Oct 2 and 3, Mr Hashim, 40, a fireman, was selling a set of used speakers, bags and household items.

The Woodlands resident had cleaned out his storeroom.

He said: "I do this for fun and to get rid of my things. Rather than throw them away, I might as well sell them."

The speakers he had bought for $100 were going for $20, a haversack for $8, a pouch for $3 and a laptop bag for $5.

Sometimes, his family and friends also give him second-hand items to put up for sale.

He said: "I make sure the used items are in good condition. Otherwise, I will not sell them."

Earnings

But it's not always a profitable weekend, said Mr Hashim, who has been selling items at flea markets on and off for about three years.

"Sometimes, I make just enough to cover the rent," he added.

Vendors who are Zone 9 residents pay $30 to book a space for two days.

Non-residents have to pay $35.

At the same market that weekend, Mr Dave __, 62, was having more luck.

It was the retiree's first time selling wares at the market but he was armed with experience.

Mr __, who has taken part in other flea markets and car boot sales, takes his selling seriously.

He studies the crowd and chooses his wares to suit the target market.

Mr __, a Choa Chu Kang resident, said: "We should sell things that people want to buy."

There's a requirement by the RC that 60 per cent of the goods sold must be used items, while the remaining 40 per cent can be new items, he said.

Vendors are also not allowed to sell cooked food and illegal goods like pirated CDs and DVDs.

Besides the usual used household items from his house, Mr __ also sells children's toys.

He buys new goods like kites from a wholesaler.

He sells children's kites at $2 each while adults' kites can go up to $20 each.

Of his previous flea market ventures, Mr __ said: "I could get an average of $200 to $300 each month, which was good enough to pay my bills and for pocket money."

He made about $150 that weekend at Yew Tee.

Money is less of a motive for Marsiling resident Mohd Hashim Abdul Wahab, 45, a fireman.

Selling vintage watches is his way of bonding with fellow residents.

Mr Mohd Hashim, a volunteer with the Marsiling Zone 4 RC, who helps to organise flea markets in that area, said: "People will come and talk to me about the watches that I sell. I get to know the residents this way."

He gets his vintage watches from places such as Yemen.

On average, a 30-year-old vintage watch goes for $130, he said.

The flea market in Block 165 Woodlands Street 11 beside Marsiling MRT is held every alternate week, provided there are no other functions like funerals or weddings there.

Mr P Mohandass, 54, chairman of the Marsiling Zone 4 RC, said the market gets an average of 20 vendors each time.

The vendors pay $10 for a space a day and $18 for two days.

"The residents who live within the zone get priority," he said.

When The New Paper was at the market on Oct 16, there were 23 vendors.

Residents welcome these markets as an opportunity to find some good bargains.

Madam Ella Wyse, 44, a housewife who was buying a soft toy from a vendor at the Marsiling market, said: "This is a good idea. It's a way to recycle old things that people don't use."

Flea markets getting popular

Flea market fever seems to be catching on in the heartlands.

According to vendors, residents' committees in Sembawang, Pasir Ris, Bukit Batok, Bukit Panjang, Yio Chu Kang and Tampines are also holding such markets.

The schedules and regulations differ from market to market.

Some are held on an ad-hoc basis, others are regularly scheduled.

Some are free, whereas others provide tables and chairs to display items and charge a fee.

Vendors say the trend started about two to three years ago, and after a good response, it spread by word of mouth from one RC to another.

The RC at Teck Ghee Zone H had its first flea market at Block 475 and Block 473, Ang Mo Kio Avenue 10, on Oct 10.

The response was so good that it plans to hold another one on Dec 12, said its chairman, Mr K Pragash, 44, a technician with SIA Engineering.

He said: "Last week, we had 40 stalls. We plan to increase the number of stalls to 50 for the Dec 12 market."

"Some 16 stalls have already been booked. Most of them signed up last week."

The RC provides two tables, two chairs and two bottles of mineral water for each stallholder, charging $10 a day.

"We don't make much. The cost of providing the tables, chairs and bottles of mineral water comes to $8.50."

The main aim is to reach out to the residents and to spread awareness of the RC's work, he said.

But the RC doesn't plan to hold the market regularly.

"People will get tired of it. The things offered might be the same each time. Beside, we have other activities too," he said.

Two other RCs in Teck Ghee also hold flea markets.

The Teck Ghee Zone D RC holds its flea market on the last Sunday of every month near Block 331 and charges $5 a day, without tables or chairs.

The Teck Ghee Zone J RC holds it on an ad-hoc basis at Block 325.

This article was first published in The New Paper.