Online marketplace OLX announced Sunday the launch of “Buy Used Items” campaign to encourage Egyptians to buy used furniture and home appliances, in an attempt to ease their predicament to purchase high-quality products at affordable prices.
With global price increases in raw materials, more and more people tend to buy used products as an ideal solution to fulfill their needs in an affordable manner without squandering their resources.
In order to tackle the increasing prices in the Egyptian furniture market, OLX prioritised the development of its furniture and home appliance section to make it easier for sellers to display their products and for buyers to easily browse through all displayed items at affordable prices.
OLX also sought to provide Egyptian families with smart solutions to renew their home belongings at the cheapest prices in the market by providing a price comparison between 10 new home appliances against used appliances sold on OLX. This is displayed as follows:
Home Appliances:
| Item | Price of new product (in EGP) | Price on OLX (in EGP) |
| Television | 3,850 | 2,900 |
| Refrigerator | 8,535 | 7,000 |
| Microwave | 3,000 | 2,000 |
| Cooker | 4,000 | 2,600 |
Furniture:
| Item | Price of new product (in EGP) | Price on OLX (in EGP) |
| Living Room | 10,000 | 6,000 |
| Dining Room | 9,270 | 4,200 |
| Sofa | 3,441 | 1,150 |
Based on the aforementioned comparison, the purchase of used furniture on OLX helps Egyptian users save about 39 percent of the total price. In addition, selling used furniture on OLX offers the following advantages:
- Extra cash: the money can be used to buy other useful things, such as a gift for someone or paying an installment of another product.
- More space: selling the unutilised items creates more space and gives room for a new design.
- Better change: change occurs when people contribute to achieving better societies through exchanging products.
“The idea of buying used products and commodities is popular in developed societies. It is remarkable to see this culture rapidly thriving in our region. As a leading platform in electronic classified advertising, OLX launched the “Buy Used Items” campaign as of June 2018 in the furniture and home appliances section.” said Dina Gobran, General Manager of OLX Egypt.
“Buying and selling on OLX provides Egyptians with the opportunity to buy what they require and at the same time save money, effort, and time,” Gobran added.
The used furniture and home appliances categories are two of the most popular sections on OLX. The platform witnessed a 40 percent increase in the number of people listing items for sale in these two categories compared to the same period last year, which reflects a change in the purchasing trends of Egyptian consumers and a transformation towards economic and practical thinking.
During the Holy Month of Ramadan, OLX revealed that the most searched keywords in the second-hand items were iPhone, living room, Nokia, saloon, Samsung, dining room and closet.
