“Rilip” aka “Ukay-ukay” is the best bargain phenomenon to ever hit the Philippines. Forget about designer brands and ubercool shirt designs, this is, bar none, better than those shops in the malls combined.
People from all walks of life are found shopping in a local relipan
It has been called many names, here in Negros Island, its called “Rilip”, after relief, because in the past, second -hand items given to the third-world countries by the first-world countries as donations, and enterprising people would instead sell it to others. Actually, it’s a large scale industry made legal by the local government; in Luzon, its “Ukay-ukay”, roughly translated as “dig-dig“, in which those goods are laid out in the open for the shoppers to literally dig through mountains of clothes for them to choose from.
a local shopper checking out a pair of jeans at a bargain price
Tthe prices are way lower than those what you get from the malls, although it’s a used item, the quality is still good and 100% of the time, the goods aren’t fake. One has to wash the clothes at least twice to remove the dirt and that signature Rilip smell. But also, there are times that one can get a crumpled dollar bill or a coin inside a pocket of a purchased item. The cash would be good enough to pay for what you have bought!
Shirts with better quality and slightly expensive price tag are placed in a hanger. Shirts here costs around PhP50.00 apiece
There is fun in ukay-ukay. The experience is better than shopping in Chinatown for fake goods, equally fun is the customary haggling of prices, since there is no fixed price for an item. If you found an item that you want to buy, the seller has to check the quality and the design and afterwards would quote you on the price. Some would also buy an item from a local relipan at a cheap price, wash and iron it, and in turn would sell it to another person at 200% the actual price.
Every week, the entrepreneurs would go from town-to-town for their weekly schedule for Relip. In this case, in Talisay City, Negros Occidental, the official Rilip day is Friday, locals call it as “Byernesan“, Byernes being Friday in Hiligaynon.
Bought these 5 shirts with the total price of PhP 200.00.
I used to be a regular shopper here before I went out of the country, sometimes I’m already up by 5 in the morning in order to grab the newly-opened boxes and have the advantage of choosing first than others; and I have a regular stall that he would SMS me in case he found something good for me to buy.
At Php200, some may say it’s still cheaper to shop for new stuff in malls. True. But then again, the things sold at malls are generally sold wholesale, which means that someone will be wearing the same shirt design as you. especially in a small city like Bacolod City. But in Ukay-ukays, you have a better chance of finding a one-of-a-kind item that will make you stand out in a crowd.
