Since it started its campaign to attract Cebuanos to earn extra cash by disposing of unused secondhand items online, OLX Philippines has been doubling its number of Cebu listers per month.
In the past few months, the average number of Cebuanos listing their items on the buy and sell website monthly was at 20,000, said OLX Philippines managing director RJ David.
He added that the ads placed on the online marketplace reached around a hundred thousand in the last 30 days alone.
The online company opened a new office at the Ground Floor of Mercedes Benz Tower on Mindanao Avenue in Cebu Business Park today, Wednesday. The OLX Cebu office, which measures 103 square meters, will serve as the main headquarters of its operations in the Visayas and Mindanao.
Deal hub
OLX Cebu senior marketing manager Regina Aquilar said the office will also serve as deal hub or meet-up place for Cebu-based OLX sellers and buyers.
“Those who are new to online buying and selling, they’re a little afraid about meeting up. The office is a safe place for them to meet and conclude their transaction,” added David.
A lot of Cebuanos have been encouraged to sell unused items when OLX started its “Yesss, Yaman!” campaign in Cebu in March 2014.
“We want to encourage them to continue selling their secondhand items and they can always consider meeting in the OLX office for a smooth and secured transaction,” cited Aguilar.
David said the top items searched for by Cebuanos on OLX are cars, motorcycles, and mobile phones. The top-selling items, however, are cellfones.
Brand ambassadors
Since last year, David said OLX Philippines has been sending two people to visit homes in Metro Cebu and explain what the website is all about. They also helped identify unused items in homes and explained to homeowners how to list them on the online marketplace.
This April, OLX will deploy 20 brand ambassadors (BAs) and they’ll be going around barangays in Mandaue City.
OLX Cebu encourages residents to sort through their household items and identify those that can be sold off so the BAs can post these at OLX on their behalf.
According to David, the BAs started their campaign in Cebu City in January and the people they visited, especially those without access to the Internet, were really thankful. David added that OLX Cebu is looking to add to its staff and is hiring marketing personnel and customer support representatives.
