With special techniques and chemicals, dirt cheap secondhand (or colloquially “Sida”) clothes and other items can easily get a facelift and become brand clothes and accessories which can fetch some million dong apiece at shops in Ho Chi Minh City.

At TH Shop on Nguyen Thai Binh Street in Tan Binh District, which sells exorbitant brand clothing items, all kinds of clothes, footwear, eyewear and handbags of famous, expensive brands such as Levi’s, Tommy, Gucci, Guess, Louis Vuitton and Prada glitter inside the shop windows.

However, a large number of them are fakes or revamped secondhand real items, or “Sida” stuff.

“Sida” stuff is used clothes and accessories discarded by people in rich countries. The stuff, considered rich countries’ relief for developing ones, is typically purchased in bulk at low prices by local dealers.

The stuff is divided into different ranks, from worn-out to relatively new and even used real brand items.

A Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reporter, disguising herself as a new shop attendant at TH Shop, strained her eyes for signs of the items being used ones, but failed to spot any.

On her third day or so, the new attendant easily sold a shirt which is branded Gap for VND1.5 million (US$71) as the customer gullibly believed that Made-in-USA Gap shirts are premium quality.

To her astonishment, H., the shop owner, said that she bought the shirt for a mere VND100,000 ($5), plus VND50,000 for laundry and brand tag fixing.

She also revealed that she bought a Rayban pair of glasses, which sold for VND3.5 million, for a mere VND200,000, plus a small additional sum for revamping and scratch fixing. She made a profit of some VND3 million, which means she could earn a profit ten times her capital.

“Sida” items worth a mere $1 or so can also be turned into items which can fetch millions of dong.

“I can earn at least VND50 million a month from trading real brand items in the past three years, and another VND20 million a month from selling brand “Sida” stuff to credulous clients,” revealed another brand clothes shop owner in HCMC.

H. also disclosed that the key to her success lies in her intimate, trustworthy relationship with her dozens of “Sida” clothes wholesalers and various discreet fixers, as well as her proper understanding of luxury brand items and clients’ psychology.

Elaborate revamping techniques

Tam “Sida,” a wholesaler of relatively new “Sida” stuff who runs a shop in Ba Chieu Market in Binh Thanh District, saved H. three Levi’s jackets and two Nine West shoes.

Several other dealers like H. who run brand clothes stores in District 1 were also picking from Tam “Sida”’s piles of secondhand clothing items.

H. added that all “Sida” stuff wholesalers have phone numbers of shop owners just like herself. They will phone H. and others when they’re about to open their huge packages of “Sida” stuff, which is followed by a real scramble among shop owners for relatively new items.

In the stifling heat at Thu’s “Sida” shop on Pham Phu Thu Street in Tan Binh District, which is home to a clutch of large “Sida” wholesalers, dozens of people were waiting in tension.

As soon as Thu tore open the strings around her packages, the people dashed in, yelling, jostling and trying their best to reach for the best items.

The huge package vanished in less than 30 seconds.

H. said she hired two well-built men for VND50,000 each to do the scrambling task.

She then sat down, meticulously selecting from her pile. She noted that valuable items must bear brand tags, then have good materials and well-made stitches.

The Tuoi Tre reporter, who disguised herself as H.’s new shop attendant, was tasked with revamping four “Sida” brand items, which were bought for VND600,000 ($28.3).

The used items were first renewed thanks to a special laundry technique at laundry shops.

T., who runs one of such laundry shops on Au Co Street in Tan Binh District, revealed that it requires tricks to give the used items the brand things’ signature scents of different materials, such as jeans and silk.

He ordered clothing cleansing liquid from the U.S., as well as perfume, to give the revamped items the look and texture of “hand-luggage” luxury brand things and get rid of “Sida” stuff’s iconic detergent odor.

At a garment accessory shop in Kim Bien Market in District 5, the owner offered hundreds of brand tags in different materials, such as leather, cloth, and iron.

A packet of 10 cloth tags such as Levi’s, Gap, BeBe and Zara sell for a mere VND20,000 ($1), while iron logos fetch VND5,000 apiece.

The last thing to do is to have L. in alley 136 in Tan Phu District’s Luy Ban Bich Street skillfully sew the tags onto the revamped “Sida” items.

Once all the phases are completed, H. offered the four refurbished “Sida” items for VND1.2-1.7 million apiece.

One of them, a Levi’s jacket, was bought for VND1.7 million by an unsuspecting customer after only half a day of being displayed.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!