You may have walked past them for years and never truly appreciated the lowly used electronics sign. As Hong Kong hosts Art Basel this week, we’d like to draw your attention to our own local art form!
Gadget-crazed Hong Kong is always upgrading to the latest tech. This goes for mobile phones as well as home electronics such as TVs, stereos, and computers. When you combine a population with a predilection for the new, with the city’s lack of space, you have a continual need to dispose of perfectly fine electronics.
Seeing a business opportunity in this cycle, an ecosystem of enterprising middlemen have stepped up to take your old equipment off your hands.
Walking around any of Hong Kong’s neighborhoods you may have seen a sign, or perhaps a person perched on a stool waiting near a sign. They typically maintain a sidewalk-level presence in residential areas and are ready to purchase and remove goods from you immediately.
Signs offering their services come in all sizes, shapes, and colors. Recently, one sign in particular struck me as a masterpiece. It’s well balanced, has legible handwriting, and seemingly fits an astounding number of Chinese characters in just the right amount of space.
Even has perfect slots of business cards!