Tilapia, topless sandals, anyone?

Where would you go if you were searching for buyers for a pair of bikinis, or selling one, starting up your own business, or looking for dog training tips, while meeting new people at the same time? In Davao City, the answer comes in five syllables: DavaoSale.com.

Davao Sale is a website made not only for the internet junkies, but most especially for the city’s entrepreneurs to help them buy, sell, and advertise just about anything under the sun.

At a time wherein everything happens in a flash, online shopping is the best way to find things without leaving the comforts of your home. What sets Davao Sale apart from similar websites is that it was created especially for the Davaoweño. Members are more confident to transact business because they can personally meet with their sellers or buyers without fear of being duped.

Founders Hermes Dionela Jr., Val Apostol, and Mark dela Cruz recount the website’s humble beginnings. “We were talking about putting up an online store to promote our products, which were laptops from Japan. We thought that people could just browse freely into our online shop,” Mark says. The trio discovered that the strategy was not only cheaper but practical and effective. The good response from its visitors inspired them to expand their site into something like ebay.com, the popular buy and sell site open to the global public. Why, they could help other people look for a bunch of stuff all in one place and they could earn for themselves.

Take Gel Marcial. Starting out with a few pieces of clothes in 2004, she began clicking in orders through Davao Sale. Recalling it now, she says the website appealed to her as an unorthodox way of peddling goods. And she immediately discovered how effective it was the minute she logged on. “I first got started when I saw a friend surfing the website to look for a cellular phone. Later that night I registered, grabbed the opportunity of selling online and spent the whole night posting my items,” she says.

Today, three years worth of earnings later, Gel maintains her own shop called Pacomani’s Clothes Bar. And business has never been better.

“Some of my first customers from Davao Sale still shop from me today,” she beams.

In 2004, Davao Sale only had about 100 members. Today, Mark says membership has reached 11,000, making it in the top 100 Filipino-made websites in the list of PinoyTopsites.com. Davao Sale items range from one peso toy cars to pieces of real estate costing around P100 million. Other items include topless sandals, gas tanks, old coins and bills, and even Tilapia which, take note, has free deliveries every Wednesday!

Davao Sale is not limited to buying and selling. There are pages dedicated to animal lovers and digital enthusiasts. Some members post pictures to show off their well groomed pitbulls and pugs, and even certificates of the awards their pets have been earning. Favorite items include laptops, cellphones, mp3 or mp4 units. The site has also served for some as a how-to and a where-to column. Members dispense advice such as teaching puppies new tricks, what to feed flower horns to get that humpy head and red look, or finding the best place to get a Brazilian Wax.

To set up a site such as this, one needs to know basic programming language, which is easy to acquire if you take time to study it, according to Hermes, a mechanical engineer. The reason why they seem to have gotten off on a good start is because early on, in college, they were quite interested in computers, Mark says.

The company earns by charging a minimum fee of P1,500 per month for lower banner ads and P2,500 per month for upper banner ads. “Actually, this is one of the cheapest, among all forms of media advertisement. Your ads can be seen around the world since the ads are online. That’s our advantage among TV and radio ads,” Mark says. When asked if they consider this a profitable business, Hermes answered, “No, not yet, since what Davao Sale earns is just enough for maintenance fees. The remaining balance is spent for gimiks or coffee nights.”

From a personal project to sell laptops, it has now developed into one of the most functional websites in the country, sharing popular slots with the likes of inq7.net, mannypacquiao.ph, and wowphilippines.com.ph. The enterprising owners have now opened an office to make the site more service-oriented.

So, whatever you may be—trader, housewife, professional, or student—the next time you’re looking for that elusive polka dot bikini, or looking for ways to teach a dog to play dead, or desperate to sell your beat-up car, you’ll know exactly where to log on.

At Davao Sale, 11,000 users swear that it’s worth the visit.