Hello everyone! I heard from a friend that there is a place somewhere in Taiwan where there are a lot of stores that sells second hand tech; from phones, laptops, and even gaming consoles. I asked her about the specific location of the place and she said she just heard about it from a friend. Does anyone know where that place is? I’m trying to look for a second hand Nintendo Switch and games since I don’t want to spend a lot of money for a hobby. I tried Facebook marketplace and everyone seems shady hahaha and Shopee items are still quite pricy for consoles which are already used.
You can try the Taipei City Mall behind Taipei Station. Go to the rear of the station and the outside area has entrances down into the mall (around Civil Boulevard), or go to the rear of Taipei Station B1 and there are entrances down into it from there.
There are a number of stores selling second hand consoles and games, but not sure you would get a Switch secondhand there as a bit too recent.
I’m not sure how much of it is second-hand, but Guanghua 光華 might be what you’re looking for? Big tech market and the whole area is generally just very tech-focused.
There are a few different parts of it, but I think your best bet would be this building (which is more or less where Google routes you).
I’ve usually had good experiences with Facebook Marketplace. You can also search for and join Facebook groups that are specific for second-hand sales, and specific to Taipei.
For the Switch itself, you should insist on meeting in person. For games, most sellers will probably just send them to you if they live far away. I’ve had no issues receiving second-hand games I purchased from random sellers on FB Marketplace. The only issue I had was people not updating their ads when they make a sale.
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absolutely infuriating how many times I came across this while searching for the motorcycle I ended up buying. It’s so easy. Just why.
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Thanks for the lead. I’ll try to visit this area during my day off and try my luck.
Thank you! I did notice that the switch hasn’t really declined in value. It might be because the demand for it is still really high. I just want to play Pokemon on it. Emulation is still not an option since the Switch isn’t available yet on PC. It took years before the 3DS became decently playable and I’m getting a bit impatient to wait for the Switch since I think it’s life span would be quite longer before being obsolete.
Thanks for the insight. I’m not a big fan of the Facebook Marketplace since it’s hard to verify the legitimacy of the sellers. I like the idea of joining a Facebook Group. At least sellers there can be checked by other members first.
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and Nintendo in very typical Nintendo fashion hasn’t pushed put a new update to it but still has the nerve to charge 300 USD for it 
can’t win with them lmao
This is sadly normal, everything second-hand is expensive in Taiwan.
Good deals exist but they get bought up quickly, often by flippers who just resell the item for profit.
This is very common with musical equipment - I message a seller, they say the item is no longer available, but they then continue to leave the ad up. I then report the ad to Facebook or Shoppee for false information.
This situation so common that I’m now convinced it’s intentional market price manipulation. Buyer (possibly a 2nd-hand store/reseller?) wants to buy a certain piece of equipment at price X, so they put up a fake ad selling the item for X dollars. Now genuine sellers are forced to match that price.
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Before coming to Taiwan, I thought this place was a tech haven given it’s international reputation. I guess my dreams of getting a cheap tech haul wouldn’t be fulfilled here.
At least you now have the comfort of knowing that when time comes to sell your Switch in the future, the value will still be high.
This is indeed a good idea. By the way, if you don’t mind me asking, is tech much cheaper in Hong Kong? I might get a chance to visit there in the future. I’m a big tech nerd so I would buy interesting tech specially if it’s cheap. Also, do you have knowledge about tech in China? I heard that Shenzen is the place to be in if you want tech in China.
Considerably. Hong Kong is one of the cheapest places in the world, if not the cheapest, to buy tech products.
Yes, I lived in Shenzhen for a while. There is a tech district called Huaqiangbei (華強北) where you can find things you’ve never even heard of.
For quality, world-class tech products from international brands, go to Hong Kong (cheaper too). For obscure and interesting things you might not have seen elsewhere, or local-branded cheaper alternatives (which may not be high quality), go to Shenzhen.
Wow. Thanks for the insights. Hong Kong and Shenzhen are now definitely in my travel bucket list. I read somewhere that Japan also has interesting tech but their prices are definitely not cheap.
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I was just in the middle of editing my last post when you posted this.
I forgot to mention that there is also a large gray market in Hong Kong, so you can find smuggled tech products that are only officially sold in other countries such as Japan.
This is interesting. Is there a specific place that you need to go to in Hong Kong or is it like you ask a store if they have the “special goods”?
The Y mall has a lot of videogame stores, some of them selling second hand and older machines. No idea about the prices.
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Those stores typically only sell “special goods”, and are usually small shops run by young guys who look like they might scam you.
They are usually found in clusters. You can typically go into a commercial building in places like Nathan Road around Jordan or Mong Kok, and find a maze of such stores on the ground floor. I don’t remember any specific buildings.