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  Deng Hanming might not like traditional Chinese religious plaques, but he didn't let that stop him from trading them away at a profit.

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  This microscope set was traded from a college. It's waiting for a new owner to claim it.

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  These '60s advertisements had been collected by an old woman. They were traded at a rate of RM500 per sheet.

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  Deng's store not only deals in old items, but also accepts new products as well. Everyone has different needs, which means that everything and anything can be converted into cash.

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  A sampling of the diverse range of goods that Deng's store deals in.

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KUALA LUMPUR: These days, most people treat old stuff as worthless junk to be thrown away, but not Deng Hanming.

Deng has built an extremely profitable business for himself simply by bartering old items. He collects other people's unwanted "junk" and trades them away at a profit to other people who need these items.

In an interview with Guang Ming daily, Just Barter founder Deng Hanming said that his business philosophy was "all goods accepted, all prices negotiable."

His store certainly shows his adherence to the first half of his motto. Bridal veils, waterbeds, Buddha statuettes, old advertisements, microscopes and smoke detectors are just a small sampling of the diverse array of goods he has stashed inside.

These items were traded away by owners who considered them to be worthless junk, yet in Deng's eyes they represent valuable commodities whose value simply has not been appreciated yet.

Deng recalls one incident where a customer brought 3000 Chinese religious plaques to trade. Deng did not really like the religious plaques, but he stuck to his business philosophy and accepted them all.

It turned out to be a good choice, because the plaques were a hit with housewives during the Chinese New Year. Deng ended up walking away from the deal with a substantial profit.

Another memorable trade that Deng remembers was when a company offered him several thousand unused empty medicine bottles.

The company had originally produced the bottles to market a medicine. Unfortunately, the company had failed to secure a dealership for the medicine after the bottles were made.

The company considered the bottles to be worthless since the bottles all bore the name of a medicine that the company had no right to sell.

Many of Deng's friends concurred with that assessment and urged him against a trade.

However, Deng went ahead with the deal and eventually managed to turn a profit when he traded 7000 of the medicine bottles to another merchant in exchange for merchandise worth RM55,560.

The bottles were used to store the merchant's own health product, who used stick-on labels to cover up the name of the medicine that had been etched into the bottles. The merchant benefited from the deal as well because the bottles allowed the merchant to reduce production costs.

Deng said he was happy to be able to help provide others with what they needed.

He added his business helped him appreciate the value of things. He often encouraged people to bring items from their home to trade.

This will not only maximise the use of said items, but it will also help to protect the environment.