Street vendors help traders sell old goods

JEDDAH — About 100 street vendors in downtown Jeddah supply more than 20 products to customers at cheaper rates compared to prices at shops in the market. Many traders reportedly make use these vendors to sell their old or damaged products. Ahmed Al-Shahri, 24, said he used to visit Balad to purchase various essential commodities at cheaper rates. “A friend of mine who works in one of the shops in Balad advised me that I can get various essential goods from these street vendors at cheaper rates,” he told Al-Madina Arabic daily. Al-Madina’s correspondent visited Balad and met with a street vendor who sells his products in front of Mahmal shopping center. His basta or sales spot is a space that does not cover more than five meters, where he spreads various products, especially clothes of different colors and sizes. “When asked about the price of a dress, the vendor said he was selling it for SR80 while the shop price is SR140,” the reporter said. “We display old models in the street and sell them at cheaper rates. We purchase these old models from shops who wanted to display their new models,” he explained. There was a female street vendor named Umm Khaled who was selling sports and winter clothes at SR80 per piece. “This is very cheap because sports shops sell them for SR250,” she pointed out. Asked how she was able to sell these clothes at cheap rates, she said: “I purchased them from a trader in bulk before Ramadan as he wanted to close down his shop.” Abu Saeed, 30, who specializes in selling ladies’ vanity bags, said he sells branded bags for SR35. Asked the difference between him and those who sell the bags at shops, he said: “We sell the same thing. Shop owners charge a much higher price as they have to pay rents and salaries of workers. I sell them at cheaper rate taking a profit of SR10 per piece,” he told the daily. Shop owners sell out their goods at cost prices for different reasons. Yasser Al-Mazjajee, owner of an establishment that sells men’s clothes, said: “There are different reasons for selling out goods. I used to hire a young man to sell old clothes in the streets so that I can display the latest models.” Abdul Qader Hejaz, a trader specialized in selling shoes and other foot wears, said he used to sell damaged and out-fashioned products at cheaper rates through street vendors. “This will not cause any losses for the firm but will reduce its profits.”