I guess street vending is rather a stopgap solution than a plum job. You don't need particular skills or education, what you do need is a convincing smile and vendibles. This sounds pretty easy but I bet there are many obstacles and a lot of hard work involved in selling goods on the streets. It's utterly amazing to see how many street vendors populate the city of Buenos Aires. There is probably nothing you can buy for money that you won't find at their stands. The whole city seems to be one big bazaar. This guy is specialized in selling winter clothing items such as caps, gloves, scarves etc. He definitely needs to change his assortment now cause the time for this stuff is up. Hooray!
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Being a Street Vendor in Buenos Aires
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5 comments:
I agree. This is one tough way to make a living. Just unpacking and packing it all up every day could be exhausting.
I wonder if the vendors need a license, or there are any restrictions of quality checks?
I would guess you could find a lot of knock-offs out there.
You see a fair amount of this in NYC, my home town, but not nearly as much as BsAs. (Not any in St. Louis.) It's a hard way to make a living and maybe a sign of hard times.
It's a global selling technique. I saw vendors in northern Italy this summer with vans with overhead "umbrellas" that simply folded up and tucked inside when they were done with their day's sales. I'll stick to my "day job!"
Here street vendors need permits so we have a few in Toronto but not many. It's as much fun to watch the customers as to look through the merchandise. Cool photo.
Very tough job indeed. And yes, they need a license, so those who dont have the license have to also be on the lookout, if a policeman approaches they pack their stuff and run with it. And when it rains, and when it is freezing outside. But it is a job, it puts food on the table. You know, I had dinner with an Argentinian new friend who moved from Argentina to Portugal, I posted a conversation with her in my blog.
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