Bargain prices on Bandung 'magazine' street

By Kafil Yamin

BANDUNG (JP): When the rupiah nosedived three years ago, "Untung", a newspaper columnist and lecturer at a local university, suddenly found that the price of foreign magazines and journals was out of his reach.

But he came up with a solution.

Each month he heads to Jl. Cikapundung, a small side street off Jl. Asia-Afrika in downtown Bandung, where vendors offer a wide range of magazines and books.

For example, there are copies of National Geographic, both recent and yellowing editions dating back to the 1960s and 1970s, glossy fashion and lifestyle magazines like her world, Vogue, Details and GQ, as well as those on fitness and sports such as tennis and soccer.

He can purchase the magazines he wants, though a month old, at bargain prices.

The better he bargains, the lower the price. A magazine such as the Singapore edition of her world, which would cost more than Rp 60,000 in bookstores, can be bought for less than Rp 10,000.

The magazines' condition (many of them are missing their covers) does not matter to him. But it might bother others who care about the esthetics of their reading materials.

Wanto, a street magazine vendor at Cikapundung, said he received the magazines in the damaged condition from suppliers.

"They said they intentionally tore the covers up in order for the magazines to be sold at lower prices.

"Damaged, the magazines are considered rejected pieces and not for sale," he said.

Wanto, 32, who has been in the business for 15 years, said he and his fellow vendors get regular supplies of "rejected" magazines from Tangerang. The suppliers are said to have obtained the materials from publishing houses around Greater Jakarta.

Another vendor, Suritno, said there were customers willing to buy a magazine even though it was more expensive than others on sale.

"Computer technicians, for example, would be excited to find rare computer magazines here. They don't care so much about the prices because it seems they need the magazines badly," he explained.

The area has a diverse range of customers who may be looking for bargains out of interest or seeking material that could assist them professionally.

"Commonly, they are postgraduate students doing research or finishing their thesis, computer technicians looking for new software, or fashion designers searching for new designs," Suritno said.

There is no such thing as a standard price for the magazines.

"What there is, is the skill to bargain," said Moeflich Hasbullah, a senior lecturer at Bandung State Islamic Institute.

Moeflich outlined the best way to get a bargain: "Do not look like you are searching for reading material. Act as if you happened to be there just looking around or killing time, even though you may need something badly," he advised.

"I got a very valuable foreign book for my research. The vendor gave me a 40 percent discount."

Wanto explained that vendors received a 20 percent commission on each magazine sold. "If I can sell 15 magazines a day, that will be enough for me to survive," he said.

He pointed to the Danish magazine Maxim with a printed cover price of 8.95 Danish krone.

"I would give you this magazine for Rp 8,000," he offered. The magazine is in good condition with its cover intact.

After a few moments of bargaining, he agreed to Rp 5,000.

Iwan Widyawan, a manager at the Alphabet media agent, said the damaged magazines most likely come from publishing companies, while the damaged foreign magazines are either from their distributors or private individuals.

Suritno said some foreigners liked buying magazines on the street, but dismissed suggestions of applying higher prices to foreigners than to locals.

He said that if they did buy the magazines at higher prices it was because they were not prepared to bargain.

"A few foreigners bargain, but most of them don't. It seems they don't have bargaining skills, or they don't like wasting time for bargaining. They put greater value on time than locals do," Suritno said.

Wanto and Suritno said they found nothing wrong with their business.

"What's wrong with selling this stuff, out of date magazines and old books? What's the difference compared to, say, selling used clothes?" Suritno asked.

A police detective at the Bandung Police station, Bharada Suharto, was of the same opinion when asked about the goings-on at Cikapundung.

"We would do something if they sold pornographic magazines. But what's the problem with selling out of date magazines?" he said.