Bargain prices on Bandung 'magazine' street

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.