Sometimes, getting to know the real price of things can be difficult, even when you’re smack in the middle of the market when you want to buy the very thing. Unless you know exactly where you want to go, or you have a particular shop in mind, the likelihood that you’ll be paying slightly higher for the product will be high.
You see, if there is one thing I’ve come to notice, it’s that all these traders are cliques. Even the ones who sell the same kind of goods and as such should be rivals, they don’t compete. Instead, they work together to collect as much money as possible for you. But it’s not only the traders who are out to get you, there’s another group of people that people don’t really talk about. Well, people don’t really talk about them because they don’t have an official name, but I call them affiliate marketers.
In a normal market, everyone is either buying a product or selling it. However, in our little slice of paradise, there are sellers, buyers, and affiliate marketers.
A few days ago, I realized that I needed to get a new keyboard. A wireless keyboard that I could use more freely because of the monitor I had to purchase early on in January. I got to the market, knowing what I wanted, and I also knew where to go. So I went there, however, they didn’t have the one I was looking for. The keyboard they had came with a dongle, and I didn’t want that. I wanted something that was strictly Bluetooth.
So, I left. However, that was all I knew, I didn’t know where else to go. Then this guy approached me and asked what I wanted to get, I told him. He told me to follow him to his shop, that they had that keyboard there. I’m sure many of you are getting where this story is heading by now. So, I followed him, and we walked down a long alleyway, to the very end of the line before he took me to a shop where they sold computer accessories. The place was almost hidden in a wall, if I had not been with him, I would have walked past it without knowing it.
I went in there; I did see the keyboard though, but it was too small. Not the right size that I wanted. Besides, it was way too expensive. This guy then told me that he had “another shop” on the other side of the market. If I follow him to his second shop, I’ll see what I’m looking for. So, I followed him. We made our way through the market, squeezing past other people as we walked hurriedly. When we eventually got there, I found out that he was right; they did have the right size I was looking for. When they told me the price, it was a bit steep, but it was better than the first price I heard in the other shop. So, I was able to buy it.
So now, this guy that took me on a tour? He’s who I call an affiliate marketer. In real life, they don’t have a shop in the market. They’re not there to sell anything or buy. However, what they do is to stand around and ask customers what exactly they want to buy. Then, they take you to a friend of theirs who sells it. So, if whatever you want to buy is originally 15k, the affiliate marketer could add an extra 2k for himself. That way, both he and the trader are happy.
It’s a hustle and many people are doing it to make ends meet. Another thing about them is how well they know the market. There are still pockets of the market that I had no idea existed, yet, this guy knew them all. Some shops are smaller than cubicle, you could stand in front of them for ten minutes and you won’t see them, because they’ve been blocked by the wares of other traders. Yet, these guys know them all.
A similar thing happened to me earlier in the year when I went to Ikeja to buy my monitor. I’ve learned that with these guys, you can never get lost. Just that it would cost you a bit more than what you’re willing to pay.
Am I doing this to condemn them? Hell no! I’ll never be against honest living. However, my advice for you? If you don’t know your way around a market and they end up taking you where you need to go, make sure that you memorize the route. So that if for any reason you end up returning to the market to buy the same thing, you could buy it for the original price, and not the affiliate marketing price.
You’re welcome!
Posted Using INLEO
