Tourists at play, locals at workAs in most countries in the developing world, the beach is a place where vendors do business. They pass by numerous times each day while you're lounging underneath an umbrella and soaking up the rays. Enticing you to purchase something you could easily do without, they'll offer you items like a hand-carved elephant or a hammock.
After saying no a few times, most sellers realize that we are not buyers, but they do still stop to say hi. And there was one young, energetic guy who was hard to overlook. He was selling board shorts, something very fashionable in today's beachwear. In the local markets, we'd seen them selling for 2,000 baht, roughly equal to $58. His starting price was just 600 baht. After bartering with him, we ended up paying 300 baht for a pair of shorts -- less than $9 -- and we were was satisfied with the purchase.
One advantage of staying long-term in a location is that we get to meet and learn about these vendors, all of whom have a story to tell. The board-shorts vendor was no different. Each day, he would stop by to see whether we were interested in another purchase. He was a businessman and understood his market and products. He was originally from Vietnam and owned a shop 30 minutes north of our oceanfront location and worked the beach on many days. When we asked him how many pairs of shorts he sold on his busiest days, he answered, "15,000 baht worth." That's very impressive for a beach vendor, considering that the average Thai wages are quite low.
Our vendor then proceeded to tell me that he sells only about 10 or 15 pair of shorts a day! How did he make so much money selling so little merchandise? He explained that during the busy season, the same shorts we'd bought for 300 baht go for 1,500 baht. Curious, we asked ask him who would pay such inflated prices.
"Oh, that's easy," he replied. "The two-week millionaires." Those are the people who take their two-week vacations with money to burn and no regard to prices. Our vendor says he can spot them the minute they set foot on the beach.
Wondering what his impression of me was (Billy here), he jokingly quipped, "key nee owl," which is an affectionate Thai expression for "Cheap Charlie." He knew me well.
We take the position that our retirement is a lifestyle and not a vacation. We get to a location, check out the pricing, and do some comparisons before buying.
And those board shorts we paid 300 baht for? We just saw them in Burma for the equivalent of 200 baht.
Our vendor won yet another battle.
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