The Market Columns -

I thought that from time to time, I would share with you some of the columns I wrote for the Eastern Daily Press about life on Norfolk markets. I wrote them incognito under the pseudonym Petra Kidd. I hope you like them.
Market Scene

Dodgy Dave down the Market


The present government initiative to crack down on counterfeit goods sold mainly on markets is obviously a good thing. If what they say is true and the proceeds go to heinous criminals who push drugs and supply terrorists then all power to any body attempting to stop it.

There are many honest traders who don’t want these fly-by-night dodgy dealers visiting our markets. They attract the wrong kind of custom and put off the very people we want to attract. From what I’m told the DVDs are often filmed under someone’s jacket in a cinema and the quality is dire, so why bother anyway?

Nothing is worse for trade than the police swooping in and arresting the chap on the pitch next to you. You suddenly feel tarred with the same brush as people eye you as guilty by association. When times are tough anyway the last thing we want is a bad press.

I wish therefore that as the government shout from the rooftops about the wicked dodgy dealers selling rip off handbags and watches they had a little think about helping the honest traders. Taxation, together with endless rules and regulations in this country do little to encourage free enterprise and honest business. By all means clamp down on the bad but for goodness help the good.

Perhaps we are all guilty in creating a market for counterfeit goods by being so greedy for a bargain all the time. Living is expensive but people are forever looking for something for nothing. Often punters will refuse to pay a pound extra in Swaffham because they’ve seen the same item in Great Yarmouth for a pound less. Forget petrol or travel expense, this is how they think!

One of the great illogical arguments when a potential customer has tried to reduce the price and the trader refuses is that the trader has lost out because of losing a sale whatever the price. Quality induces greater value therefore a few pounds more both in cost and at sale price. Why is profit such a dirty word? It’s there to pay the costs and provide a living but is viewed with such suspicion by some.

Is it better to pay the price and receive quality goods that will last or pay a few quid less and have to replace the item in a shorter space of time?

It doesn’t surprise me how well the counterfeit market has flourished. It’s not just the big time criminals who are guilty but also those who are so keen to pinch pennies they can’t see the wood for the trees.
There is nothing wrong with getting a real bargain and the market is the best place for lots of them, as many regulars will tell you. Please don’t be put off by the dodgy traders, just don’t buy from them, you’ll be doing us all a favour.