The ups, downs & everything in between.
It’s another day of selling jewelry for Binny Dhody, but he is not in a storefront. He is trying to sell his jewelry on the MacEwan University campus. Dhody is one of many vendors who occasionally spend their days on the second floor of the SAMU building.
Early in the morning, Dhody and others neatly set up their tables. Once the hustle and bustle of the school day finally ends, they pack their inventory away. Whether you want to thrift an entirely new wardrobe, or buy a dashing ring for a loved one, these sellers are just a short walk from your classrooms.
Through the chaos and calm of hallway commutes, students may catch a glimpse of the varied inventory out of the corner of their eye. Some students may wonder who these vendors are, how they began selling in SAMU, and how many challenges they could face.
You may have already seen, or bought from Dhody before at SAMU. Born in India, he was surrounded by jewelry vendors and their customers. The house where his father used to live was actually in a jewelry market. So, Dhody was captivated by the jewelry market. “Day one, I start making money, so it attracts me more, and then I buy more,” he says. He has been a vendor for 30 years and sold jewelry for the past three years at MacEwan. Dhody sells necklaces, stones, bracelets, rings, earrings and more across the world. “I travel every year, around 20 countries,” he says.
Though, Dhody’s business, like with many vendors, is not without its challenges. “It’s a risky business,” he says. Some of the obstacles he faces as part of the job include unexpected bad weather, unwanted visitors and stability concerns. Dhody has been under storms at vendor shows, his tents have collapsed, and he’s not new to calling security in the SAMU building when rude strangers approach him.
For Dhody, the biggest challenge is the long commutes. Coming from Calgary, he feels he is “are always on highways.”
As for sales, Dhody says that they are sometimes better in other places, but selling at SAMU can be worth it. Dhody says he, “… like[s] to come here [to MacEwan] more because there’s more students here and the ambience is very beautiful.” While the price to sell here is higher than some other locations, he says there are “ still a lot of students, so I do okay…”
Asking for advice for anyone looking into vending like Dhody presents a difficult question for the vendor, who knows the truth behind the business. He says, “I will not recommend this business to the students or anybody who wants to because this is not an easy job. If you are in the same city, if you do it part-time, but do something solid on the side.”
Tsoi Bonnema also sells jewelry and sets up a booth at SAMU only a few times a year. Like Dhody, Bonnema spoke with the student’s association to organize their visits and also sells necklaces, earrings, rings and bracelets.
While students, professors, and those visiting campus see her occasionally, she never fails to spark a conversation or show you the most beautiful jewelry pieces.
“It’s a risky business.”
Binny Dhody, a jewelry vendor.
Aside from the conversations and the hustle and bustle, selling has considerable challenges. A common theme for vendors is less than reliable sales. “As a vendor, like, you know, sometimes it’s doing good, sometimes it’s doing no good,” says Bonnema. One challenge at SAMU is when the elevators go down, which means Bonnema needs to carry all their inventory up the stairs.
The last challenge these vendors face is the rent. SAMU’s administration and retail manager Maria Shin says, “The first three weeks of a term…, we do $250 a day per table they’re booking and $150 during the rest of the term.”
Despite these challenges, Bonnema continues to enjoy the atmosphere and the company from speaking with the people on campus. Bonnema doesn’t have any advice for new vendors, as they feel that each vendor does the job differently. Though there are positives to being a vendor at SAMU, like engaging with the campus community, the challenges to vending can make for a stressful business. Both Bonnema and Dhody understand the passion needed to stay behind the booth. Bonnema recognizes how sales vary, but so do the sales tactics. “Even new vendors, sometimes they do things better than me,” she says.
Dhody and Bonnema will continue to be vendors here, not just for their inventory, but for their personable contributions to the campus community.
Photo by Allegra Fuerderer
0 Comments