Are You a Budding Bazaarista?

Byline: Jesselynn G. de la Cruz

8 tips for tiangge joiners

DESPITE threats of being taxed by overzealous revenue collectors intent on meeting their target, bazaar joiners remain an undaunted lot. At least, judging by the number of bazaars, flea markets, tiangges or baratillos that have mushroomed these days in commercial centers and ritzy enclaves. (Well, okay, maybe a few suddenly got cold feet after the taxmen floated their Santax scheme, sending this writer a flurry of text messages begging us to pls dnt use my rl name tnx and dnt idntfy me ha?).

Quick, somebody tell these revenue guys that while long-time bazaar participants (or bazaaristas as they call themselves) have started enjoying respectable profits, a lot more are really just budding traders or young entrepreneurs testing their wings in the real marketing world.

Yes, its good income now, admits Baby T., whose family leases seven stalls in the Greenhills Bazaar during its Yuletide run. But you have to factor in the fact that its taken us years, and a lot of hard work and investment, before we realized some profit. And for those whore just starting out, because of so many tiangges these days, competition is greater and making some profit can be more difficult.

It was Babys eldest daughter, fresh from college with a Med Tech degree, who took a chance on the first Ortigas tiangge offering in the …