Prices of secondhand clothes skyrocket

Residents complain prices of secondhand cloths at bazaars have doubled, while their quality is inferior.

GILGIT: Residents have complained that prices of secondhand cloths at the lunda bazaars in the city have doubled this year while their quality is inferior. Lunda bazaars are markets where traders sell used items, targeting people of the low income group.

“I am surprised to see such high prices of items at lunda bazaar,” said Shamim Bibi, a housewife talking to The Express Tribune on Monday. She said that items like socks, sweaters, jackets and shoes are being sold for twice the price as compared to last year and people have no options but to buy these substandard items at higher prices.

“The market was a ray of hope for people with low incomes. Now they can’t even buy warm clothes for their children.”

The shopkeepers at the lunda bazaars, she said, “seem indifferent to the problems of the people. They
are only concerned about selling their items and making quick bucks.”

A school teacher, Nazakat Ali, said that prices of items at lunda bazaar are almost equal to those of new items in the market. “I bought a jacket for Rs500 from the market, which is the price I paid for a new jacket last year,” he said. “Life has become tough for
the poor.”

Ishaq, who deals in secondhand items said that small traders purchase winter cloths from them at reduced prices during summers and put them up for sale at stores. People have no choice in the harsh winter season but to purchase the low quality clothing, he added.

According to dealers in these markets, most of the second hand items brought to Gilgit are those rejected by dealers in Peshawar, Lahore and Rawalpindi for their inferior quality.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 30^th, 2010.