Just My 2 Kobo: Who am I to tell you what to charge?

BY IPHIE MANUELZ

As you all must have noticed, I have an opinion on almost everything, so yes it’s a good thing I own a blog right. I mean what are opinions if the cannot be shared right.

So you are wondering what my opinion is right about now abi? Hmmm, it is nothing as serious as finding ways to change Nigeria oh, ok, maybe a little, hehehe, I know that is what I am usually on about. So today what is Iphie on about, well it’s a topic most people can relate to. ‘Business women/men’ that cheat others just to make a profit.

This write up was inspired by the BBM status update of a friend, it reads and I quote ‘S/o 2 that Uniben girl, who way back in 2k7 would go to UK, buy Cederwoods shirt for £5 each, then sell to students 4 N7k each. God has forgiven you’. Lmao, I almost died when I read it and I just had to ping her, lol. But then I realised how true what she was saying was.

We must have all been ripped off at one point by one of these enterprising young men and ladies and it cant be funny when you realise that you have been ripped off. Personally I have been ripped off a lot of times and I can authoritatively say that it wasn’t funny. I wouldn’t cite any specific incidence in order not to embarrass anybody. I remember the first time I realised I was ripped off, I told my friend I wanted more of a certain slipper that I already had and she said  (note that she doesn’t sell) and she goes ‘ok I can get me friend to get them for you when she travels, they are only £2.50 in Primark’. WHAT, I swear, I saw red. I had bought my own for N850 which in my opinion was fair, but I knew someone that was going around selling this same slippers to my friends for N2500. Then you can imagine my surprise when I came over here to study, only to realise that something I had paid over N6000 for barely two months before, was merely £5, £5 being the full price, and was even from Primark, I had been led to believe it was from somewhere more prestigious. What did I know, I have never been a fan of ‘designers’, so I couldn’t tell the difference, as long as its wearable, I wear it. You can also imagine my surprise when I saw a shoe going for N8000 on someone’s dp, what??? A shoe I knew to be on sale at Primark, I went into Primark on my way to church that day oh and guess how much it was. £8 pounds oh and full price, this shoe was barely £15. Or do I even begin about the story of my bag from River Island, I got this bag on sale for £20 pounds and full price it was £35. Guess what I knew of someone that was selling these bags for N24000/N25000 and she got it on sales oh, not full price. I don’t even know where to begin.

Now lets take N250 to be the constant exchange rate for the pounds to Naira. I am not even going to bother myself with the maths, its so obvious what these businessmen and women are doing.

I know I am going to be chewed raw for this write up by people that sell and even by my friends that sell, but its high time somebody called them out on this cheating. I know the most common reply to this would be ‘Iphie, you know we have to make our profit now’ and ‘ha Iphie do you know what we pay to transport these goods’.

Hmm, I wouldn’t say much, I understand their need to make a profit and cover the cost of transportation, but haba why would you cheat people this much. I mean why sell a Primark product that expensively when you know at the back of your mind that, that thing would not last six months. All I am saying is make your profit but don’t go around cheating other people. One thing I have learned is money gotten from cheating people is never used for anything good. I remember once when I was in Benin for a wedding, I needed to get in a taxi to a family friend’s house and the rain wouldn’t let up. I eventually got a taxi driver who charged me N2500 for a journey that usually costs N1000. Half way into the journey he bashed another driver’s car and had to part with about N4000. The first thing that came into my mind was, you can never spend ‘ill gotten’ money on good things.

It doesn't really bother me anymore, I have learned the pleasures of online shopping and when I get back home, that is how all my shopping would be done if i can't afford to make the trip. I would rather throw all that money into 'cargoing' my goods home, than see it lining another's pocket.

I am not here to teach anybody their business, all I am saying is treat people fairly, if not how do you expect to be treated fairly, we receive what we give out. I tried not to link this issue to Nigeria, but i couldn't help myself, how do you expect better from our leaders when you do just what they do. How do you think they started, they started cheating people in little things and it grew into cheating them out of good roads, cheating them out of their rights to good education, out of good health facilities, the list is endless. The thing about greed is, once you can't nip it in the bud you just have to keep feeding it.

 Who am I to tell you how much to charge, after all this is just my 2kobo’s worth.