Street Vendors With Carts in TurkeyAll through the streets of many countries, people have found a way to make a living by selling food and other goods on movable carts that are set up in the sidewalk like little mobile shops.I think this is the perfect way to run a subsistence business. Just a cart, [...]
Published on March 2, 2009
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Street Vendors With Carts in Turkey
All through the streets of many countries, people have found a way to make a living by selling food and other goods on movable carts that are set up in the sidewalk like little mobile shops.
I think this is the perfect way to run a subsistence business. Just a cart, goods, and a man to operate it all. Nothing more, nothing less. These little vending stations probably cost little to start up, as they are just a cart with two wheels and a flat surface for goods to be stacked upon, and there are apparently little overhead costs except for maybe government permit fees or mafia dues.
It seems as if these mobile carts can provide a person with a shop without many of the drawbacks or overhead necessities:
- They don’t have to pay rent, because they are not functioning out of a building.
- No worries about location, as if business is not good you can just roll your way to another street.
- No customer visibility factors, as these carts are plopped in the middle of sidewalks in everybody’s way. It is virtually impossible not to notice the goods for sale at these two wheeled vending stations.
- They can sell items cheaper than at the shops.
I have often admired the smart set ups of street vendors wherever I have traveled: from under-the-bridge night time noodle stalls in Japan to the papoosa cookers of Central America. If I ever get the impetus to be a shop owner, I will surely build myself one of these little carts and wheel my way around town, selling whatever weird thing it is that I find to sell.
Who needs a store when you have a street?
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Wade from Vagabond Journey.com
in Istanbul, Turkey- March 2, 2009
Travelogue — Travel Photos — Travel Guide
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Photos of vending carts in Istanbul
A water cart. This is a little different because the water shippers respond to house-calls and are not really selling in the streets.
Mobile vendor selling chestnuts and taking a nap.
Sidewalk shoeshiner and kid with a vending cart.
Books being sold on a cart in Istanbul.
Cart shipping, collecting, or selling metal furnishings.
Kid roasting chestnuts on a mobile cooking cart.
Mobile chestnut roasting cart.
Street vendor selling Turkish bagels which are called simit.
I m unsure of how closely my fairy tale notions of mobile street vendors suits the reality. Perhaps I will find out.
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Street Vendors With Carts in Turkey
About the Author: VBJ
I am the founder and editor of Vagabond Journey. I’ve been traveling the world since 1999, through 91 countries. I am the author of the book, Ghost Cities of China and have written for The Guardian, Forbes, Bloomberg, The Diplomat, the South China Morning Post, and other publications. VBJ has written 3704 posts on Vagabond Journey. Contact the author.
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1 comment… add one
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July 3, 2012, 2:01 am
LinkIn america if you sell food you need a food handler card +training (costs any where from 25 to 500), and whether you sell food or hand made goods a vendor license ($1500) +insurance of $5000 ….people do it illegally but when they are caught they either face jail or fines that are pretty steep. oh and whatever you sell must be reported to the irs, if you are found not to be reporting what you make again jail time or fines etc. ….wonder if other country’s do this as well? or at such a high price? didn’t used to be like this till recently after the crack down on illegal immigrants and other people getting sick or poisoned by the vendors + combating knock offs(mock copy’s) and poor food handling. . . they even crack down on kids lemonade stands now used to be a good way for kids to make money during the summer but no more. sad. America going down the crapper.
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