SNS News: Bargain Galore After Floods

Bargains galore after floods

KOTA TINGGI: With the water receding, this flood-hit town has been abuzz with a massive clearance sale, with some shops offering as much as 80% discount on their goods.

Shopkeepers and retailers are offering items damaged by floodwaters at a fraction of the original prices in a bid to cut losses.

Stalls offering bargains line the streets in the town centre, creating a bazaar-like atmosphere.

Bargain-seekers were aplenty on Thursday, with many wading through the knee-high floodwaters to get to the “bargain area”, which was completely dry.

Optical shop owner Tan Teck Seng, 32, was selling spectacles frames and sunglasses at only 20% to 30% of the original prices.

It was no surprise that a huge crowd had gathered in front of his shop and most of the items were being snapped up.

“All the boxes and casings for the spectacles and sunglasses have been ruined. How am I to sell without proper packaging?” said Tan, adding that some distributors had agreed to send him new casings but others had refused to do so.

“I have lost more than RM160,000. All my tools, including the lens-cutting machine, are spoilt. I have no choice but to just sell everything cheap. I have to pay my staff.”

At a nearby textile shop, sales assistant Sariffin Mohd Zin, 23, was trying to sell off a huge bundle of clothes and rolls of cloth damaged by the floods.

He said every piece of clothing, which was priced between RM30 and RM50, was being sold at RM10.

“We cannot wash them. The colours won't be the same,” he added.

However, the bargain-seekers were not put off, saying that the goods were not too badly damaged.

“It is much cheaper and we can always wash them,” said housewife Rohaiyah Senan, 54, who was picking up some headscarves.

Teacher Zulkifli Miswan, 36, who was choosing school bags for his children, agreed.

“It is half the price and I am just buying them in case the bags they are using now tear halfway through the school term,” he said.

By TEH ENG HOCK

Source : STAR

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