Everyday consumers of certain products like electronics, smartphones and even used clothes who have difficulty finding them in the market are assisted by market guides to get those items.
In return the market guides {middlemen} who are very familiar with the terrain get the item and sell it at a price higher than what the real owner would have sold it.
These market guides oftentimes have no shops or products, but are very knowledgeable about where to get what in the market and would approach shoppers to help them find genuine products from reliable sources.
While these market guides do not explicitly bill shoppers, they raise the price of the product depending on how they perceive the desperation of the customer, naiveness of the shopper and the availability of the product in the market.
BizWatch Nigeria findings from some market guides revealed that some of them make as much as N20,000 depending on activities of the day.
Here are some markets where market guides can be found In Lagos Markets
Computer Village
Computer village is a market that is specialized in the retail of smartphones, computers and other gadgets. It attracts over 5,000 people daily making it a profitable place for middlemen. Some of these middlemen also operate online, displaying these products in different forums online.
The real product owners deal with these middlemen based on trust and relationship. It is not considered a wrongdoing to offer this support to shoppers in computer village, so if you are having a hard time finding a job, this might be an opportunity to explore.
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Alaba International Market
Alaba International Market is the largest electronics market in Nigeria, located Lagos. It houses over 5,000 shops and draws thousands of shoppers.
The sight of middlemen is very common in this market as they never miss the opportunity to help shoppers get something from their ‘other shop’. This market is another good place to make a living while offering assistance to electronics buyers
You probably have been assisted by someone at the market in helping you find items that you had difficulty getting by yourself. Shopping in markets like computer village, Alaba International Market, Ojo, Katangwa market can be challenging sometimes due to number of people shopping at the same time, or not knowing where to get certain items that you want..
Katangwa Market
This is a used clothes and shoes market also located in Lagos. It is a huge market for fairly used imported garments. It employs hundreds of youths in making a living as they help shoppers source for items.
They take shoppers to different shops where they pose as the owner of the items and make sales for the business owner while earning for themselves as well.
Ladipo Market
Ladipo market is another popular Lagos market. It specializes in automobile spare parts. The market is very busy market and is another location where middlemen make a living by offering assistance to spare part buyers. Shop owners allow these middlemen to bring customers to their shops and the shop owners reward them with a commission.
