It has been a challenging year for many Ramadan vendors, primarily due to inflation. Online, stories of vendors struggling with their businesses are frequent.
Recently, a drink seller in Kota Bharu, Kelantan, voiced his uneasiness and disappointment after he was forced to halt his business due to depleted capital and lack of customers.
Tough Business
Via a Facebook post, Muhammad Ridzuan revealed that, despite only operating for two days, he had to make a tough decision to prevent further losses.
He commenced his venture on 24 March and decided to shut down the next day, as he hardly earned any revenue.
Plenty of drinks, sell them cheap and people don’t come. Sell them expensive, and they don’t come either. Give them away for free, and people take them,” he lamented.
According to his post, he earned just RM3 on the first day with an initial capital of RM120. On the second day, he made no sales, with his capital reduced to RM65.
Today (25 March) might be our last day selling drinks. Out of capital. Just venting, not complaining,” he expressed.
He also offered the remaining 33 packets of drinks at his usual rate of RM4 to netizens wishing to assist others in breaking their fast.
His post has since captured widespread attention, receiving 9k reactions, 1.3k comments, and 696 shares as of writing. See the post here.
Many netizens resonate with his situation, noting similar struggles among other traders at Ramadan bazaars.
Just an Experiment
In a subsequent post, Muhammad Ridzuan clarified that his venture was merely an experiment to validate the claims about the difficulties faced by businesses at the Ramadan Bazaar this year.
Primarily a nasi lemak seller, he ventured into selling drinks during the fasting month due to the absence of nasi lemak orders.
After recognising the potential for financial loss this year, he shared the results of his experiment online, which unexpectedly went viral.
I posted just for fun, not to gain sympathy or seek attention, as I already have my stable business, which is nasi lemak,” he stated.
However, the feedback wasn’t entirely positive, with some criticisms making him quite uncomfortable, including many using the word ‘babi’.
What are your thoughts on being a vendor for Ramadan this year? Share with us in the comment section!
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