Sunday market or thieves' outlet

My wife and I are regulars at the Ipoh Sunday market along Jalan Horley. My friend nick-named it “thieves outlet” as he reckons most of the goods are stolen. To a certain extent, I agree, especially those used shoes and sandals which are likely to be stolen from people’s porch. Then the handbags and handphones are likely to be items of snatch victims.

My wife is more interested in chinaware and porcelain. Occasionally, she managed to get really good stuff for a song. The history of such items are usually things left behind when people move from one place to another. Well, one man’s rubbish is another’s treasure. Those fellow collectors out there would agree that almost everything is collectible.

The other day, I was surprised to see a friend (trader becomes friend after such frequent visits) who sold a lowly old bottle-opener marked with logo of CocaCola for Rm18 to a young man, who obviously knew what he was buying. Other brands were going for only Rm5 or so. Almost all the items which remind me of my childhood: tricycles, pedal cars, metal calendar pictures of Hong Kong film stars, and so on, are now sought after.

I personally go for music CDs or VCDs which are normally sold for Rm1 each, 2 for Rm3 or 3 for Rm5, depending on singer or group, condition or trader. It does not matter to me whether they are pirated or stolen. Sometimes I get new ones at that price. These are likely to be someone’s slow-moving stock, “fell off the back of the lorry” or confiscated by police but somehow found their way out. In other words, they were practically free which was why they can sell at such low prices.

With the availability of such cheap CDs, I am exposed to and able to enjoy and learn more songs which otherwise I would not be able to afford.