Goods from various countries are attracting people from all walks of life.

Business in second-hand goods is increasingly booming in Cameroonian markets. From the North to South and East to West, shops dealing in second-hand goods are evolving with each passing day. The articles concerned are as diverse as those who sell them (men and women of all ages) and the buyers as many as the sources of the goods. Dishes, leather chairs, refrigerators, pressing irons, building materials, household utensils, dresses and shoes, electronics, among others, are what this business offers.

In Younde for example, the business is growing with the current urban sprout. The situation is more or less the same in other cities across the country. All attempts to get statistics on the quantity of imports failed. A Customs official in Douala responsible for the statistics told Cameroon Tribune reporters that the information was not for free, insisting that FCFA 25,000 or FCFA 50,000 be paid to him, depending on the amount of information requested. This notwithstanding, from observation, one can say without fear of contradiction that over 90 per cent of goods in this business are imported. India, United States of America, Dubai, Benin Republic, France, Turkey and Britain, constitute some of the sources of the goods.

The business owes its steady growth to the calibre of businessmen and the conception most customers have of the quality of the goods. During a visit to second-hand shops in Yaounde, this reporter observed that the business is mostly in the hands of youngsters, most of who have been to school, but could not secure better-paying jobs in the Civil Service. One of them, Celestine Kenfack, who is based at Biyem-Assi, said he holds a degree in Anthropology from the University of Yaounde 1. But for want of a corresponding job, got into the business of selling second-hand goods. Many like him opted for anonymity but acknowledged that they are able to make ends meet from the trade.

Regular customers like Angeline Mokom said the articles are of good quality, reason why so many people find solace in them. “Be it shoes, dresses or household utensils, once you buy from these shops, you are sure to use them for some time before they deteriorate,” she said. Other customers corroborated her, but observed that prices in second hand shops are higher than in the market.

Their only worry is that the boom in the business has brought in unscrupulous businessmen who place low quality goods in their shops and fool unsuspecting customers with high prices, pretending that they are from particular countries.