Foreigners selling secondhand clothes on Vietnamese streets

In Vietnam, selling goods on the street, raising livestock, repairing motorbikes or making craft items are considered strenuous and many people don’t want to do these jobs. However, many foreigners living in Vietnam think otherwise.

David Cohen, a French man selling clothes at the Hanoi night market, said he would love to be a vendor in Vietnam.

"Everyone here likes shopping at the market instead of going to the supermarket. They can spend money to buy several T-shirts with funny shapes instead of buying an expensive dress," he said.

Selling clothing at the night market helps David earn a relatively stable income.

In addition to selling clothes at the night market, David has many other jobs as chefs, printing, design, selling second-hand clothes, taking photographs and selling hand-made crafts in front of elementary schools. 

He said the income from all types of businesses is up to VND1 million (US$50) a day, but in return he only sleeps about two to three hours a day.

David said the Vietnamese usually will do a clean, boring job, even the wages are low. However, in the minds of foreigners, only hard work can bring about high income.

"Many people look at me as a vendor at the gate of schools with pity. But I do not care about this. I am satisfied with the work that helps earn money with my true labor," David said.

Another foreigner, Klaus Rutt, a German, 46, also decided to quit his job with a salary of US$15,000 each month at home to go to Vietnam to sell traditional sausages. He said the catering business in Vietnam has big potential.

Although he owns a restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City, Klaus still has a stand selling sausages on the sidewalk of Phan Xich Long road. He said the Vietnamese love sidewalk food culture. Selling sausages on the street is good advertising for the brand and business.

"German sausages are VND35,000/piece, nearly three times higher than Vietnamese sausage. But on this street, my sausages sell best. As I understand, the Vietnamese are curious and they prefer foreign things. They like to eat the new food with special taste," he said. He has to work 12 hours a day, but Klaus never feels tired.

Instead of setting up a business in his home country, the 9th largest economy in the world, Guim, a Spaniard, 40, opened a bicycle sales and repair shop. Guim said, with the market economy today in Vietnam, he can make good money.

"Twenty years ago the Vietnamese rode motorbikes. In the past five years, they loved cars. And only three to four years later, the Vietnamese will switch from cars and motorcycles to bikes," he explained.

In addition to selling bicycles, Guim is director of a hotel and restaurant service company. However, he still goes to the bicycle shop each day to repair bicycles.

"Let's look to the distant future. You will know what business to do. Working with the mind or manual labor are both glorious. Whether you are a hawker, a bicycle repair person, even a cyclo driver, if you just love what you do and create income, there is nothing shameful about it," he said.