Recently one of my best friends has become addicted to candles. He’s got everything from sweet vanilla caramel smelling candles to a miniature Chimenea to hold candles to Himalayan salt candles, which he’s convinced are releasing healthy ions into his apartment.
I think part of his obsession has to do with the lovely Israeli lady at the mall selling him all of these wares. She’ll speak with him in Hebrew and even wish him a “Good Shabbas” when he shops Friday afternoons.
But don’t mention her fellow countrymen selling goods at carts stationed around the mall. They are up to no good and will sell you cheap garbage, she reminds us.Â
Last week the Wall Street Journal took at look at these modern peddlers, “young Israelis who man mobile carts and have a no-holds-barred selling style.”
Amid the grimmest holiday season in years, these workers are approaching passing mall shoppers or calling out from their stations, pitching body lotions, irons, toys and knickknacks. They demonstrate their wares by flying remote-control helicopters, steaming shirts and applying makeup. Instead of charging American-style fixed prices, they harness the culture of the bazaar and often quote numbers based on what they think a customer will be willing to pay. (MORE)
(Ht: Nextbook)
