I finally made it to Tinubu market and decided to provide a couple of naija market tips for the adventurous tourist or the ajebutter pikin who decide to visit markets in Nigeria. Here it goes!!
- Have the least possible number of items on you – If you have 5 phones, only take 1 (or none) to the market, avoid wearing any jewelry, etc.
- Dress lightly – It gets pretty hot so you’d want to dress as light and comfortable as possible.
- Carry a light bag – You’d need somewhere (e.g. a bag) to put your money. My bag preference for market visits would be a sling bag with zips you could have over your neck so it’s directly in front of you all the time.
- Go with someone who’s experienced – Otherwise you may find it difficult to navigate the market and be heavily cheated.
- Bargain! – My rule of thumb is usually to divide the initial asking price by like 3! Of course this doesn’t always work but it’s a good starting point. If you adhere to tip #4, this shouldn’t be an issue.
- Stay alert! – Otherwise you’ll be missing all the items in your bag before you can say jack ro… you get my drift.
- Plan to stay hydrated! – I learned this one the hard way. Before we were done at Tinubu market I felt like I was dying! In fact, by the time we got to Balogun market I’d vexed and just went back to sit in the car…lol. I won’t advise one to take a water bottle, but once you’ve been in the market for a bit, just ask for where to buy some nice cool water.
Have you got additional market tips I missed? Please add them using the comments box below!!
In fact, can’t remember the last time I went to the market. Just find it so overwhelming so I just take a picture of what I want and send somebody abeg