Thursday 22 April 2010

Pirates of the carribean

Two nights ago, I had dinner with my son at Mali's Corner in Setapak, the place that serves tasty char kuey teow. While having our meal, we were repeatedly bothered by salesmen peddling pirated DVDs. Even after declining one salesman, another guy would come by a few minutes later, pushing the same stuff. I have noticed that this a normal sales tactic at most other popular makan places in KL, especially the open-air 24-hours mamak restaurants. You don't find such DVD peddlars in JB.

Out of curiosity, I asked how much a DVD cost. The reply : Biasa la boss, RM8 saje...

Heck, that's double of what I can get in JB... yes, pirated DVDs retail for only RM4 in Johor Bahru. KL folks don't seem to mind the higher price, because judging from the way these peddlars are thriving, there must be a good market for the discs.

And this has got me wondering about a business opportunity... if I buy some of these movie discs in JB for RM4 each, bring them to KL and sell them at RM6, I can undercut the sellers here by RM2 and still make the same amount in profit. That's a 50% profit, my friend! I don't have to worry about the overhead costs because I travel to and fro KL-JB every week anyway. What I do have to worry about is probably getting beaten up by the syndicates running these operations in KL.

Well... just a thought.

Talking about movies, I went out to watch one at a cineplex last night because the boredom at a lonely bachelor's pad was killing me. I had read a posting from blogger matahari the day before and decided to see Kick Ass. She gave a 5-star rating for this movie and after watching it yesterday, I must say I concur.

The movie has violence (torture, guns, knives, swords and even a bazooka) and vulgarity (cursing and swearing). Exactly the type of film you wouldn't want to bring your daughter to see... and yet the heroine in this picture is a gun-toting, knife-throwing sweet young girl who I'd love to have as my daughter.

And another thing... when do you actually get to see Nicholas Cage act in a gun-blazing movie but yet not get the top billing? Bizzare.

Kick Ass is a good movie to watch if you are pissed off about problems at work, pissed off at someone or generally in a pissed-off mood. Forget about logic and reality for a while... watch this movie about unlikely superheroes and enjoy.

7 comments:

Mata Hari said...

Yeayy..ada gak org setuju ngan I.
Kick-ass kicked ass!!!
Tak sangka kan? ;)

Izaham Musa said...

Hi, pirate DVD business is about gangsters and territories. about who controls which part of which area. sbb tu diorang x kisah jual mahal pun. kat penang DVDs cost rm5, blueray rm10.mana-mana pun sama harga kat sini kecuali di lorong kulit flea market where u can get used DVDs for as low as rm1.00. not sure if KL has the same equivalent of Lorong Kulit in Penang. In Ipoh is belakang Lokeng on sundays only

Anonymous said...

It's not only the DVD salesmen but the budak-budak sekolah pushing some memo from the school at your face, the blind man and wife selling tissue packets, the guy selling books/ jigsaw puzzles/ bags/ cupcakes ... the list is endless. That is why these days I avoid places like the Ampang Yong Tow Foo or the eateries at the Ampang Point area.

Fadhil said...

matahari, thanks for the recommendation. Seems that you and I have the same taste in movies... cuma I tak minat bollywood la ;-)

Fadhil said...

Sdra Izaham,

In JB there is this night bazaar in town where all sorts of used items, including DVDs and VCDs are being sold.

Thanks for dropping by and commenting.

Fadhil said...

Andrea,

Good point. It makes me wonder sometimes, how much those blind beggars get each night. It is really quite easy to estimate, even conservatively. When you figure out how much they can probably take home each night, you could be boggled. But I've put aside my assumptions about these people a long time ago. If I feel charitable, I'll give... otherwise I'll decline politely with no guilt feelings at all.

In Malay we say, `rezeki masing-masing'.

zafi said...

Pirates??? they keep making good profits though! the cost is less than RM1... but they sell it at higher price.. people still buy it as long as its "quality" dvd copies kan..
mali's? oh the char kueh teow n nasi lemak ayam panas.. oh nice2...
i am hungry now :D