Erika Febriani Indra

My Jakarta: Aris, Toy-Seller

Aris is the epitome of simple living in the big city. He runs a stall in front of an elementary school where he sells toys, always has the good of his family in mind and finds comfort in the little joys that life has to offer. The 36-year-old father of one says he doesn’t have any big dreams, but at the same time, he doesn’t have much to complain about either.

Why sell toys instead of, say, books or other goods?

I like this line of work because there’s not a lot of cash involved to maintain it. Plus, it doesn’t require too much energy and it gives me a sense of satisfaction. The profit isn’t that bad, and I can say that I’m doing OK.

I like this job because I also get to interact with children. I know a lot of the elementary school students here. That’s another reason why I like this kind of work; I also get to know a lot of people. When I sell toys to kids, who are usually my regular customers, I meet their parents as well. And some of these parents even give me money and cake during Idul Fitri. I know some of the teachers too. If they need a gift to give to somebody at school, they come to me. In this job, it seems I know everybody.

What do you dislike most about your job?

The times when there are no new toys to sell, and there are just a few customers.

If you could make one toy of your own, what would that be?

I would make flowers out of paper and car toys out of rubber foam. They don’t require much money to make, so the profit I could get out of those toys would be good. I’ve sold them before, but because there are too many Chinese-manufactured toys being sold out there, I just couldn’t compete.

Do you have family here?

Yes, I do. We live in a boarding house. I have one daughter who is in the fourth grade.

What is a typical day like for you?

I work from Monday to Saturday, from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. After that, I just go home. I usually buy my supplies on Sundays.

What else do you sell besides toys?

I sell stickers, some snacks and children’s accessories. Some of the stuff that I sell costs as little as Rp 2,000 to as much as Rp 15,000 [21 cents to $1.60]. The products that sell out the most are card games like Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh. Some of the children also like those plastic model kits.

Rubik’s cubes are popular nowadays in Jakarta. Are they available on your cart?

Yes, and I can say the cubes sell well. They cost between Rp 5,000 and Rp 20,000, depending on the size.

Do you have any difficulty dealing with customers who you owe money, for example?

No. That doesn’t really happen to me because most of the children who buy from me pay me right away. But sometimes customers will ask me for some toys in advance. Say, I don’t have the toy they’re looking for today, they just ask me to bring one the next day. And the customers pay in advance as well, even though I haven’t given them their toy. It’s a trust thing.

Besides selling toys, what else do you do?

I’m also into assembling children’s toys, like the Tamiya model cars, those plastic automobile model kits that the kids use to compete on those miniature racetracks.

Do you make these toys yourself or do you buy them?

I buy the toys in Jatinegara and Prumpung market. I replenish my supplies twice a week.

So why don’t you make the toys yourself?

I think no one would be interested in the toys that I would personally make. They just wouldn’t sell that well.

If you were the governor of Jakarta, what would you do to help improve the city?

[Laughs] I don’t know how to answer that. Just thinking about being the governor, to me it’s impossible. Doing what I’m doing now makes me happy already.

If you were given one day to go to any place in Jakarta, where would you go?

I would go to Ragunan Zoo. I think it’s a place where you can learn a lot of things, and the entrance fee is affordable. I never get bored there.

What do you like most about Jakarta?

It’s hard to find a job where I come from. Most of the people from my hometown go elsewhere to look for a way to earn a living. For me, if you want to work hard, Jakarta is the best place to earn money.

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