At Slate, Eliza Barclay writes:

Inside a dark shop opposite a frenetic bus station, transistor radios are stacked beneath newfangled LED flashlights and belts hang like snakes from the ceiling, their buckles emblazoned with the decidedly un-African word Guangzhou. Outside, in the equatorial sunshine, men who crowded inside the store become mobile versions of it, strapping to their backs 4-foot-wide square racks interlaced with watches, wallets, belts, and other items.

A lanky young vendor whom I'll call Charles walks miles to the city's outskirts shouldering a weighty rack of trinkets, hoping to unload it along the way. Charles, who asked that his real name not be used because it's illegal to vend in the city center, hawks plastic watches for 40 cents and leather belts for $1.80, but his sales are consistent, and on a good day he takes home $45 in earnings. What is impressive about Charles' operation is not only the low, low prices of the Chinese goods he sells but that he brings them to people in the slums who've never bought these things before.

"These new Chinese products help low-income people because they can't afford the European or American stuff," says Mr. Abasi, who owns the store that supplies Charles and other vendors. "People know these products are not good quality, but they buy them because they look expensive."

To read more:

http://www.slate.com/id/2185853/?wpisrc=newsletter