RIYADH, 21 March 2004 — Vendors of pirated software programs are undeterred by a recent crackdown by police that netted 50 expatriates in the Olaya district computer market.
The vendors still stand around with a list of available programs discreetly hidden, waiting for prospective customers to drive up. The lists don’t indicate the cost of each program, making it easier to haggle and occasionally push up their margins.
Each dealer has his own rates; one may sell a program for SR10 while another offers the same for SR15. “We make just enough money for our daily needs and nothing more,” said Masoud, a Bangladeshi.
“If we’re lucky, we may make more because the programs we sell are good, probably as good as the originals,” said another Bangladeshi, Muhammad Baher, who has been working as a technician at a computer shop for the last two months. He resorted to selling fake software programs at the computer market because he has not been paid his salary.
Most of the vendors target the area from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m., when the computer shops are closed.
“We are trying to cash in on people who need our programs urgently and can’t wait until the shops open,” said Shah Jahan, another Bangladeshi. When the shops reopen at 4 p.m., some leave — probably to move to another area where they can make more sales.
Some legal computer shops are not worried about the pirate salesmen because the shops offer items not yet available on the streets.
Selling fake products, however, is not limited to the computer market. In Batha, vendors of music tapes also carry pirated films, which cost only SR15 each. Many display their wares in the middle of their shops, with no regard for authorities who might pop up at anytime. “The reason for this is that the shop owners who know about it may be shelling out protection money,” said an expat who frequents these shops.
The store vendors are reluctant to talk about how much they make for selling pirated films, saying that it is the store owner who negotiates with the suppliers and knows how high the margin is for every film sold.
