The Handbag Guy

This is the first in a special TBTAM Post Series. A link to the next post is at the end of each post.

If you are a city dweller like me, you probably have a cadre of vendors whom you frequent regularly, whether it be for coffee, lunch, fruit or the occasional umbrella or scarf on an inclement day. Here in New York, my vendors are as much a part of my daily life as the corner grocer is to the residents of any small town. Allow me to introduce you one of my favorites –

The Handbag Guy

No Saks 5th avenue or Bloomies for me – I get my bags from this guy. He requested that I not take his photo or tell you his name, but did let me snap a shot of his perch across the street from the hospital. Great selection, nothing too fancy, and most importantly, lots of bags actually big enough to hold all my stuff.

My Handbag Guy and I actually started working this territory at the same time – me in the GYN clinic, him across the street, in 1993. That’s right, he’s been at this corner, and no where else, for 13 years.

Handbag Guy is from Senegal. He came to the US in 1981, served in the Army for a few years, then opened a business up on 125th Street, selling bags and sundries. He did pretty well for a few years, until the neighborhood began to gentrify, and the big chain stores moved in. When his landlord raised the rent to $10K a month, Handbag Guy took his wares to the street and has never looked back. He works alone, and buys his goods from wholesalers, mostly in New Jersey.

Like my bag? I got it from the Handbag Guy last fall. I’ve lost count of the number of complements I’ve gotten on it, and how many women think it’s a designer bag that I spent hundreds on. Nah, it was just $35.

It turns out this is not the first orange bag I got from Handbag Guy. I bought another one exactly like it a week before I bought this one. But the strap broke about 3 days later, probably because I had crammed it so full.

“No problem”, said Handbag guy, when I showed the broken strap to him the next day on my way to the office. “Give me a few days. I’m expecting another shipment, and I’ll replace it for you.”

I gave him my business card, and sure enough, he called me at the office a few days later to report that he had my replacement bag. I sent my daughters over with my old bag, and he made the switch, no questions asked. And since then, whenever I pass and say hi, he asks me how my daughters are doing. I don’t think you can get more personalized service at the finest department stores.

Handbag guy is a licensed vendor, having secured a merchandising vendor license that is all but impossible for anyone but military veterans to obtain. (As opposed to food vendor permits, which are easier to get.) According to The Street Vendor Project Website, the New York City Council passed an ordinance in the 70’s restricting the number of vendor licenses to 853. Since then, the wait list for a vendor licence is so long that they stopped adding names to it in 1992. But there is an exception for vets who can prove an honorable discharge. So when you buy anything other than food from a vendor, if he’s not one of the old timers, odds are he’s a vet, and you should probably thank him for more than just giving you a great price.

Well, now that spring is here, it’s time for me to check out Handbag Guy’s selection for the season. Maybe a pink bag this time?

Next Up: The Hot Dog Man

Category: Considerations