Black Market, Black Friday: What $20 gets you at the 16th Street BART plaza
Black Friday seems to have become a ghost of its former self. The orgy of Walmart tramplings and riot-adjacent runs on major appliances appear to have gone the way of the plasma TV, amid a wave of big box bankruptcies and a growing distaste for aggressive crowds swiping KitchenAids from each other’s carts. Retail may be struggling, but the thirst for deals is eternal — especially at BART plazas in the Mission, where unlicensed vendors sell all manner of stuff for cheap. It’s not always pretty: While some folks sell homemade handicrafts and enterprising home cooks hawk empanadas, it’s likely the vast majority of what you’ll find at the plaza is stolen. But many of the people there — buyers and sellers alike — struggle to make ends meet, facing city crackdowns, threats and exploitation. So I spent Black Friday outside the 16th Street station, buying from vendors and getting to know their stories.
Gadget’s demeanor may be nervous, but his approach to his trade is zen. When I ask if he’s having a good Black Friday, he says, “Every day’s as good as you make it.”
