Back-to-school deals in Carbon
Parents bring their children to a store on Magallanes street to buy cheap school uniforms. Classes open today.
(CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)
Instead of going to the malls, parents are doing their back-to-school shopping in Carbon Market.
Ruby Gaviola, a 23-year-old housewife, said school uniforms, bags and supplies in Carbon are cheaper than those sold in malls.
She also encourages her two daughters to reuse their uniforms so they don’t have to buy new uniforms every year.
This year, Gaviola bought only two school blouses for her daughters at P75 each. The girls, who are in Grades 2 and 3 in a public elementary school in Guadalupe, are reusing their skirts from last school year.
“It’s not necessary to buy every year because some uniforms purchased last school year can still be used. It is a matter of wash and clean,” Gaviola told Cebu Daily News. Her husband is a mechanic.
Marcel Batiancela, a 30-year-old housewife, also buys school uniforms in Carbon Market stalls or at the public market in Madridejos on Bantayan Island.
Batiancela bought four pairs of blouses and skirts as well as two pairs of polo shirts and pants in Carbon yesterday.
“I always prefer to buy school items from stalls. When you compare it to malls, there’s a big price difference between the two. The brand doesn’t matter. What’s important is that our children have something comfortable to use in school,” she told CDN.
For the children’s school notebooks, bags, pens and shoes, she decided to buy these in their public market. Batiancela said she has set aside a budget of P1,000 to P2,000 for the supplies.
Her husband is a fisherman. They have six children in grade school.
“As parents, we are doing our best to provide them (children) with new school stuff. Although I agree with the concept of recycling but we also want to see our children comfortable that is why my husband and I saved money for back-to-school preparations,” she added.
Cheryl Bastida, owner of a stall in Carbon that sells school uniforms, said she also has customers from Bohol and Leyte.
She sells blouses and polo shirts for P75 to P100 apiece. For a dozen, a customer saves P20 per item.
Bastida said members of her family make the school uniforms in Minglanilla.
Another vendor, Ramonito Dalumos, sells schools pants for P120 each. A customer will save P25 per item if she buys a dozen.
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