Real Change - Vendors

Vendors

Anyone may apply to be a vendor for Real Change, although most vendors are poor or unable to hold a regular job because of mental illness, criminal records, or other issues. All vendors must sign a code of conduct. Vendors get the first 10 papers free when they sign up; after that they keep 65 cents for every dollar paper they sell. Harris, the paper's executive director, claims there are about 250 regular vendors, although there may be as many as 800 vendors in a year if occasional vendors are included.

Several vendors are very successful, selling as many as 2,000 papers a month and being known as "fixtures" in the community; most, however, sell far less than that. Real Change vendors operate under a "turf system," under which vendors who sell over a certain number of papers per month get rights to sell at a certain spot; according to Harris, this system allows buyer-vendor relationships to build up and for vendors to become well known in particular communities, and can minimize conflict and competition between vendors. Most vendors sell within Seattle proper, although some sell in the Eastside. Vendors may sell without restriction on sidewalks, but sometimes need to obtain a license to sell in commercial areas like malls.