r/Zambia

​

So, as a purely research-based study, there seems to be an unregulated pricing mechanism in the Lusaka online, for lack of a better term, “hoe market”, or as it is more locally known, hookups.

I have observed some genuinely concerning price ranges for what appears to be roughly the same product, and as far as I am aware, there is absolutely no regulatory body overseeing this market.

Providers of such services, which I will simply refer to as “hookups” for the purposes of this study, appear to charge anywhere between K150 and K1,500.

That is a 10× price difference for what appears, from an outside observer's perspective, to be the same general service.

This raises some important economic questions.

What exactly determines the price?

Is it supply and demand? Location? Appearance? Reputation? Negotiation skills? The platform being used? Is there some sort of hidden pricing algorithm that the general public has not been informed about?

Because the supply side of this market is particularly fascinating.

There are groups where multiple providers are constantly advertising themselves, sometimes with posts along the lines of “available, inbox quickly”, suggesting what would theoretically be a highly competitive and oversupplied market.

Yet in another part of the ecosystem, you have connectors acting as intermediaries. Instead of simply contacting the provider, you apparently pay the connector to obtain a line to the provider.

So now we have brokers.

And then there is the most fascinating part of the market.

Sometimes the provider finally responds to your inquiry and somehow manages to make you feel like you are the one asking for a favour.

This is despite the fact that you are supposedly the consumer.

At this point, I am beginning to question whether I understand basic economics.

We have supply, demand, intermediaries, wildly varying prices, inconsistent availability and apparently no standardized pricing mechanism.

Yet somehow the market continues to function.

Upon further research, the apparent average price for a “short time” seems to be somewhere around K250 to K350.

This is interesting because that price appears to be relatively consistent across a number of providers regardless of appearance.

Which brings me to another observation.

Appearance seems to be a factor, but apparently not nearly as much as location.

Providers from areas such as Chalala and Woodlands seem to commonly start around K500, and some of these negotiators have the ability to detect financial weakness from several kilometres away.

You can almost hear the economic consultant in their head saying, “The market will bear this price.”

Meanwhile, providers from Kamwala South, Chawama, Libala South and Chilenje seem to maintain prices somewhere around K350 to K500, with transport sometimes being negotiated separately.

Interestingly, I have found the general customer service towards potential clients in these areas to be relatively okay.

The customer service aspect of this market deserves its own study, though.

Because sometimes the consumer is a first-timer, socially awkward, doesn't know how this particular market operates and is already nervous about the whole transaction.

You would therefore expect some form of customer service.

Instead, sometimes simply asking basic questions seems to be treated as an inconvenience.

Imagine going to a restaurant and asking what comes with the meal only for the waiter to make you feel like you have personally offended their ancestors.

This brings me to the question of consumer protection.

Who exactly protects the consumer in this market?

There is no obvious regulatory body, no standardized pricing, no published price list and apparently no Consumer Complaints Department.

What happens when you pay K500 and the service does not match what was advertised?

Who do you complain to?

ZABS?

ZICTA?

The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission?

The Ministry of Commerce?

At what point does this become an economic issue?

Even with the supposed pricing volatility, there does seem to be some kind of informal agreed-upon market rate.

Perhaps there is a genuine pricing structure that exists independently of any formal regulation.

Or perhaps it is simply:

“Shop 1 charges K350, so I will charge K350 too.”

Which would mean we are looking at a decentralized pricing model based entirely on market observation.

Fascinating.

So, I am therefore asking the economists, business people and fellow researchers of Lusaka Reddit:

Who actually sets the price?

What determines whether the market value is K250, K350, K500 or K1,500?

And more importantly, how does someone justify the upper end of that range when the consumer may subsequently experience the economic phenomenon known as post-purchase regret?

You make the transaction, everything is over, and suddenly you are sitting there thinking:

“Why the hell did I just spend K1,500?”

This is not buyer's remorse.

This is market correction.

And before anyone asks, I have never personally participated in this market.

This is purely an academic study.

For research purposes.

Obviously.

Good evening everyone, I'm a female Zambian student in Lusaka currently struggling with her finances. I am a double orphan who is being sponsored by her elder brother and his wife but they have been experiencing some financial difficulties currently so they've reduced my income which I don't have a problem with but you just know that as a girl there are a lot of things we need and I honestly just don't want to live on handouts forever I want to work for my money and I also want this to be how I network and market myself as I am a finance student who will be joining the corporate world soon.

So I've been thinking of ways I could start making money, firstly I thought of starting a business of selling things in campus but I somehow talked myself out of it because I somehow think the market is saturated and everyone is almost selling the same things which makes it difficult for beginners like me to find customers. So I came up with some other idea which is babysitting kids on weekends since I'm in university and my program is kind of involving but I want to just try coming out of my shell.

So is it possible for me to achieve this? Are working moms comfortable with having their children with a student on days they just need some alone time or want to hang out with friends? I basically came up with this idea because I'm good with children—I've been the one actually helping out my sister-in-law when she had a baby so I have a lot of experience. And I would really appreciate if anyone would recommend me to someone in need of a babysitter on weekends especially.

I’m looking for good internet alternatives I can use for streaming or online gaming. I’ve tried the local networks such as Airtel, Zamtel, mtn, etc, but in my areas (chalala) I get an average of 10mbps, and that’s on a VERY good day.

Hey there, i recently started writing on wattpadd. And I haven't really looked for an artist to bring my characters to life. Well mow I am looking for someone who I can partner with to bring about the new generation of entertainment to zambia.

To be very clear its not a paid work, i know when posts like these come around people tend to think it involves money but you can't recieve money if your talent is not recognised.

And to be honest mine has not bloomed yet.

So if interested please feel free to comment or send a DM and we can discuss how we can not just entertain our country but also inspire them to know that we are talented.

is there people that play fantasy PL here. New season is about to start let’s make something.

I have never voted before so i want to know how it works. I just want clarification. For those who voted, were you given four ballot papers and if you were not interested in voting for the other levels like Mayoral, Parliamentary and Council, were you still forced to get four ballots and if you still left them blank did you still have to put them in the provided boxes?

My question is because i want to understand why there were huge discrepancies between total valid votes cast for President and those for Parliamentary seats in some areas.

Hiiii

I'm in my second year at the university of Zambia and I don't have a single friend on campus. everyone already seems to be in groups and I'm always alone.

I've always been quiet and shy and I stutter when I'm nervous in highschool I got teased for my personality a lot, I was called shishitad. So because of this I didn't attempt making friends in my first year cause I was scared of having shitty friends again , but i realised I can't go on having no friends in university it's soo hard , you miss out a lot of stuff cause you don't talk to anyone , you don't have a study group and you always study alone, it's soo hard and the loneliness that gets to you in class especially.

I wanna go to Eastpark friends, I wanna join study groups I just want to be included for once it's soo hard.

The only friends I have are my online friends and cousin's but we go to different universities

How did you break into friend groups late , or meet people at uni, please any advice will be appreciated.

I passed through Meanwood ,I must say…. It has really Handsome men. (I’m not searching) just appreciating God’s creation.

My brother recently came back from the US and has been on wegovy for roughly 6 months. He’ll be here for a while so he needs to find a doctor to do his reviews and get his dosage adjusted. We’re looking for a practitioner who has extensive experience monitoring patients on these GLP1 weight loss drugs. If you have knowledge in this space, which doctors do you recommend and where can they be found? Thanks in advance.

If I THINK I didn't understand 1% of what you said, I'll ask for clarification. But in zed we just continue with what we ASSUMED was asked for.... Why? What exactly are we scared of? Is asking a question taboo? A sin? Frowned upon? I'd respect you a million times more if you asked for clarification but it seems that's not the normal response?

Anyone else curious how things will play out with Mundubile and Makebi Zulu seeking refuge at the UN in Lusaka, the rumours of allegations of insurrection levelled against them? As far as I know, the UN does not offer diplomatic asylum. Also, any thoughts on why they did not go to an embassy instead, which would seem more able to offer some sort of asylum?

I was reading about the Singhs, Ticklays, Gomes', David Sihoka and others, the history of rallying seems to be huge in Zambia, but I don't remember it being talked about in everyday gatherings - how big is it now?

I’m here asking why Zambian parents don’t care about mental health? Is it because they don’t care or just don’t believe in it? And I know we are dealing with politics, but I just had to let this off my chest
I am a 18 year old living with mental health problems… I self harm and my family sees it and just calls me mad, my dad actually hit me once because he heard me saying I would kill myself (that happened when I was 13)
They were also abusive when growing up so I feel like that gave me this really messed up pov about life and how to interact with people, I don’t have any friends or just anybody to talk to in general… if you could offer me some advice or you’re also going through what I am, don’t be afraid to reach out or comment