I wouldn’t say that. There’s a lot of people in the city and it seems to me they’re doing good for the time period. The only bad thing is the things that they’re “selling” since people can’t buy them.
Agreed that they messed up with what kind of goods to pedal...
That said, though, they also messed up in that they're lingering there for far too long. For merchants, moving quickly is just as important as having something that sells. The faster you can move goods, the more money you make. Lingering around with luxury goods that few, if any people there, would buy? You might as well hang a big, flashy, neon-lit sign over their heads that reads "SUS AF ON GOD".