Are you ready for some fun

Hell“O” all again.

This week, you will read about stories of my experience on bargain hunting.

Everyone come to China thinking they can get huge bargain here, sorry, there is no such term existed, if you are looking for the real mc coy. Any brand name item you may be interested in will cost three times more than you get it from back home. I meant all “Foreign Brand” with made in China label is included.

That does not make sense isn’t it? Isn’t all these items made here should be cheaper? Wrong, that is because there are extra sales taxes imposed on all foreign brands by the government. My word of advice is to buy it in Hong Kong if you want a real bargain discount.

However, if you are interested in something short term, and looks good for once or twice while you wear it, let starts with a trip to the Fabric Market. The famous “Shanghaies tailor made label” will be found missing here. Instead you will only found faceless workers from above the store making your measure to fit orders.

In this experience I found that I could bring any clipping from any magazine the tailors will say no problem they can make it fro you. They all told you that they intern in Italy, and know European cutting by hard. That is exactly what happened to my friend and myself.

These tailors will custom made the fake Italian stitching on the suit, and also added on all the details that you ask for, plus the selection of the highest end materials are all available.

The suite will be fitted in three days, or a week, depends on the time that you have. They can even make it the same day if it is required. While all went well and I get my friend a great price for a custom suit approximately $150 USD, and shirt at $20. You feel like they are really making it work for you.  Don’t be fool. My friend wore his suit for one time and the lining stared to tear, that is a very classic case of workmanship. Unfortunately they do not know we are locals. We came back and demand our suit be fixed they were stunned. Never the less, it is still a bargain.

That is lessoning number one, when you pay a penny for the goods you get a penny worth of merchandise. Don’t expect more than that.

Lesson two: you may just want something that is not custom made, what about Sunglasses, shoes, bags or custom jewelry? For starter, they are all made in China, (same goes to your items back home), the difference is at home, your merchandise is at a better quality, and same size knock off shoes can feel different from the left foot to the right. There is no quality control.

You may even try to fool yourself by thinking if you pay a little higher asking price you will get better quality (let say Sunglasses) it will break in three days for no apparent reasons guaranteed.

Lesson three: Never pay more than 1/3 of the asking price to start, be strong, hold your ground, and be prepared to walk away at any time if the seller do not want to meet your demand. There were more stores with the same merchandise in the same market.

If they do not chasing after you for the minimum price you offer that can means only two things. 1. They made their quota of sale that day, or 2. Your price is below what they can make a profit. Don’t act disappointed. They can sense you are a (sucker from miles away, especially Americans).

Lesson four. Always go to the top of the mall and walk down. The shop at the top of the discount mall get little exposure than the one close to the entrance, they are more eager to make a deal. Does that make sense?

I should be a psychology major instead of Advertising.

Never mind that, it is a little too late to make career change.

Let’s move on. Bargaining is not an art form it is a game.

The next story is also a true story.

First rule, before you enter the mall, you should take about 300RMB about 50 USD and separate it from your pile of monopoly money (The RMB).  

Second Rule, make sure you go bargain with a friend, never alone, unless you are a cold hearted pro like myself.

My game started with a friend she likes to purchase some T-shirts, let call her Miss A. I was not aware of it, since I was in another store looking for knock-off shoes. I heard this loud noise outside the store sounded like some argument or pleading. Turn out it was Miss A looking for me, screaming my name out loud in the middle of the mall.

She was hand locked by an 8 months pregnant store owner, trying to push these worthless T-shirt on her, while all the while she scream, “Ed help me, help me.” At the same time another giant of a friend of mine, 6’5 in height with status of an elephant, trying to pull my poor miss A loose from iron craw of the shopkeeper, I thought they are going to tear miss A in half, like in the Roman times.

Got the picture? She survived, and I got to tell her story for shoppers beware. Bargain hunting is not for the lighthearted.

Next scene, Super Ed to the rescue, I jump in, and Miss A told the shopkeeper, my husband is here, ask him. I was told the asking price I look at miss A and say “No” in front of the storekeeper. The shopkeeper turn around and faced me like a hungry tiger, I ignored her and headed to the door, Miss A to follow, but now, the shopkeeper turn around and focus her next move on me. While Miss A follow me out of the store told the shopkeeper she had no money, I control all the cash, and her husband say no, and that is no deal.

You thought that will be the end of the story, and where is the bargaining you may ask? The story did not end there.

The shopkeeper was rather insistence. She follows us down the mall, and waving the T-shirt behind us. I knew then it was time to bargain. I stop and ask her to give me her bottom line, instead she gave me the same price, and I gave her my bottom line. We went for another round. I turn to Miss A and said, “You really wanted these T-shirts”.

She said, “Yes dear please”. I pull out the money I separated on the one pocket and said. ”This is all we had tonight, either we have dinner with it, or you can have the T-shirts and no dinner tonight.” I also told her that we actually do not have enough to pay for the T-shirts.

At that time, the shopkeeper was watching the exchange unfolding step in and say, All right, I will take what you had”. In the end we all got what we wanted.

As for my other friend, he was speechless.

This game was played out three more times in the same afternoon, with a slightly different version. Are you ready for some fun? If you do, come to Shanghai, let me introduce to the art of bargaining.

Hope you enjoy this experience with me.

Chance Encounter Shanghai.

In tune with presidential elections

My topic is a little political this week.

I am not here to give a lecture on democracy, if you have not already learn it in grade school on what it meant, then god bless America. However I feel we may need a little refreshing on our lesson before I go on, so here you go:

Democracy: There are several variants of democracy exist.

One form of democracy as I know it is direct democracy, in which citizens have direct and active participation in the decision making of the government.

In most modern democracies, the whole body of citizens remains the sovereign power but political power is exercised indirectly through elected representatives; this is representative democracy in which our country practiced.

Is it not all these are democracy, as long as it is true to the core, the power rest on the people?

Does true democracy based only on how many political parties we have? Or does it matter if we have only had two major parties in our country?

So does that means United States; the best democratic power in the world really does not have a real democracy because the other smaller parties never get any real chance to be elected even if they are on the ticket?

Some people in the world think our system prevent the minor parties never have a voice, and the major parties will never allow them to enter the game. I do not have in depth understanding to decided if that is true or false, you can make your own conclusion.

As always around election time there will always be some people think we, Americans are hypocrites to think we live in a democratic society when some other voices were drowned out in the process.

Isn’t it that is democracy as well?  The power processed by the power of votes, no matter which way the wind flows is still the decision of the people? Everyone started out on the same line. If the people decided a certain party is not worth supporting that is nothing anyone else can do anything about it.

I am really surprise on one tire Friday evening after a whole week of torture in the office, thought I would be relaxing for a casual meal out in Shanghai, over a bottle of wine and gourmet Italian food; I broke my own rule of no wine and politics defending the system of my country vigorously to someone from a socialist society, accusing us we are not a true democracy. Then what is one?

Did we shut the door when someone from the green party, libertarian party or Tea party wanted to run for presidency?

They think that if we wanted to be a true democracy, we need to be more like India, anyone wanted to form a party, are welcome into the congress and government. I do not know enough of their political structure to pass any comments, but it certainly looks a mess.

On the other hand did anyone of us don’t think we have the most sound democracy on earth? Perhaps everyone think politicians were so corrupted and politic were a big joke to comment on this?

If you love our country with all it imperfection, embrace it, register and vote, that is how you show the world the voice of the little people on our great country does accounted for.

It is better than those back seat drivers, escapes to another country and divorced their own political system, but critialize others. That is a true hypocrite with a capital “H” in my book, and if they belief that true democracy is base on how many political parties the government had. I don’t think they even beginning to understand democracy is base on majority rules.

This is just my humble opinion, no intention to provoke hateful comments or national debate. Please do not jamb my phone lines it is reserved for debt collectors only.

It is one person’s opinion, and if you don’t like it start your own.

Chance Encounter Shanghai.