讨价还价ing Like It's My Job

Even though I already went to the 秀水街 Xiushuijie (Silk Market) with my mom a few weeks ago, I just couldn't seem to stay away. It's just so enthralling... the shops, the sounds, the silk! We're talking about six stories of rows and rows of stalls, selling 各种各样 gezhonggeyang (all kinds) of products, almost all of which were fakes. If I didn't believe China's reputation for being able to fake anything before coming here, I believe it now. Working my way from the top floor down, I had the opportunity to buy knock-off:

...pearls, Tumi luggage, jade jewelery, the entire Apple family (including the iPhone 4), Rolexes, Tiffany's jewelry, designer headbands, Chinese antiques, silk artwork, "designer" clothing (Abercrombie, Burberry, Ed Hardy, Juicy Couture, Polo Ralph Lauren, True Religion), "designer" handbags (Burberry, Chanel, Coach, Gucci, LeSportSac, Longchamp, Louis Vuitton, Prada, among others), Nikes, Converses, and Uggs, not to mention the pirated movies and many TV seasons available...

Luckily, I was able to keep myself pretty well in-check for the four or so hours I shopped there with my friend Claire.

Well... maybe not so in-check. I did end up turning over a "hefty" sum, in Chinese terms. It broke down like this:

• hair accessory + earrings: ¥65
• DVD (for China viewing only): ¥10
• tea bottle (waterbottle w/ strainer): ¥50
• 50 grams of flowering jasmine tea: ¥20
• 50 grams of peach jasmine tea: ¥20
• jade earrings: ¥65

Total amount spent: ¥210

Yes, indeed, I spent a full $34 at the market that day. It's possible that I might have had to spend more, but thanks to my 讨价还价 taojiahuanjia (haggling - see post title) skill, I got many of the prices down to a pretty decent level. Being a "poor college student," at one point in the day I think I "barely had enough money to get a decent dinner," and another point "my family hadn't been able to wire money overseas, so I was living off of nothing," both of which pressured the shop owners to lower their prices a bit. Was I still ripped off? Probably. But I fully intend to keep practicing :) And amazingly enough, when they realized I spoke Chinese, or at least was making a valiant effort at it, they magically lowered the price. When I asked them why, the answer was always the same: I knew Chinese.

I found that, generally speaking, the shopkeepers are ready and waiting to take advantage of foreign tourists. As I walked down the aisles of shops, I received countless calls of, "Hey lady," "Come look here pretty lady," "You look inside real quick?" "You come take a look, I give you cheap price," and even a "You want buy this for your husband?"! But after looking at their wares and finally asking for a price, the figure they give is exorbitant, especially if the item is perceived as a Western designer staple. I made the mistake of carrying my Longchamp bag on this occasion, so when we got to the designer bag section, I had so many women pulling on my arm, telling me they had more Longchamp bags just like mine! It was interesting to see the many variations of Western brands in the market, sometimes because of their eerie accuracy, and sometimes because of their total inaccuracy. One polo had the Polo Ralph Lauren logo with a Burberry collar and buttons. Maybe many Americans also wouldn't be able to tell that that combination is incorrect, but someone who created that shirt must know, which made me wonder what market it is that they're trying to cater to.

Do the Chinese know what they are buying and selling? No. They really have no idea. I asked one of my teachers why Abercrombie imitation clothing, for example, was so popular. She didn't know what I was talking about until I drew the moose. She said Chinese young adults really have no idea what they're buying; they just know that it "looks cool." It's a phenomenon I've seen fairly frequently here. Girls (and some guys) wear T-shirts with English phrases that are just strange, and sometimes completely senseless. But to them, the fact that their clothes are knock-offs is not an issue, because the knock-offs are the style here. I guess it's all relative.

The Silk Market was what I would call a gentle introduction to Chinese bargaining. I think the shopkeepers there are used to dealing with the foreigner's style of bargaining, which is a little more polite than the Chinese in-your-face haggling that you see on the streets. Now that I've been indoctrinated, I feel like I'm ready to take on some real markets. Panjiayuan, here I come.