BEIJING -- The city's aflame with peach, cherry, plum and several other types of electric-pink blossoms. With the weather so good, I figured it was a good time to duck into the city's indoor markets and walk away with a good deal or two.
Unfortunately most of the customers at the five-story complex near Sanlitun Bar Street weren't affected by the weather. They were middle-aged package tourists and businessmen, here because their timetables said it was time to visit. They came armed with fistfuls of cash, strong currencies and no Chinese.
All these rich westerners were a major hurdle in my attempts to get the local price. To them, a knock-off Polo shirt is a steal at 80 RMB. Who cares if the real price is 25? The vendors have even less incentive than usual to go down to their true lowest price. With pre-Olympics tourism increasing by month, there's always another German pensioner to buy the North Face jacket I won't buy.
I didn't wind up buying anything at the market, but the two hours I spent there with an American and British friend were worthwhile. I got to see the different approaches the vendors took to Chinese and foreign customers, ruthlessly overcharging the latter while trying to fend off extreme low-ball offers from the locals. The vendors usually got the upper hand either way, but even the inflated prices are pretty good.
We spent of plenty of time talking with vendors, always a talkative sort. One had me guess her age, and pretended to get offended when I said 24. Her real age was 18. Her fellow Polo seller used us a couple English grammar questions, and I was happy to let her know how she could inform customers that Visa purchases would incur a 10 percent surcharge. Another asked me to write my Chinese name, and then gave me a first-ever compliment on my stroke order.
Then we over to watch section, where the Europeans seem more to than happy to pay $30 for Rolex knock-offs than go for $10 on the streets of Manhattan. I guess it's harder to get these things in Vienna than American cities. Then there was the American couple that confusingly paid for their purchase with dollars. The merchants were happy to accept them, but only at the exchange rate of 7.4 RMB to 1 dollar. That put an extra five percent on the all ready over priced item.I was torn whether to interfere with the scene. Should I step in and offer a hand to my fellow foreigners, and save them a few dollars? Or is that money better left in the hands of the Chinese, who I'm sure have less? I decided to stay put.
Besides, Chinese isn't a prerequisite to getting a good deal. In the market's basement, I passed a couple Germans with the right philosophy. They wanted a couple hats, and they only wanted to pay 30 RMB for each one. When the merchants refused to go below 100 RMB, they sat down, smiled and proceeded to wait. They had some banter with the sellers, refused to get angry, and put on a look of having all the time in the world. It took the better part of an hour, but with no Chinese or yelling, they got the correct price.
