It is chaos. Everywhere you go there are people calling out to you. "Hey lady, you buy shoes?"
"You come here, I show you..."
"Headphones for good price"
We hustle through the the little corridors separating each store on the look out for things of interest to us. In the markets you can find anything from Rayban sunglasses to remote control helicopters, from handbags to eating utensils, they had it all.
My mum, the master of bargaining, taught us "amateurs" a thing or two about the markets. Rule no. 1 in the school of bargaining: Never go to the shops at the front of the markets, for they are the expensive ones and only inexperienced tourists go to them. Rule no. 2: Never name your price. They will say "1You my customer, you tell me your price" But ignore that and try to keep focused on getting them to say the lowest price. Rule no. 3: Be patient. If you are patient the shop keepers will slowly but steadily lower the price. Rule no. 4: Be ready to walk away. Your downfall will be when you "need" the targeted item. That is when you give in and pay ridiculous prices. There will usually be another store that sells it. William and I, with a bit if trial and error, managed to complete mum's challenges. I bargained for a waving cat (the ones at Chinese shop windows). I also bargained for two iPod cases for 65 rmb from 100. Maybe I could of got the price lower but I made the mistake of naming a price.
This is bargain hunters paradise!
"You come here, I show you..."
"Headphones for good price"
We hustle through the the little corridors separating each store on the look out for things of interest to us. In the markets you can find anything from Rayban sunglasses to remote control helicopters, from handbags to eating utensils, they had it all.
My mum, the master of bargaining, taught us "amateurs" a thing or two about the markets. Rule no. 1 in the school of bargaining: Never go to the shops at the front of the markets, for they are the expensive ones and only inexperienced tourists go to them. Rule no. 2: Never name your price. They will say "1You my customer, you tell me your price" But ignore that and try to keep focused on getting them to say the lowest price. Rule no. 3: Be patient. If you are patient the shop keepers will slowly but steadily lower the price. Rule no. 4: Be ready to walk away. Your downfall will be when you "need" the targeted item. That is when you give in and pay ridiculous prices. There will usually be another store that sells it. William and I, with a bit if trial and error, managed to complete mum's challenges. I bargained for a waving cat (the ones at Chinese shop windows). I also bargained for two iPod cases for 65 rmb from 100. Maybe I could of got the price lower but I made the mistake of naming a price.
This is bargain hunters paradise!
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