Bargaining

I've recently discovered that I like bargaining. It's such a large part of this culture and I really hadn't taken much part in it because I usually got this stressed feeling debating over how much I thought an item was worth with the seller. My upbringing just wanted to pay for something at a set price--none of this proving that something I was buying was worth it!

Then I went to Beijing.*

My old roommate Jake gave me the run-down of what to do:

-Look for flaws in whatever you're buying because there might actually be some and then you can haggle down the price. This also makes them prove to you that it's quality (Like when you buy a bag and they hold a lighter up to it to prove that it's real leather).

-Start pretty low so you can work up.

-Talk about how you saw said item at another booth (this will get the seller to talk about how theirs is better). Example: Gee, I saw this same bag at the booth right over there. I'm sure they'd give me a better price.

-If all else fails, start to walk away. Never have I had so many Chinese women yell at me about how they were "lying," because now they can really give you a better price.

-If their boss starts yelling at them to accept the offer, then you know it's too much. Walk away man, just walk away.


With all this in mind, I went in for my first kill. We were in a 4 story department-like store where they had booths for every kind of thing you can imagine; bags, shirts, electronics, fragrances, trinkets; all the things. Working up a courage, I went to my first booth. I was nervous and had to keep fighting for a price I wanted over a bag that I was pretty sure I was invested in. My heart was pounding and I was getting really frustrated...but then I won! We both settled on a price and she told me, "Oh, you're just too smart." Yes I am, thank you very much. I had that kind of rush like you get after bidding on something from eBay. I had to do more.

Over the course of the hour, I perfected my bargaining and was getting a weird rush out of thinking I was getting the best deals around (though I'm sure that they were always getting the better deal no matter what). At one point a lady told me I was lying to her when I said I didn't have enough money to pay what she was asking. Yes, she said I was lying because, "You're American and rich."

It's a very loud setting and also cramped for space. All the booth operators yell at you if you so much as glance at their wares and I happened upon a large purse booth. The woman running it was holding a bag and began to speak to me.

"Hey, would you like to buy a bag for your girlfriend."

"No, I don't have a girlfriend."

Should I have engaged? No, you never engage. The goal is to pretend that you're Frodo fending off the Ring Wraiths after he puts on the ring--you just ignore it.

"Oh, well how about for your mother, I think you should get a purse for your mother." she said to me, smiling.

"No, I think that my mother is OK too. She already has a purse."

"Yes, but I think that she'll like this purse." she said to me, holding up the bag in her hand.

"Actually I don't think that she will."

"How do you know what your mother will like?"

"Oh, I know."

"I don't think you do."

Oh. No. She. Did. Not.

I had been walking away but I was now rooted on the spot. Had she really questioned my authority on knowing a woman that she has never met? How could I pass up this opportunity to engage in a conversation that wasn't really necessary? At the time, I really didn't know why I was engaging either, but I did.

"I know what she likes. She wouldn't like that purse."

"Yes she would. All women would like this purse, it's Prada."

"Yeah, well I don't think it's a very nice purse."

"It IS a nice purse. I know that your mother would like it."

"No she would not and I don't want to buy it."

"You don't know."

The nerve. I wanted to take that purse and set it on fire, screaming something like, "HOW DO YOU LIKE IT NOW? WOULD SHE LIKE IT NOW?," but I have a modicum of self control. Also, I was lacking kindling.

I turned my back on the woman as she was still speaking, trying to get me to come back. No lady, you would receive no niceties now that you besmirched my own knowledge of my mother. This had to be remedied with another win.

So, I turned the corner and figured I'd try at my hand again at the woman who "lied" to me.


*If you were wondering, a lot of people in Beijing speak English. Otherwise this would not be at all possible. I've haggled a couple times in Chinese and never got great prices. One time I offered a man a price he deemed offensive because he grabbed the trinket from my hand. Just snatched it right up.