Shopping in Beijing

On my first trip to Beijing, about six years ago, Henry's niece Rue (say "Ray") took me to the Silk Market. At that time it was in an alley with a flea market feel. Now all those outdoor markets have been moved into buildings, and we visited one today.

It's pretty much an indoor flea market with 5 or 6 stories of flea market booths. You can buy all kinds of clothing, handbags, luggage, watches, small electronics and jewelry. There are many booths selling each kind of merchandise.

Our purchases included silk scarves, T-shirts, Tommy Bahama shirts, shoes, purses, and a suitcase. You can guess why the suitcase.

Many of the products have prices marked. For example, the Tommy Bahama shirts have a price tag with $110. Like right.

First thing is you better get your head around working in Yuan, and what the exchange rate is. Luckily, a Yuan is worth just about 15 cents. Actually, 14.6 cents. So converting Yuan into dollars is pretty easy. Take one and a half times the price in Yuan and divide by 10. So 400 Yuan is $60. (Actually $58.40, so you can see how close this horseback estimate is.)

Something that makes these calculations easier during negotiations is the language barrier. The globally universal way to communicate numbers these days is the calculator. Ask for a price and they will show it to you on a calculator. Next step is to ask what you will pay. How? By handing you the calculator. Do whatever math you want, then hand the calculator back with your first offer.

And if it is over 10% of their initial price you have lost already.

These folks know how to negotiate. They do it all day long every day. That clerk may look like a sweet little Chinese girl, but she has more experience negotiating than most traders on Wall Street.

If you are a good negotiator, you might get it for 25% of their initial price. But their bottom line is about 20%. The only way to find out if you have really reached their bottom line is to walk away. If they don't accept your last offer as you leave (and I mean you are at least two booths away), then you are below their bottom line.

But a lot of the fun is the negotiations. These folks are having fun and you can too. And we are not talking mega-bucks here, so if you overpay a few Yuan, just chalk it up to the experience.

For example, I purchased a $2000 Tachymetre Carrera watch today for about $30. I'm sure it is authentic, because the girl told me so, with the nicest twinkle in her eye. That's 200 Yuan, down from an initial price of 800 Yuan.

I could have gotten a similar watch for a quarter that price on the street, but there are different grades of fake watches, and the ones in the shops are somewhat better. (Or so I am told.)

Anyway, we had a fun afternoon, I spent less than $200, and came away with a watch, a nice pair of shoes, and gifts for everyone on my list. Can't do that at the local mall.