Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Want to buy some Uggs lady?

So today I went to an enormous "fake" shopping mall in downtown Shanghai. Its fake because its filled with knock-off everything: jeans, shoes, DVDs, electronics, jewelry, kites, whatever. Its four stories of little merchant kiosks manned by the most aggressive salespeople on earth. Walking down the aisle you are accosted by dozens of sellers saying,"Watches lady? DVD lady? Look at shoes lady?" One person actually mixed it up and called me "chick," which I sort of appreciated. Its the most intense shopping experience I've ever had, but I managed to find a few things I "needed" and haggle my way down to a slightly less ridiculous price than was asked. I'm getting better at the haggle. Still not as good as Dawn. Its pretty standard for the price to go down by about 80% without much effort at all, and then if you're really good you can go lower than that. Anyway, after about an hour of that place I was both amazed and exhausted, so I had to get out. I might try to go back when I'm more rested, or really drunk. 

3 comments:

  1. Fake kites? Do they still fly? Keep your eye out for a knock-off iTouch. Izzy wants one for her birthday and no way is my kid getting a $200 anything for her 3rd birthday. But $40 bucks? I'm in...

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  2. I definitely saw iPods...not sure about iTouch, The dials look a little off and I'm not sure what kinds of issues would arise from such a high quality piece of electronics, but I will be on the lookout. Now that you say that...I kind of want one too. Maybe Izzy can teach me how to use it.

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  3. What did you buy?!?! I'm dying to know. Are you using your scarf?

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