Back to the topic, since i can't think much of anything to write on, i recalled watching a Korean variety show, called Running Man. In case any of you don't know, its pretty big around asia and some parts of the world. I would say this show is pretty interesting and hilarious if u get their puns. So i remember one episode when they went to China and they were given a mission to buy some stuff. Once group was suppose to buy this blown up sugar thing that can be bent into shapes. I don't know whats the name but its a sugar lump being blown in air (manually mind you, i dont get why someone would buy and eat that thing with someone's breath in it). Anyway, when they first asked for the price, the shop owner was telling them 5 yuan and when the owner hand over the thing, he asked for 6 yuan instead. I mean, gosh, he's blatantly trying to cheat celebrity in front of, not a national tv, but an international tv. I'd say i lost respect to these shop owners there. Bravo, that old man manage to ruin their reputation. Good thing one of the members of the team remembered the original price and was like "Hey no, you said 5!". So that old man had no choice but charge 5. Seriously, even when he was embarrassing himself, he remains poker face. It brought me to think about how shameless these people are when making money. They would do anything! And because of their habits, price of goods are rising everywhere until no one dares to buy anything. They deliberately hitch up the price then expect u to buy it without haggling.
So if you're a smart tourist, haggle the price before buying. Don't be afraid of doing so, its your right. Go ahead and haggle for at least 10. Why? For example, if a thing cost 10, they'll charge you 20. Haggle as much as you can, if they refuse, walk away and you'll hear them desperately calling out prices lower than the price they charge. I'll give you a real life example: My mom was walking in Chinatown and she wanted to buy a new luggage bag, so she looked at one of the designer bags at a store. She asked the price, it was 400, and it doesn't look like its a genuine designer bag. So she haggled for 300, the shop owner refuse, saying its the best price she can get. My mom said no and walked off. As we walked, we hear him calling "ok, 300 then." We kept walking, he continued,
"No? 350..."
still walking
"200..........................100..............................50!"
We just laughed at what we heard. From 400 down to just 50! That reflects the true value of that bag. We didnt go back of course.
These people, their main aim is to rip tourist off their money and many succeeded.
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