Its very simple really. You're strolling down any major shopping street and a little guy or woman will approach you with a tiny brochure "Copy watch copy bag copy belts etc" You say "Good prices?" of course they answer yes best quality low price". You size then up and use your intuition to feel if they are just a hump doing his job or someone with nefarious intentions. Its 99% never the latter.
You ask "How far" that you're going to have to hoof it down a hot sunny crowded street and its never far-- "2 minutes only 2 minutes!" Ugh. Okay. So you follow him (but not too close so no can identify that you are together.....)
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The guy walks fast its hard to keep up. There is no communication just looks to make
sure you are still following. Here we are following this man down the huge Nanjing walking street
in Central Shanghai |
After a walk of nearly 15 mintes you turn off the main tourist street to a lovely side street with boutiques and hardware stores and family marts and the like.
You enter a perfectly normal little bag and luggage store front and are taken to the back room where a panel of brightly lit displays of new handbags opens with a secret doorway behind it.
There are narrow steep wooden rickety stairs that you can barely navigate.
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| Following our guide into the unknown rooms of Chanel and Gucci |
You finally get to the secret room which is very small and claustrophobic. They begin shoving different bags at you that are not your taste so you ignore and look for what you might like. I'm NO expert in designer handbags but there were some I could tell were MEGA high end. Why bother hiding then so expertly otherwise. I heard that factory workers sometimes stay at the factory after management has left. They produce however many extras of the same exact bag being produced by Hermes Marc Jacobs Gucci Prada whatever and then they hide it in the ceiling for later or just truck it right out.
So you continue browsing-- dont look at the room opposite of the sales closet because its someone's bedroom.
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| Secret sales closet upstairs |
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| Look across the hall from the copy sales room and you see their bedroom |
So you're ready to buy. They will type on a calculater the price.It is usually twice what they can actually get-- so you type back on the calculater a price lower than half. They scoff at you and wave you away like they have just been given the most awful insult. Then they type a new price about 20 percent lower. You scoff at them and type in closer to your half price. They say okay best chinese price to you today because you are my friend....half of what they orginally said. Or if they dont go low enough you scoff and walk toward the door. They will grab your arm and say okay okay!!! this price ok? usually just 10 or 20 more than your target so you acquiesce.
I walked out with a $1750 Gucci bag for around $100. I was so proud and did not feel quilty. These people are risking a lot to make money to support extended families. They have no major education and are paid slave wages with grueling conditions in the factories. (mostly up to code but still grueling in our eyes). Until conditions and wages improve in their daily work I suppose this risk looks very appealing to them.
Anyway its not something I do all the time but it is something you should try at least once for the adventure.
