Shopping City
Shenzhen is on the other side of the border with Hong Kong. It's very big, very dense, and has grown a lot recently. All the big buildings look new. It's obviously not a touristy city because no one speaks english; not retail vendors, not restaurants. But they're more than happy to sell you stuff anyway. Many people have english-chinese translation software on their phones.
Sales people are very aggressive. If they even catch you glimpsing at their product out of the corner of your eye, they will try to make a sale. The fact that there is no synergy between your needs and their inventory is no impedence. The best thing is too keep your eyes closed or keep your eyes wandering. Don't make eye contact with a salesperson. Don't even think about stopping to look at an item, don't even think about touching an item. In chinese sign language that translates to "I want to buy this item".
The main items for sale are clothing, watches, handbags, and sunglasses. I've read China Inc, so I knew there are a lot of counterfeit items for sale. The clothing is very low quality. I don't know anything about handbags. The sunglasses were Rite-Aid quality with fake logos like "Oakey". You could buy glasses for around $3 or $4, watches for $10 to $20. Some of the fake watches looked really good. Some vendors were claiming they were real. There are a lot more vendors than there are sources of products, so lots of people are selling very similar items. It's worthwhile to shop around and bargain.
One guy was selling toys. Plastic painted toys made in China and not approved for export. Ya, that should be safe. I'm sure his quality control team has higher standards than Mattel.
You see a lot of hawkers in the street. People who lay out some items for sale on the street. Usually little trinkets like jewelry. I never saw anyone buying from them. I have no idea how they can make a living. I'm pretty convinced everything is a front for prostitution. Massages are an obvious front, but even a handbag vendor tried to upsell me a massage.
Sales people are very aggressive. If they even catch you glimpsing at their product out of the corner of your eye, they will try to make a sale. The fact that there is no synergy between your needs and their inventory is no impedence. The best thing is too keep your eyes closed or keep your eyes wandering. Don't make eye contact with a salesperson. Don't even think about stopping to look at an item, don't even think about touching an item. In chinese sign language that translates to "I want to buy this item".
The main items for sale are clothing, watches, handbags, and sunglasses. I've read China Inc, so I knew there are a lot of counterfeit items for sale. The clothing is very low quality. I don't know anything about handbags. The sunglasses were Rite-Aid quality with fake logos like "Oakey". You could buy glasses for around $3 or $4, watches for $10 to $20. Some of the fake watches looked really good. Some vendors were claiming they were real. There are a lot more vendors than there are sources of products, so lots of people are selling very similar items. It's worthwhile to shop around and bargain.
One guy was selling toys. Plastic painted toys made in China and not approved for export. Ya, that should be safe. I'm sure his quality control team has higher standards than Mattel.
You see a lot of hawkers in the street. People who lay out some items for sale on the street. Usually little trinkets like jewelry. I never saw anyone buying from them. I have no idea how they can make a living. I'm pretty convinced everything is a front for prostitution. Massages are an obvious front, but even a handbag vendor tried to upsell me a massage.
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