Malian Dao tea market

A couple of queries...

Is it fair to assume that an English speaking vendor at this market will be hard to find ? I should take appropriately worded cue cards ??

Secondly ... I understand that bargaining in Beijing is the norm in the market type stalls, but is it still appropriate to bargain at the tea market, which I assume the locals also shop at ? I wish to avoid offending anyone.

Reply to
Mal from Oz
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That's hard to say, but there are a lot of people in Beijing studying English now, just because of the Olympics. So you can probably bet, that at least some people there will speak a little English. Still, it's best if you bring cue cards to avoid confusion.

If the product doesn't have a sticker price on it, assume that you can bargain down the price a little. Make excuses like these: "It's ugly, I don't really like it. Give me a cheaper price." "I'm buying a lot of them. Give me a cheaper price." "I will tell all of my overseas friends about your store. Give me a cheaper price." "At the other store they sell it for (x) yuan, your price is too expensive." "This one has some defects/chips/cracks. I want a cheaper price." "You don't have the box? I want a cheaper price." "Your boss said he would give me a cheaper price." "My wife won't let me pay that price. But if you give me a cheaper price, maybe I can afford it."

You get the idea. Be creative. Of course, they will also make excuses why you should pay that particular price. So be prepared. It also might be a good idea to check prices in a few places, just to be sure the price they are quoting you is a fair price, and not an escalated one.

Reply to
niisonge

Thanks, and I assume also that if they finally refuse to sell it at a particular price you've obviously gone too low - pretty obvious, I'd say !

And as we all know, if we like the taste/smell/experience, and the price is what you are prepared to pay, it really doesn't matter that much if you can't read what's on the box/wrapper !

Man, I can't wait to spend a day at this place !

Reply to
Mal from Oz

One other thing, if you buy any tea sets or tea utensils, be sure to check each piece for chips/defects. Probably won't be any, but just to be on the safe side... They can change out a piece for you and switch with one from another set. Just be sure to check when you buy it. And it's expected that the buyer will inspect the product before buying anyway, so don't be shy.

Also, say you're from Australia, and you're taking it back with you. If you need some special packing or something, ask them to do it for you.

Reply to
niisonge

Cool - will do, but I think my wife might get a little &^%$^% if I bring home too many more pots ! She's already put a limit of 2kgs on the amount of tea I can bring home ;-))

She still has memories of our last trip to Hong Kong where we (sorry, I) had to buy another small suit case to bring home my tea booty.

Reply to
Mal from Oz

There is no place in the world where bargaining is inappropriate. The worst anyone can do is to say no (which they repeatedly do to me at Home Depot).

--scott

Reply to
Scott Dorsey

Yeah, a limit of 2 Kgs of tea leaves, but what about tea utensils? Hehe. When you check into your hotel, ask them if they can arrange parcel shipping for you to Australia. That might be an option. That might save your back having to lug so much stuff to the airport and home. The shops in Maliandao should be able to arrange shipping too, but... can they be trustworthy?

Reply to
niisonge

I don't think most vendors will speak much English (you might get a lot of "hellos" as you walk around - this happened to me a lot, though not as much in the tea malls as in more touristy places), but I think you shouldn't have a problem communicating. A lot of places will probably pull out a calculator to give you prices (you can type your own prices in when you're bargaining), and you can point or whatever.

You will probably find that a lot of people speak enough English to conduct business, though without a translator, you'll miss out on some information. On the other hand, you'll also miss out on a lot of sales pitches, which I would say is a good thing.

I think the most useful phrase in Mandarin you should learn and practice before leaving is bu yao (bu is rising tone, yao is falling tone) - if you say it fast, it kind of sounds like booeyao - more of a dipthong than a straight "oo". That means 'I don't want any'. (And, if you do want something, it's just 'yao'). Nie ge (sounds pretty close to an offensive racial term in English) is "that one", used a lot also as an "um" type equivalent.

We definitely bargained when we went to Tianshan market in Shanghai (similar but much smaller)... and everywhere else we went in Mainland China. Especially if you're white, and don't speak Chinese, assume the prices you're being given are pretty high (relatively speaking). Ultimately, you WILL pay higher prices, and you probably won't do as well as a local, but you might as well try not to look like a total chump. Even if the prices seem cheap, relative to your local currency, bargain anyway. I think 50% or less of whatever price someone says is probably a good starting place.

As always in bargaining, don't be afraid to walk away if the price seems too high. They will probably call you back, but if they don't, you can always come back later and get it (plus, at a huge mall like that, I'm sure you can get almost anything from multiple vendors).

All that said, tea and teaware in China are pretty cheap, so don't turn into too much of a cheapskate, or you'll be kicking yourself when you get home. You probably won't see a lot of really high end or rare stuff... and the stuff that seems like it might be will very likely be fake. So don't be afraid to bargain, even for that "real" lao zhu ni teapot.

w
Reply to
invalid unparseable

I have to agree with Will here. That's why I said it's better if you do some research first, and know what the prices are like in Mainland China. If you want to know what prices run here, go to some site like taobao.com or eachnet.com - and you will have to type in chinese characters to search for what you want to look for. But that should give you a ballpark figure of what prices are running.

Another thing, the Maliandao is a wholesale market, but unless you're buying in quantity, assume they're quoting you the ordinary retail price. Also, because you're a foreigner, assume they are quoting a price higher than the retail price.

Also, items are usually priced according to quality. And there are low- end, crappy tea utensils, and high-end, quality tea utensils. So you need to be able to tell the difference.

And because you're a foreigner, sometimes it's a good thing that you don't understand Chinese. Sometimes those salespeople can be really pushy. If you need a polite out, just use body language to say "I don't understand"; and play dumb.

For bargaining, if they don't budge on the price, you might be able to ask them to include a "free gift' into the deal. It's a common practice in China to give freebies, and Chinese are accustomed to this. Also, expect service to be very good here. Chinese are constant complainers: "I don't like this. The color is wrong. This product looks defective. The packaging has a hole in it." Etc., etc. So salespeople are accustomed to this, and can be accomodating - but only if you ask, and speak up.

And always remember this phase: "bu hao", literally meaning "no good". That way, they won't keep pushing something on you that you don't want.

I'm sure when you come to China, it will be an eye-opening experience. And when you get to Maliandao, you will be like a kid in a candy store. So have fun.

Also, do remember to visit a couple of teahouses in Beijing. You definitely don't want to miss out on that.

Reply to
niisonge

If you haven't see already, here are photos of the Maliandao Tea Market:

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Man, that place is HUGE!!!!

Reply to
niisonge

Ha ! Guess what ?

I just qualified to Silver status on my Frequent Flyer points - that gives me an extra 10kg baggage limit ;-))

Reply to
Mal from Oz

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