How to Buy Gadgets in China And Not Get Screwed

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00:29 (6 hours ago)
How to Buy Gadgets in China And Not Get Screwed

                               
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from Gizmodo: Top by Elaine Chow

                               
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Walletfull of cash and bags at ready, I stood, mouth agape, in front of thefive-story electronics bazaar in front of me. It was one of severaldozen in Shanghai, magical places where floor after floor are filled tobursting with gadget vendors begging you to stop by and see theirwares. Like Circuit Cities on crack, everyone inside is desperate tomake a sale and every price is negotiable. Welcome to the way theChinese—or at least the majority who live in megacities like thisone—buy their electronics.
Just minutes earlier, I had directeda taxi driver to take me to one of the bigger tech marts, the ShanghaiPC Mall, located in the Pudong area of Shanghai.
“Are you sure you don't want to go to a Best Buy? We have those here now,” he said.
It'strue—Best Buy opened its largest store ever in Shanghai in 2006. Sincethen, it's cut the red ribbon on a second outlet and recently receivedpermission from the government to start building four more. But whatwould be the point of me going there?

                               
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One of the more ironic qualities of buying electronics in China isthat, despite all components being made here, foreign company goodsstill count as imports. Suggested retail prices are pumped even higherthan they would be in the U.S.... unless you know how to negotiate fora better deal. But Best Buy frowns on bargaining, even in China.
“Youaren't a local. The shopkeepers will tear you apart,” the taxi driverwarned, laughing, as we approached the Shanghai PC Mall.
Well,we'd see about that. I marched resolutely in, and was automaticallybombarded by three sales clerks from three different booths, allhawking the latest notebooks from some of the best knowncorporations—Sony, Toshiba, Dell.
“Come and browse for a minute, maybe you'll see something you like,” said one.
“Go this way, we have a special today that you might be interested in,” warbled another.
“What do you need? What do you want? Tell me, I'll find you a good deal,” the third trilled.

                               
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Inevery cubicle-like row is a representative who'll help fix your PCproblems and, if you're not careful, sell you something you don't need.
Ihave to admit, the intensity startled me. Coming from New York, I wasused to aisles of disaffected or otherwise nonexistent employees. Thelast time I'd seen such fervor was when a kid in an oversized blueshirt confirmed that I was buying something expensive and insisted Ineeded a longer warranty. I scuttled off quickly and the threesalespeople automatically turned around to beset the next person toenter.
This time around, I wasn't hunting big game. Televisions,netbooks and DSLR cameras would have to wait until I'd become moreconfident in my chaffering... and had more cash.
Debit cards arestill pretty rare in this country, and credit cards even more so. Mosttransactions still rely, ridiculously, on cold hard bills. To buy adecent laptop, I'd have to stuff my pockets with over a thousand100-yuan notes—Chinese currency's largest denomination.

                               
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Every booth sells its own unique mishmash of gadgetry, impervious to categorization or order.
Onthis trip, my list was more mundane, consisting mostly of accessoriesand doodads. I stopped at a booth with at least thirteen brands ofwebcams crowded around an LCD screen. Some were from established nameslike Logitech, others were made by local companies I'd never heard of.After waffling a bit over the specifications of each option theshopkeeper presented me, I asked how much for a simple Chinese-branded3-megapixel number.
“180 yuan,” she said. I paused then responded that I'd actually take it for 100 yuan.
“Done!” She packed it up quickly, grinned and stretched out her hand to take my bill. Damn it.I'd done enough bargaining in my life to know that when a deal isresolved this quickly, I'd probably been suckered. Sure $15 U.S. isn'ta horrible price to pay for a webcam, but who knows how cheap I couldof gotten it for if I'd been a little more ambitious.
I vowed to stick to brand name goods from then on, where at least the obsessive hours I'd spent browsing Consumer Reports and Newegg.com would give me some indication of their true value.

                               
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Floor upon glorious shiny floor of stuff!
Withthat in mind, I next tried my hand at nabbing a wireless router. Thistime around I went for something I recognized: an 802.11b/g Netgearthat would run about $40 in the US. The starting price this time aroundwas 300 yuan (or about $45). I countered with 150 and was scoffed at.Employing my best “Well, if you really aren't going to sell itto me for that much, I guess I'll just be on my way” look, I got theclerk to sigh and give it to me for 200 yuan. $10 off the US price andno sales tax added on at the end of the deal. Not too shabby.
Inthe next hours, I haggled over everything from speakers to hard drivesto extra RAM for my laptop (installed for free, with an extra discountthrown in if I left my old memory sticks with them). I came home thatday, arms loaded with new stuff, satisfied with having saved a good 20to 25% off of US street prices.

                               
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Yes, those are iPhones (and real ones, too). No, they're not supported in China yet. Don't tell anyone, okay?
And yet, I had also figured out why Best Buy, despite its inherent inability to ever compete on cost, was doing so well over here.
Negotiating for what you want is a pain. Being accosted by vendors trying to convince you that they'rethe ones you should buy from is a mess of stress. Worrying aboutwhether everything will work as promised at home is downright draining.And the funny thing was, I approached the experience as an informed consumer.It must be a thousand times more frustrating for someone with lessexperience, who would undoubtedly realize too late that they paid waymore than they should have.
What Best Buy offers in China is ahaven for the emotionally fatigued. Their stock comes at a heftypremium, but with none of the uncertainties of the tech bazaars. You'llnever turn around and find the next vendor selling what you just boughtfor 10% less. There is no “if only I were savvier” moment. Oh—and ifsomething is wrong with your purchase, Best Buy won't yell at you forbeing a doofus when you return it (well, at least not over here. The Consumerist says things might be different States-side).
Thatkind of psychological assurance has put the company in a peculiarlypowerful position. Despite initially dire predictions, Best Buy'sShanghai outlet is now one of the company's top-10 revenue generators worldwide. This is probably why three of its four new China stores will be located in this city.
Butwould I head there the next time I need a quick gadget fix? Heck no.Somewhere back at the Shanghai PC Mall, there's a netbook with my nameon it. And it's waiting for me to win it in a bargaining battle for theages. Paying retail? That's for sissies.

                               
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Who doesn't love bargains (and Jackie Chan)?
[Thanks to Josh Bancroft for several of the images]