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The haggling is fun, but kind of fatiguing. Shopping in China is kind of stressful... you go to these places for the best prices, but in order to get the best prices you have to figure out what price is best! And I can't believe she upped it by more than 2x the amount! They're generally pretty clever, and pressure you to buy things quickly without giving you time to really assess them. I also tend to feel bad. They probably need the money more than I do. Like, I got a pair of cushy things for the balls of my feet. The woman told me 5RMB and I didn't bother to argue even though they're probably worth 1 or 2 at most. 3RMB means more to them than it does to me.
Last time I was in China I was told to go for 25 or 30% of the price they name, lol. I bet it's really exciting for the salespeople whenever they encounter people who don't know you're supposed to bargain...they really can get away with a lot extra! I don't look forward to bargaining in India tho =( I only know the numbers 1-20 and then the number 100, and though English would probably work, they will take that as a sign that they can get away with more from me. At least you already speaks teh Mandarin =)
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