China: fleamarket

Time was winding down before we needed to head back to the hotel, get our bags and head to the airport. And then we found this multi-level flea market. People had booths packed with all sorts of old items and fake artifacts. Pepper got into heated negotiations seeking currency. She collects foreign money. I should look up the word for that. Oh – she’s a numismatist.

One place we saw a large and heavy carving and we asked how much. 10,000 RMB ($1,464) was the answer. Immediately followed by “best price?” We knew we were not interested in packing it around and definitely not interested in trying to get that price down to something reasonable so left immediately. They followed us around lowering the price without us dickering. They eventually lowered it clear down to 1,500 RMB or about $220. We still passed.

• Posted in: Zieak