Amiram Hayardeny's My China Experience

Shopping Adventures in China

When it comes to buying stuff, my father taught us that "cheap is expensive".  And he had a story to go with that philosophy.  Once there were two brothers.  One rich, one poor.  The rich brother would buy $100 shoes, wear them for a few months, and then sell them to his poor brother for $50.  He would then add another $50, and get a new pair of shoes, and after a few months sell them to his poor brother for $50.  If you think about (and ignore the flaws of the story) you would find that the rich brother was wearing brand new shoes for $50, while the poor brother was wearing used shoes for the same price.

On more practical terms, I was brought up to believe that if you want to spend your money well, you should buy brand names, or a product with a "father".  Brand names have a commitment to quality that other products don't.  If you want your things to last, to survive the laundry, you should buy brand names, and you should pay the additional price for them.

And then you come to China, and you realize that brand names or not - it ALL comes from here and from the neighboring countries.

My sister just arrived from Israel to spend the Holiday of Passover with us.  Her first visit to one of the local clothing markets, was like the first step on the moon for Neil Armstrong, like seeing land for Columbus, like realizing that antibiotics kill bacteria.  No less.  Her eyes became as large as plates, her jaw dropped, and if I were in the cartoon business, I would go as far as the light bulb on top of her head, and the dollar signs inside her pupils...

In less than a second she has realized, that the same brand names she buys in Europe, on her frequent business trips (she runs research for the largest generic pharmaceutical company in the world - Teva), can be bought for a fraction of the price here in Beijing - and they would look the same, have the SAME quality and will survive the washer and the drier.  In fact, they would be the very same as the ones sold in the US and in Europe.  What she did not realize, and frankly, neither did I, is that when you look into the products, you would find the following labels: "Made in France", "Hand Crafted in the USA".  Let's assume for a second that indeed, the USA is exporting brand name bags to China.  And that indeed, that bags were "hand crafted in the USA".  How in the world does it sell for such a low price?  With the relatively high cost of labor in the US, and the shipping costs, and lets face it - someone has to make a living of that bag, how does it sell for such a cheap price?  And then you ask yourself the inevitable question: maybe, just maybe, the bag was actually made in China, and so was the label?

The bottom line though, is that consumers in the West are paying so much for products that are available throughout Asia for a fraction of the price (Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and India to name a few).

In fact, I have a theory, but I decided not to publish it.  I think I will leave you to your own theories.  As for me, I will take my guests to the markets, and enjoy the looks on their faces when the realization hits them: "I should come to China once a quarter to do my shopping..."

Posted at 09:17AM Apr 01, 2007 by Amiram Hayardeny in Personal  |  Comments[0]