How to shop in Beijing and get the best price

Where shall I continue from? Since my last update, life in Beijing got seriously hectic… with studying, sightseeing, shopping and socialising with friends.

Each night in October and November lunch and dinner was out in a restaurant with classmates or friends from Super 8 hotel where I lived. (Super 8 is the main name and The Student Activity Centre is part of the same establishment and management using the same staff but with a different name). I believe this organisation is to attract foreign people/students to the hotel. In the afternoon after class we would go to a park or visit a market even if we were not shopping….do you believe it if I say we didn’t buy anything?

If you ask me about ‘shopping’ then I would definitely say the ‘Silk Market’ for quality and designer branded goods – oh did I mention fake? Well the store owners are pretty convinced the products are real. You can nearly everything from the Silk Market from clothing, accessories, electronics, tailor made suits, fabric and house hold goods. Best item I have bought from the Silk Market is my portable hard drive 500gb for 390rmb (£39), it took haggling from some stores starting at 950rmb. It’s the small compact size with a 1 year guarantee and boxed, still working after 2 months - bargain!

Do you want to know how to bargain and get the best price for anything in China? Through trial and error and paying over the odds to start with in Beijing, I’ve decided to shed some light on the shopping experience. I mean I’m a student on a budget and most of my funds have gone to paying for tuition and accommodation. So hope this helps you too.

At all the markets I’ve been to in Beijing, most of the staff say the price like they swear on their life that it is the best price, but apparently you can bargain any where with no limits in China. Even in the labelled department stores where they say no bargaining. Even at hotels there’s space for bargaining for a discount on a room. However there is a manufacturing and whole sale price they must try to cover. You’ll know if you’ve got the local price when they look annoyed whilst you are paying them the money. If they say yes to your first asking price then you know you’re a mug and you’re paying over the odds for the item. In this situation just walk away and say I don’t want it and I’m sure another stall will be selling the same item and maybe even cheaper. The other option is take someone who enjoys and is good at bargaining with you, a local Chinese is always helpful.

The Silk Market is a bargainers’ heaven, go for 20% of the asking price. They’ll sometimes even shout at you and say must be crazy be if you walk away then come back they’ll normally call after you. For a large designer handbag at The Silk Market the starting price is around 1000rmb. If you are good at bargaining then you may walk away paying 250rmb or 90rmb for a small version. One of my friends Jack managed to get a Rolex watch for 15rmb… look as though you don’t want it and walk away, throw a price out when they call you and bingo… Or the other trick is to dance and be a clown, joke with the ladies if you’re a male and make sure a girl does the bargaining with a male shop owner. However if you com across a seriously stubborn grumpy store owner then just go to another store which probably has the same goods. One other thing is check that the person is the store owner or someone who can make decisions as they’ll be more willing to bargain.

If you like shopping in a more comfortable setting like department stores, the sales are great going down to 90% off. As the weather got colder, I decided to buy a branded leather high boots which was originally nearly 2000rmb, in the sale it was going for 1000rmb, I told the sales my budget was only 700rmb for a sale item and she initially laughed at me, so I went away looking at other boots but still preferred the first one. So I went back and asked if they can try to reduce it even more as it’s the sales. The sales assistant went to talk with another lady and came back with a member’s price of 820rmb. I was delighted and of course accepted.

Other market you could go to in Beijing are The Beijing Zoo market, but make sure you go one block behind the subway exit, that is where the wholesalers are and they will sell to you individual items as well. This is where the other local market stalls come to purchase their bulks. Quality is okay for the price but styles are to my opinion limited to an Asian look and sizing. So if you’re an American size then definitely the Silk market is a better option for style and size.

Another two markets are by Beijing Language & Culture University in WuDaoKou. One I call the Korean market by The Golden Towers (Turn left outside East Gate of BLCU, arrived at traffic lights cross the road diagonally and the entrance is by the hotel and Starbucks). Here you will find similar goods to The Beijing Zoo Market with a more Korean styled ladies fashion. There are menswear as well but I wont go home shouting about it. This place is more pleasant for a shopping experience compared to the other two markets. Generally the stores start the price much lower, so you don’t have to feel you’ve been ripped off. Still go for 50%-70% maximum of the asking price and then work upwards. Good quality ladies shimmering tights for that night out can sell for 8rmb, suit jacket 60rmb, ladies tops and skirts range from 10rmb to 45rmb, nice winter coats as low as 130rmb but more likely to get one for 160rmb depending on the sales mood and your luck.

On the Fancy dress clothing front, ChaoYang district has a shop which sells some hiring costumes, even ones like large Donald Duck bear suit with headdress. Otherwise the Zoo Market and the Korean on has wig shops and a bric and brac shop upstairs 1^st floor that sells witch hats, masquerade masks and plastic dracular cloaks.

The other great place to look out for bargains are the vendors that just pop up out of no where for the evening, WuDaoKou had a great street market every evening at student prices. In the time of writing this the pavements were being restructured.

If you are looking for true branded goods head to Sanlitun and you’ll have unlimited European brands and Asian brands. You’ll be able to find a good Zara store in WangFuJing and many department stores for everything.