Existence of Chinese Morality?
This weekend, I went to Shanghai and experienced some UNSCRUPULOUS activities. There are two main ones I want to mention.
1) Ripping off customers, leading to lower customer trust.
My friend and I went to a tourist area called "上海老街." This area features old-style architecture coupled with multiple vendors and restaurants that allow the tourist on a budget to easily overspend. Additionally, if a tourist is not aware of how much the vendor may raise prices to raise profit margins (with disregard for how much they overcharge) or the amount of fake or cheaply-made products out there, he or she will definitely be ripped off.
A) The salesgirls working at the technology store saw me glancing at a USB drive. I was thinking of buying one at Suning, a reputable technology store in China. However, since I saw USB sticks there in Shanghai, I was thinking of getting one. The list price the lady gave me was ¥630. The Sony flash drive allegedly had 120 gigabytes of free space. The packaging seemed legit, as there were no misspellings. My friend helped me to haggle. Finally, they lowered the price to about ¥260, so I bought it. I asked them to check the product before I bought it as a security measure - the lady plugged the drive into the computer and the flash drive showed there was 119 gigabytes of free space.
After I got home, I did some research about the USB stick. I was shocked to find that the actual Sony Memory Vault is only limited to 8 gigs. Also, I did a search on the same specifications to see if anyone had bought the same product. Apparently, at this stage of time in the world, there is no flash drive technology that surpasses 8 gigabytes. I tested this 'fake' flash drive and it cannot hold more than about 2.7 gigs. After uploads of over 3 gigs on the flash drive, the files seem to be on the drive, but if you unplug the USB from the computer and plug it again, you will find that the rest of the files are corrupt. Additionally, a person said that the flash drive was modified or hacked so that it would show 119 gigs of free space when there wasn't even 1/10 that amount of space.
To add to the ridiculousness, when I first plugged the flash drive into my computer, there was a pop-up message that warned me that "doc.exe" on the flash drive might be a virus/trojan. I was shocked (to even find a file) and deleted this file. Later, my friend was going to transfer some files via my new USB stick. When she plugged it in, there was a pop-up notice saying that the USB had some data-mining program or trojan on it. I was shocked, once again, because I thought my computer had already gotten rid of the problem. I was musing to myself aloud about why this did not even happen when the sale was being made, to which my friend countered, "The computer probably didn't have a virus scanner on it."
Some things I wonder are:
- Did these salesgirls know they were ripping off customers - did they know the original purchase price per item and did they set the final retail price (¥630)?
- Did these salesgirls know they were selling FAKE products that do not actually exist in the real market?
- If these salesgirls knew these things, what were the moral implications? Did any of them feel guilty or did they think it was right to take advantage of others, since perhaps the salesgirls did not have the best of backgrounds?
B) I wanted to buy a name stamp. The salesgirl told me to look at the ones I'd like and she said she'd give me a good price. She took a look at the "retail" price posted on one really nice stamp and told me she'd give me 50% off. Retail was ¥560. I was looking at the left side of her display table and coincidentally noticed that there were prices posted for certain types of stone. She told me I didn't have to look at that, as she'd give me the price. I think I chose the ¥280 stone - was it true, then, that I bought it at the jacked-up retail price? The price percentage off that the salespeople give doesn't mean a thing - honestly, they probably just give jacked-up numbers to bring customers the sense that they are 'saving money,' when in fact they are being ripped off less. I asked if she could lower the price down to ¥200. She told me that she was already giving me 50% off because she knew I was a student and then said something about how she charges more for other people. Sigh, I bought the name stamp because I liked it, but when they carved it, the G was really strange. I'll keep the stamp as a souvenir to remind me to haggle next time, as well as use it to stamp some documents.
C) Before the Leehom concert, a man was grilling outside of the stadium. The food that he grilled looked like delicious barbequed meat. We had not eaten and decided to buy four sticks of "meat." Once we bit into the meat, most of us were aghast to find that these were not sticks of meat - they were sticks of FAT. One lucky friend actually had a few pieces of meat on her stick, but the rest of us had been tricked for ¥3 of our money!
The sense of injustice at being charged unfair prices or obtaining fake, expensive products empowers individuals. Why should a customer have to pay much more than needed? Not all tourists have money! It is especially sad to be tricked and taken advantage of by another human, but it seems that the stores that do not set prices (free market prices) are avenues for trickery, so one can just decide not to shop in those streets.
2) Petty thievery.
A) My friends and I headed to the Shanghai stadium for an awesome concert. We did not eat beforehand, leading to the above situation (1.C.). Then, I was hungry and I brought along some chestnuts. I was so hungry that I started to eat them. I had my camera hanging from my wrist and the two handles of the bags hanging from my wrist as well. I took one picture of a horned man and then within 2-3 minutes, I noticed that my camera was gone. I was freaking out and in disbelief. As some of you know how much I love photography and how much I love my camera...well, it will take me awhile to get over the disbelief and sadness. I showed my friends my wrist afterward and most agreed that it looks like the thief cut off the camera from my wrist.
It makes me wonder, what is the state of China today? With its majority of atheists, is it a wonder that some people have no morals and worry not about the emotional, financial, and LEGAL consequences of ripping people off or stealing?
What are preventative measures for these threats? Only with street smarts will a tourist survive. Here are some tips:
Shopping (in tourist zones):
- No questionable large purchases in tourist traps (unless you don't mind getting ripped off or discovering later that you bought a fake item). Make a purchase of an expensive item in a reputable store.
- If the price seems abnormally high, it is imperative for one to shop around (do not rush the buying process). Perhaps you will see what the actual prices are when you observe other people buying the same items that you want.
- Initially, give a low price that even you might think is extreme. Slowly go up, but not too far, for you don't want to pay too much.
- Do not show the salespeople how much you want the item - if you put on a face of "I don't want the item anyway," then of course you have no demand for the product. The salesperson would be more desperate to make a sale, even if it means he or she would make less profit.
- Start low, end low. Start your bid at 1/4 or 1/3 of the price. Sometimes, this upsets shopkeepers, though they may be pretending.
- Set maximum prices you'd pay for items. Do this by researching the fair market prices for each item.
Remember, most Chinese salespeople in tourist zones will bid the price up so high that one would fall off one's seat reading about people's negative experiences. In another example, my friend wanted to buy a fan and the saleslady said ¥68 initially. Later, we acted like we didn't want it and then the lady gave us fans for ¥10 each. If these prices are correct, the lady dared to drive up the price 680%. Thus, one must be cautious when buying products in the tourist zones, but one should also take a risk and bid prices down lower. Saving money in one place means there's more money to do more.
Avoiding theft
- Do not show that you have expensive items. Keep these out of sight of property predators OR if you do need to use the item, remember to keep it close to you. Hold the item in your hand - dangling it on your wrist will not keep thieves from stealing it from your body.
- Do not eat and take pictures. If your hand is busy eating and you have things on your wrist, thieves will take note and take advantage of the situation.
- Be wary of high-traffic situations and stay away from large crowds. Keep belongings close.
Hopefully, with more caution and experience (vicarious or real), one will be able to save money in tourist spots and keep valuables away from thieves.
1) Ripping off customers, leading to lower customer trust.
My friend and I went to a tourist area called "上海老街." This area features old-style architecture coupled with multiple vendors and restaurants that allow the tourist on a budget to easily overspend. Additionally, if a tourist is not aware of how much the vendor may raise prices to raise profit margins (with disregard for how much they overcharge) or the amount of fake or cheaply-made products out there, he or she will definitely be ripped off.
A) The salesgirls working at the technology store saw me glancing at a USB drive. I was thinking of buying one at Suning, a reputable technology store in China. However, since I saw USB sticks there in Shanghai, I was thinking of getting one. The list price the lady gave me was ¥630. The Sony flash drive allegedly had 120 gigabytes of free space. The packaging seemed legit, as there were no misspellings. My friend helped me to haggle. Finally, they lowered the price to about ¥260, so I bought it. I asked them to check the product before I bought it as a security measure - the lady plugged the drive into the computer and the flash drive showed there was 119 gigabytes of free space.
After I got home, I did some research about the USB stick. I was shocked to find that the actual Sony Memory Vault is only limited to 8 gigs. Also, I did a search on the same specifications to see if anyone had bought the same product. Apparently, at this stage of time in the world, there is no flash drive technology that surpasses 8 gigabytes. I tested this 'fake' flash drive and it cannot hold more than about 2.7 gigs. After uploads of over 3 gigs on the flash drive, the files seem to be on the drive, but if you unplug the USB from the computer and plug it again, you will find that the rest of the files are corrupt. Additionally, a person said that the flash drive was modified or hacked so that it would show 119 gigs of free space when there wasn't even 1/10 that amount of space.
To add to the ridiculousness, when I first plugged the flash drive into my computer, there was a pop-up message that warned me that "doc.exe" on the flash drive might be a virus/trojan. I was shocked (to even find a file) and deleted this file. Later, my friend was going to transfer some files via my new USB stick. When she plugged it in, there was a pop-up notice saying that the USB had some data-mining program or trojan on it. I was shocked, once again, because I thought my computer had already gotten rid of the problem. I was musing to myself aloud about why this did not even happen when the sale was being made, to which my friend countered, "The computer probably didn't have a virus scanner on it."
Some things I wonder are:
- Did these salesgirls know they were ripping off customers - did they know the original purchase price per item and did they set the final retail price (¥630)?
- Did these salesgirls know they were selling FAKE products that do not actually exist in the real market?
- If these salesgirls knew these things, what were the moral implications? Did any of them feel guilty or did they think it was right to take advantage of others, since perhaps the salesgirls did not have the best of backgrounds?
B) I wanted to buy a name stamp. The salesgirl told me to look at the ones I'd like and she said she'd give me a good price. She took a look at the "retail" price posted on one really nice stamp and told me she'd give me 50% off. Retail was ¥560. I was looking at the left side of her display table and coincidentally noticed that there were prices posted for certain types of stone. She told me I didn't have to look at that, as she'd give me the price. I think I chose the ¥280 stone - was it true, then, that I bought it at the jacked-up retail price? The price percentage off that the salespeople give doesn't mean a thing - honestly, they probably just give jacked-up numbers to bring customers the sense that they are 'saving money,' when in fact they are being ripped off less. I asked if she could lower the price down to ¥200. She told me that she was already giving me 50% off because she knew I was a student and then said something about how she charges more for other people. Sigh, I bought the name stamp because I liked it, but when they carved it, the G was really strange. I'll keep the stamp as a souvenir to remind me to haggle next time, as well as use it to stamp some documents.
C) Before the Leehom concert, a man was grilling outside of the stadium. The food that he grilled looked like delicious barbequed meat. We had not eaten and decided to buy four sticks of "meat." Once we bit into the meat, most of us were aghast to find that these were not sticks of meat - they were sticks of FAT. One lucky friend actually had a few pieces of meat on her stick, but the rest of us had been tricked for ¥3 of our money!
The sense of injustice at being charged unfair prices or obtaining fake, expensive products empowers individuals. Why should a customer have to pay much more than needed? Not all tourists have money! It is especially sad to be tricked and taken advantage of by another human, but it seems that the stores that do not set prices (free market prices) are avenues for trickery, so one can just decide not to shop in those streets.
2) Petty thievery.
A) My friends and I headed to the Shanghai stadium for an awesome concert. We did not eat beforehand, leading to the above situation (1.C.). Then, I was hungry and I brought along some chestnuts. I was so hungry that I started to eat them. I had my camera hanging from my wrist and the two handles of the bags hanging from my wrist as well. I took one picture of a horned man and then within 2-3 minutes, I noticed that my camera was gone. I was freaking out and in disbelief. As some of you know how much I love photography and how much I love my camera...well, it will take me awhile to get over the disbelief and sadness. I showed my friends my wrist afterward and most agreed that it looks like the thief cut off the camera from my wrist.
It makes me wonder, what is the state of China today? With its majority of atheists, is it a wonder that some people have no morals and worry not about the emotional, financial, and LEGAL consequences of ripping people off or stealing?
What are preventative measures for these threats? Only with street smarts will a tourist survive. Here are some tips:
Shopping (in tourist zones):
- No questionable large purchases in tourist traps (unless you don't mind getting ripped off or discovering later that you bought a fake item). Make a purchase of an expensive item in a reputable store.
- If the price seems abnormally high, it is imperative for one to shop around (do not rush the buying process). Perhaps you will see what the actual prices are when you observe other people buying the same items that you want.
- Initially, give a low price that even you might think is extreme. Slowly go up, but not too far, for you don't want to pay too much.
- Do not show the salespeople how much you want the item - if you put on a face of "I don't want the item anyway," then of course you have no demand for the product. The salesperson would be more desperate to make a sale, even if it means he or she would make less profit.
- Start low, end low. Start your bid at 1/4 or 1/3 of the price. Sometimes, this upsets shopkeepers, though they may be pretending.
- Set maximum prices you'd pay for items. Do this by researching the fair market prices for each item.
Remember, most Chinese salespeople in tourist zones will bid the price up so high that one would fall off one's seat reading about people's negative experiences. In another example, my friend wanted to buy a fan and the saleslady said ¥68 initially. Later, we acted like we didn't want it and then the lady gave us fans for ¥10 each. If these prices are correct, the lady dared to drive up the price 680%. Thus, one must be cautious when buying products in the tourist zones, but one should also take a risk and bid prices down lower. Saving money in one place means there's more money to do more.
Avoiding theft
- Do not show that you have expensive items. Keep these out of sight of property predators OR if you do need to use the item, remember to keep it close to you. Hold the item in your hand - dangling it on your wrist will not keep thieves from stealing it from your body.
- Do not eat and take pictures. If your hand is busy eating and you have things on your wrist, thieves will take note and take advantage of the situation.
- Be wary of high-traffic situations and stay away from large crowds. Keep belongings close.
Hopefully, with more caution and experience (vicarious or real), one will be able to save money in tourist spots and keep valuables away from thieves.
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