[speaker001:] Good morning, Jason. How did you sleep?
[speaker002:] Pretty well, thanks. Still feeling the effects of jet lag a bit, but last night I got at lease six hours of rest.
[speaker001:] Great! So, are you ready for a full day of shopping?
[speaker002:] Yep. Let's do it. I'm pretty excited!
[speaker001:] I know a place that should be perfect. It's called the China Friendship Shopping Center and it's pretty much like an American mall except with more variety. You can even buy a live chicken there if you want.
[speaker002:] Live chicken? Thanks, but no thanks. So... tell me about bargaining. How can I do it like a local?
[speaker001:] Well. I'll be honest and say you'll never be as good at bargaining as a local person. You're a foreigner and the sellers can see that. But... if you're smart, you can get bargains that are not too far away from the local price.
[speaker002:] Cool! Teach me!
[speaker001:] For starters, you want to do a lot of scouting first. You've got to know what things cost.
[speaker002:] Someone told me to go to a convenience store and see how much a soft drink or a tube of toothpaste costs. The idea is that by comparing the prices of those items, you can figure out the relative prices of everything else.
[speaker001:] That could be helpful. But when you go into a shopping center... prices become very flexible. You have to be able to read the market.