“Come here, girl. Look here,” she says to me as she fingers a shirt. “Very good quality, Hand-made.”

“No, I don’t want it,” I reply.

“Okay, I’ll give you a special price. Just for you,” she whispers back in my ear and plugs in an outrageous number into her Hello Kitty calculator.

I didn’t buy that specific shirt but I have done my fair share of shopping in China. From electronics to clothes to accessories, I’ve bought it all. Although I’m always wary whenever I leave the market, thinking that I could have gotten the same things for cheaper. Just because of the different texture of my hair, the different shade of my face, and the accent of voice, shopping at a market is ten times more difficult for me than a Chinese local. I am lied to, I am given higher prices, and I must argue with the vendor for a long time before the price is right. Often times, even that price is still too high.

从秀水街到王府井，从南锣鼓巷到红桥市场，在街边小店或批发市场里“寻宝”的外国游客几乎随处可见。然而，就在琳琅满目的商品让他们流连忘返时，不少小贩们却在盘算着如何从这些洋顾客们身上多捞点钱。那么，面对小贩们的漫天要价和穷追猛打，外国顾客应该怎么办呢？对此，美国女孩Amirah在与小贩们周旋多次后学会了“察言观色”，并总结出了一套独门“砍价”秘笈，让购物体验变成了一场幽默诙谐、斗智斗勇的游戏。那么，她的办法是否可行呢？让我们一起来看看Amirah的砍价四部曲吧！