There's A Sucker Born Every Minute
I had buyer's remorse the second I handed over my hard-earned Renminbi. I'd bargained her down from 1850 RMB to 800 RMB ($116) for two watches: beautiful replicas of Panerai watches, the watches I've drooled over in many a jewelry store--in Italy and the US. Panerai made watches for the Italian Navy during WWII and now continues to manufacture those same designs. A real Panerai runs about $5000, and these look exactly like them. I knew I hadn't bargained enough, but I just couldn't handle the stressful situation. I'd been wandering the Silk Market for 20 minutes when the salesgirl asked me what kind of watches I like and offered me a catalog. When I came to the Panerai page, I asked if she had any. She had to dig beneath several suitcases to pull out the small red case that held the pretty things I desired. There were sport watches with rubber bands and dressy ones with leather bands, but only about 8 styles total. She started the bargaining process, and soon I ...