R: thanks, I like it too. I bought it at the nearby department store.

E: that’s nice. Do you know you can get one at the wholesale market near the zoo for a much lower price?

R: yeah, I know that. But at those places. the prices they ask you are ridiculously high, and if you don’t bargain hard, you will get ripped-off.

E: true, learning how to haggle the price is one of the things people have to pick up when they come to China for the first time.

R: yeah, but personally, I hate bargaining. If I bargain,I might come to a lower price, but I will never konw the true price of what I am buying; and I always have the feeling that I am overcharged at those places.

E: yeah, I have the same feeling. Also there is another thing that bothers me the quality. Things in a department store are usually quality-guaranteed. But at a wholesale market, you never know whether what you are buying are of good quality or not.

R: that’s why I like department stores more. Shopping at a wholesale market like the locals is one of the few things I am unable to grow accustomd to.

E: I understand. While it’s always good to follow the local customs, I guess there are exceptions.