Dong Tai Road Antique Market

[ View of Dong Tai Road ]
You could easily spend half a day wandering around the stalls of Dong Tai Road. The street is bisected by another smaller street and "antique" stores proliferate all over the small neighborhood. You can find just about anything from baskets to ceramics, Mao memorabilia, lanterns - junk or treasure - it's up to you. Let the buyer beware, unless you are a certified antiques dealer, don't think you'll come away with a Ming vase for a song. Shopkeepers are expert at making factory-fired porcelain look old: just rub some dirt on it!



[ An old man trying to bargain down the price of a Tea Set ]
Some say offer 10% of what the vendor is asking, some say 25% and work up from there. In my experience, the best thing to do is make some snap decisions and then start the negotiations at the low end.
- Decide if you really want it. It's hard to extract a real price so you'll have to bargain to get close.
- Decide how much you're willing to pay. How much is it worth to you?
- Walk away. Sometimes it works...but be prepared when it doesn't. You may find the item again, but you may not.