China's Black Market

Around the world, products are stamped with ‘Made in China’ more than any other country. China produces literally everything, and for cheap. In China, the production of fake goods makes a great business for street vendors and for little shops in downtown Beijing and Wuhan, and the rest of China as well. China is very good at making fake goods that like authentic. There are so many companies that have production in China, which is why it is so easy for the Chinese to make counterfeits. Peter Hessler, author of Oracle Bones, calls these fake goods, “Jiade,” which means fake or garbage. Some of the goods stolen on the street are also stolen goods and may in fact be real brand name products, but this is rare.
There is an abundance of fake goods and nearly 70% of the products on the street are fake. Since China was able to make replicas so well they decided to make fake BMW’s. But when China joined the World Trade Organization, they were forced to cut back on making so many jiade products and then the Fake BMW’s became a Chinese brand of cars. The car styles remained the same and they still look identical to BMW’s. The government is still trying to cut back the production of fake goods because it costs legitimate businesses billions of dollars yearly.
Nonetheless, fake goods are still very popular in Chinese cities, and even the rest of the country. In Wuhan and Beijing I experienced the finest of China’s black market. I was constantly approached by street vendors trying to get me to follow them to their sketchy so called store so they could try to sell me fake Rolex’s and fake Nike shoes. The street vendors are like hawks; they are relentless, persistent and very annoying. They rarely ever speak English and never take no for an answer, if they understand no that is. Whenever approached I would repeat the Chinese phrase “Bu Hao,” which means bad, to get my point across that I was not interested. But the street gawkers will still continue to follow you and speak Mandarin behind your back knowing that you do not understand until they eventually decide to give up. These street vendors in China make the ones in New York look like a joke.
Although the street vendors and the fake and stolen goods are in fact sketchy, I did go to several stores with vendors to see what they had. In Wuhan I decided to buy my first fake Rolex for 100 RNB, or $15 USD. At first the man said 100 RNB but after communicating and haggling through a calculator we settled at 100 RNB. Haggling is a part of exchange in China; the sellers over price their goods on purpose expecting to lower them after bargaining with consumers. A standard rule is that you should never pay anywhere near the real value of that product, here is a bargaining guide. Anyway, even after buying the Rolex the man would not leave me alone and continued asking me if I wanted shoes but instead I bought a Kappa sweater from him for about $10. The sweater came with several Kappa tags so it very well be stolen or just a very good counterfeit. In Beijing I continued to bargain with street vendors and bought five more fake Rolexes, but this time I paid 120 RNB for all five opposed to the 100 RNB for one like I paid in Beijing.

(A picture from my Camera of Justin, Me, and Max with out fake goods)