Editor’s note: Recently, a Chinese netizen posted an article on tianya.cn commenting on the price of goods in the States. Upon arriving in the States, the netizen was shocked to realize that designer brands and even “Made in China” goods are being sold at a fraction of the cost in China. Contrary to the myth that everything is cheaper in China, this netizen proves that America is the place to go for brand name shopping – and he’s not the first to make the discovery.

Before leaving to go to the United States, a Chinese friend who had been there many times before told me: “You won’t need to take anything except cash & cards—everything is so cheap!”
However, I was skeptical about this: according to 2008 data, USA per capita income was $37,600 (ranked 4th globally), whereas China was ranked 109th with average per capita earnings of just $1,100. Americans earned 34 times more than Chinese... so how on earth could stuff be cheaper over there?!

So, just in case, when I eventually left for the States, I took a big suitcase which initially I thought was a big mistake. After reaching America I realized, that apart from the American service sector (American labour costs are high) most commodities are actually cheaper than in China! I was astounded!

Unbelievable prices for top brands

In a shopping mall in Los Angeles, expensive high-end brand products were being sold for a very low price (fakes aren’t really a major problem in the US). In China an Armani suit costs about 30,000 RMB, but here it was just a quarter or even a fifth of the price! The same is true of Italian brand shoes. Denim products are even cheaper: Lee or Levis jeans were just over ten dollars a pair; pricier options were still just over 20 dollars. And denim jackets were between 30 and 40 dollars each. Who was wearing all this denim anyway… cowboys??

Bigger things like cars and household appliances are even cheaper. In a big roadside advert for the new BMW Z4, the price was just $29,881. According to a friend of mine, the price for the same product in China is around 800,000 RMB (over $120,000). Usually American cars of the same spec and model are about half the price of those sold in China.

A family member had requested I pick up a new laptop for them, so I duly obliged: the one I ended up buying was $499, quite the bargain you may think, but even more so when you consider the exact same make, spec and model of laptop in the PRC is almost double the price!

Superior quality of goods in America

The question of quality inevitably rears its head: the tarnished reputation of ‘Made in China’ (中国制造) did not seem to extend to the USA— products here all have to adhere to such strict safety and quality guidelines— whereas it is still common to come across shoddy ‘Made In China’ products in the domestic marketplace. As a bit of a test, I bought some ‘Made in China’ products while in the US and much to my dismay, they worked much better than their domestically-sold counterparts.

Shopping in America is pretty safe: it doesn’t matter if it’s made in China or anywhere else in the world, it comes with a fixed guarantee; the service is always great (although those painted smiles and constant saccharine chirps of “Have a nice day” can become grating after a while); you can return or exchange things within a certain time period, and stores will always greet you warmly no matter what quibble you have.

Thus, when Chinese people go to the USA, even if they don’t normally enjoy shopping, it’s a different story once they’re there. Suddenly, they find themselves cramming just-bought suitcases with even more brand-name booty at knock-down prices. “How the hell are things here so much cheaper than back home?!” they cry in unison.

Chinese gripped by shopping fever

Oddly enough, in LA airport on the way home, hordes of Chinese tourists were filling whatever bags they had with huge cartons of Chinese-brand cigarettes and bottles of Moutai liquor (a type of rice wine produced in China) — at least a third of them had bought stuff— and once again, the simple reason was because this stuff was cheaper here, and authenticity was guaranteed.

Surprisingly too, accommodation wasn’t expensive either. During my weeks in the USA, I stayed in four 4/5-star hotels which I’d reserved online. The cheapest hotels were in Las Vegas, costing only $90 a night, but that’s probably because they can command a hefty commission from ushering guests into neighbouring casinos and entertainment halls. This theory can be backed up by the extortionate prices for using the internet in the rooms and making international calls from hotel phones. But communication in the States is generally cheap: a buddy of mine gleefully imparted the information that while just $25 a month can get you unlimited international calls (useful for calling Mum & Dad back in the Motherland and telling them about all the bargains!), cheaper still is to get an international calling card, then calls become just a few cents a minute.

In a Chinese restaurant in Little Taipei, Monterey Park, a group of us ordered a whole heap of seafood: the food was fresh; portions big (we couldn’t even finish it all), and when we requested the bill and it came to just $49 we thought the waitress had made a mistake. Nope, that was indeed the actual price. During the trip I had two McDonald’s meals (when in Rome…) and both times it didn’t cost more than $6. Of course, that is more than McDonald’s costs back in China, but here you get free refills on drinks and the portions are noticeably bigger than back home (and so are the people, I should add).

Five of us ordered five meals, but three were already full halfway through. As far as I know, in American schools, lunch and dinner are both provided for the paltry sum of $1. And in a café, to see a one-dollar cup of coffee is the norm. So if your salary is 4,000 RMB (about $615) a month, that means you can buy coffee every day, get a laptop for a few hundred yuan, spend just over 200 on some sexy Italian leather boots, and you could treat your friends to dinner with about 50 yuan!  And still have money left over to bribe corrupt government officials (just kidding).

So, contrary to popular Chinese belief, things are not as expensive as they seem in America. And the next time you see a large group of people all heaving brimming suitcases through the airport, looking pleased with themselves, you can bet your bottom dollar (or yuan) they’ll be heading home to China.

Source: gcpnews.com
 

Related links
China’s Skyrocketing Commodity Prices Compared: 2005 vs. 2010
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From Steamed Bread, Salary to Housing: What Are China’s Tax Rates?

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