Helping the Chinese Economy Grow (Part 2)

Before leaving Rochester, friend Ed gave me a card for Tommy: Tao Bao City! It was here that he suggested I go to find good fake Rolex watches. Located at 580 West Nanjing Road, Sally and I thought it couldn't be too far from the temple. Well, West Nanjing Road is a very long road... and we made the very wise decision to take a taxi (on Ed) to get there. Sure enough, there it was #580, and my first experience with the black market was underway.

As soon as we entered the doors, a slightly built young man (let's call him John's nephew or JN) approached and invited us to look at his shop called "John 1F - D1. Sally told him, "No thanks, we're looking for Tommy". "This is Tommy," he replied. Certain he was a scam artist, we tried to ignore him. "No, come here, I'll show you." And out of a drawer, JN pulled a stack of pink business cards that were identical to the one Ed had given me. "New name, same place, I told you," he smiled.

"Well O.K.," I'm thinking. Here I go... "I want to buy some Rolex watches. My friend was here several years ago, and he told me I need to go into the back room." Without a moment of hesitation, JN said, "Please follow me."
He led us up an escalator, and then up another escalator. There were many small shops on every floor. JN then ushered us into one of these shops and Mr. Green Shirt, who must have been JN's cousin, motioned for us to follow him into what looked to be a storage closet. (Could this be the back room Ed was talking about?) I was very grateful to have Sally at my side!


Then we witnessed a scene like right out of The Diary of Ann Frank. Green Shirt swung forward the shelves of the storage unit to reveal a hidden compartment.



And yes, there wrapped in soft yellow plastic were the good fake Rolexes!! All kinds of them! This was the real fake deal. I pulled out my xeroxed photos of the styles Ed and his boys had in mind. Conversation was minimal. At that point, I decided that as long as I was there, I better pick up a couple of extra Rolexes for my family back home assuming I ever see them again!

And then the hard negotiations began.
Joan: (Trying to appear self-assured and non-commital) "How much for 5?"




Greenshirt: (Typing into calculator) 4000 RMB
Joan: (Really not comprehending how many dollars that was) "4000??
That's way too much... I'm buying a lot."
Greenshirt: "How much you pay?"
Joan: "Not that much! These aren't real!
Greenshirt: "They are good fakes!"
Joan: "My friend told me no more than $50.00 each!"
Greenshirt: "$60.00"
Joan: (Considering inflation over the last few years) "$55.00 each. That's my limit"
Greenshirt: Starting to put the watches in a bag...
Joan: "I need boxes... these are gifts!"
Greenshirt: Sighing and digging through the shelves, he drudgingly put each watch in a box.


Joan: Counting out a slew of 100 RMB bills... "Thank you very much!"

And out of the closet into the regular workaday world we went.
Surprise, surprise... all of two seconds later, JN appeared. "Purses? You like purses? Follow me..." and that story I will leave to your imagination.

Two hours and two large black garbage bags later, Sally and I found ourselves once again on the street outside of #580. We were not tired, we were exhausted! And we were parched. We each quickly downed a bottle of cold ice tea sold on the street. And then... Ed, if you are reading this, I hope it's OK, but I used the last change to treat Sally and me to a large iced vanilla latte at Costa Coffee. We needed a few moments to rest and recover from clandestine operation Rolex!

Zai Jian!
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Location:Shanghai