Introduction:
Shopping in Shanghai can cause a range of emotions and craziness. I’ve seen a man torture his wife for two hours haggling with a merchant over South Sea pearls (after the first hour she wasn’t sure she wanted them anymore). I’ve encountered women who’ve started an export business over the creation of a simple custom-designed cashmere scarf. The possibilities are endless.You’ve heard the tales from travelers who’ve gone before you: “the shopping’s great!”, “everything is so cheap!”, “I should have bought more…”. Chances are, you may not even know what the possibilities are – much less how to go about finding out what’s available.
Tailored Shopping for You:
Nevertheless, now it’s your turn. You’ll be in Shanghai, you want to shop off the beaten path, but you don’t know how to go about it. Well, take heart; there’s no reason to brave Shanghai’s markets, side alleys, antique troves and designer boutiques alone. Francine Martin, founder of the personal shopping service East of the Sun is on the ground in Shanghai to assist the discerning shopper. Whether it’s a surgical strike to find that folding electric bicycle with seven gears and 20” diameter wheels or a slow walking tour of Shanghai’s finest antique galleries, Ms. Martin will find it, source it or figure it out prior to her outing with you.Ms. Martin’s Experience:
Ms. Martin has lived over twenty-five years in Asia, collecting art and furniture from Taiwan, Korea, Hong Kong, Japan and now China along the way. Under the guidance of a successful personal shopper in Hong Kong, she started a small business that is keeping her very busy in her lovely lane house near Shanghai’s famous Yu Garden. Depending on your needs, Ms. Martin spends hours researching the best shops and scouting locations for you to find whatever it is you desire. But she doesn’t just drop you off at the door. Ms. Martin’s attention to detail is such that she will assist you in bargaining and ensuring that if you require shipping, it will be handled and properly packaged.
Why Shop for Someone Else?
When asked about her inspiration for her business she replied that leading visitors around Asia over the last twenty-five years found her enjoying the challenge of finding objects that were symbolic of where she lived. Ms. Martin transformed the pleasure of seeking out local color and charm into a business. She’d been doing it for years for visiting friends and family; now she does it for clients who find her during a visit to Shanghai.
How it Works:
While happy to assist visitors to Shanghai in whatever their shopping needs, she is not disingenuous. She takes no commissions from shops visited on the tours. Nor, does she claim to be an expert on everything available for sale in China. The value she adds is her ability to seek out the experts, match clients’ wish lists with the right shops, plan outings to minimize travel time and maximize the shopping experience, and ask questions for you in Chinese. Ms Martin notes that she exchanges emails with upcoming clients to get a sense of the style, quality and price point of their shopping list. This helps her choose the best fit shop-wise for each outing.
Setting Shopping Expectations:
When our conversation turned to jade, she warned that even authenticated goods have a margin of error. Even the most respected dealers make mistakes. Antiques can be engineered easily from rubbing dirt over a newly fired ceramic. So unless you’re a schooled dealer or expert yourself, you should be circumspect in your expectations about what you buy. The best way to deal with this, says Ms. Martin, is to think about what you want to spend on an item and whether or not you really like it. If you are happy with the price and you love the piece – it speaks to you – then who cares if it’s really a Qing Dynasty jewelry box? But don’t take this the wrong way. Ms. Martin thoroughly researches the vendors to which she takes clients and would never knowingly promulgate trade in fake goods.
Getting the Most Out of Your Travel Experience:
Furthermore, authenticity is a key to Ms. Martin’s business. Isn’t one of the goals in travel to have an “authentic” experience? Personally, I find shopping itself quite authentic, wherever I go. Bartering for goods – be it mundane such as ferreting out local snacks for my toddler at the market, or exciting such as bargaining for an old brush painting – is as authentic an experience as eating local food.
Let Shanghai come alive for you with Francine Martin. Her details follow.
Details:
East of the Sun – Personal Shopping & Nosing Around Shanghai
Web: http://www.eastofthesun-asia.com/contact.html
Tours: in English and French, maximum four people (larger groups upon request), three hours minimum
Fee: hourly
Contact: francine@eastofthesun-asia.com
