On the trip you will kick yourself when you find out a classmate bought the same thing you did for much less. You will have the chance to practice the negotiating skills that your professor in negotiations taught you first hand. A hat tip to my friend and one of the best negotiators I have had the pleasure to work with, John Wu, for this video lead from the classic film featuring a young hottie named Harrison Ford, Gallipoli (battle) (click here for film info).   This has direct relevance to China and India. Click HERE to check it out. And yes, it would be totally uncool to ask the merchant for your money back like the fellows in this clip when you were the one who was a poor negotiator.

Professor Carr July 29, 2008 addendum: Each year I try to take students, or at least give them the opportunity to go on their own, to the Silk Market in Beijing so they can practice their (usually lame, undeveloped and passive) Western negotiation skills. See this four minute must see Wall Street Journal video on YouTube filmed at this very venue. This will give you a glimpse of what you are in for.

Professor Carr March 1, 2009 addendum: Check out this excellent NY Times article, Facing Counterfeiting Crackdown, Beijing Vendors Fight Back just published that discusses the legal crackdown at the Silk Market and the creative way in which some of the vendors there are fighting back against the trademark infringement cases that have been filed against them. Said article nicely highlights the tension between how the West and China approach and differ in some of their views of intellectual property protection, how much of this issue is also tied to history so I will try to brief you on some of this said history (e.g., the Opium Wars, Confucianism, the carving up of China by colonial powers), etc. Said article also highlights why when/if you lecture the Chinese in IP theft and lack of protection, buddy, be careful as you sometimes do so at your own peril!!

And for those of you looking to buy a suit in China at the Silk Market in Beijing, see this short YouTube VIDEO that I recently came across on this very topic. I think it’s pretty well done and fairly accurate. Keep in mind, though, that the prices you will see in this video are lower for a number of reasons. E.g., he came back 10 days later to pick up his suit and did not need it the next day, he also went into a local neighborhood (in this case in Shanghai) that many Westerners would not feel comfortable going into to buy his suit, note his language skills and I assume he was/is a repeat customer for this tailor, etc. As you are MBA students, you recognize and appreciate the impact said variables can have on price.