Selling to Chinese people: Why did they walk away?

by Julie
(Dallas, TX)

I work at estate sales and recently thought I had a successful sale about to conclude. The daughter was translating for her parents. I asked if her parents were happy with the price before writing up a sales slip, trying to be respectful as well as very clear about dollar amounts.

They asked about payment options and asked how they were going to get their purchase home. All those answers seemed agreeable to them.

I wrote up the sale, but then had a funny feeling the parents were beginning the whole shopping process again. Nothing was said to me though, so I assumed everything was OK and went to get boxes to pack their merchandise.

It seemed they were on their way to pay for their purchase, but instead they went home.

Did I unknowingly offend a Chinese customer?

Why do the Chinese sometimes appear to me to be ready to conclude a purchase after hammering out a deal, then seem to start again from the beginning as if they've not been shopping and bargaining for a couple of hours?

I want to be able to sell to our Chinese customers and develop mutually satisfying repeat business, but I clearly need your expert advice!


Answer:


Hi Julie,
 
Thanks for your question.
 
From your message, there are two possibilities why the parents walked away when you thought they were going to pay for the purchase:

1. Firstly, they are interested in buying some second-hand goods but they do not need them very urgently at that moment. All they want is some information about those goods. When they really need them, they will make a comparison and choose the best offer with best quality.
2. Secondly is that they were not satisfied with your offer. They hope you can follow up and give some additional discounts.

 
When Chinese people go shopping, especially middle aged or the old people, they usually go to many shops to make comparison (which we call "Huo bi san jia", which means “make comparison among the shops”). They analyze the factors like price, quality, discount, extra free goods they would get when they buy from that shop and so on.

For instance, suppose I go to buy a coat. I would go to at least 5~7 shops, and first get some brief information about the coat, color, quality, price, guarantee, and discount. When I finish collecting the information, I would compare the offers from those shops and choose the top three from those offers. Now it is time to bargain with the salespeople or the owners of those shops to get the best offer and the best coat.

Of course, different people would make different choices. For me, if I can not get the best price with the best quality, I would first choose quality then price. Some others would first choose price then quality. It depends on the customer and their shopping habits, their revenue (like salary), and some other factors. 

For instance, when a young and fashionable girl goes to a clothing shop, mostly she would choose the quality instead of the price (of course under the condition that the price should be reasonable). You can persuade her by the quality, tailoring, color, service (perhaps your shop can offer free repairs when there is need) to get her approval.

When a housewife goes to a clothing shop, you can persuade her to buy the same coat by the practical uses of the coat. For example, how she can wear it with other clothing. Or if she buys this coat, explain what other small goods would she get and what discount the shop would offer her. Of course we need to say how beautiful she looks when she wears that coat...
 
Yes, we have to admit it is not easy to bargain with the customer and finally get the deal from them. You have to be very careful and respond to their body language, facial expressions, and what they say. There is a lot we salespeople need to pay special attention to.

If the customer did not complete the sale, you'd better ask them to leave their contact information and follow up. Your excellent service sometimes will move your customer even if you are not their first choice.
 
Any further questions, just feel free to contact me.
 
Best regards,


~Victoria