There is that belief that couples should not go to Ikea as it can break apart their relationship. Arguing over what items to get for the home. Well pictured above is a place in Taipei which can destroy even friendships. It's the computer market.
The computer market is basically several floors full of shops that sell computers, cameras, cell phones, mp3 players, and other electronic devices. They also sell all the small parts, cables, etc. needed to put computers and other electronics together. The market isn't limited to just this building however, as the nearby streets are cluttered with similar stores, and there is also more shops in an underground area.
The reason this place can destroy friendships, is because if there is a pair of people, it's always one who needs to buy something, yet knows nothing about computers, and his/her friend who is an expert and has come along to help. The expert friend takes the buyer's needs into account and comes up with the best product that he/she should buy and what price he/she should pay. Only for the buyer to get distracted by shiny new things, and be talked into something they don't need and for a higher price. This is when the buyer stops listening to their expert friend because they for some reason think that the salesman is actually trying to help the buyer instead of taking advantage of them. In the end both leave unhappy. And the buyer will find out a few days later that they actually did get something they didn't need, and paid too much for it. At which time they will apologize to their expert friend and the cycle renews.
This might seem oddly specific, and I must admit that it's happened to me a couple of times. Trying my best to help friends who had been seduced by the snake oil salesman. I take little satisfaction when after some time my friends admit that I was right, because no matter what i feel bad that my friend was taken advantage of. And the true hurt is that they chose to trust a stranger over their friend. But even when I'm there by myself, it's not uncommon to see strangers arguing with each other because of a similar situation.
This place is especially ruthless because there are no set prices, everything is to be negotiated. So salesmen really do go for blood. Also Taiwan is still largely a society where people don't research products before they buy (in fact there really are no publications online, on paper, or on tv that actually do product reviews), and they listen to what the salesperson tells them. And the salespeople know this and take advantage of this, as I've heard some outright lies before.
It's all a pretty unseemly place, and even the sales at different shops seem to work together to not undercut each other. It's common when bargaining for salespeople to say "just go to another shop." although if you look around long enough, you can get a cheaper price. But there is also the fact that most of these stores are actually owned by the same person. So while it may seem like there are over a 100 stores there, there might only be ten different owners.
But in the end if you want any computer or similar product, this is the only place to go if you want the cheapest price. Just another reason why true internet shopping sites need to come to Taiwan. But I'll leave the story of Taiwan's current internet shopping sites, for another day.
