Wanted: Occupant for new travel cot
Right now, my parents’ home in England has the look of an newly opened and suddenly abandoned creche.
A pristine and empty cot sits in my old bedroom. There’s a baby bouncer in the sitting room looking lonely by the fireplace. And my father is in the process of constructing a baby swing that will hang without an occupant.
Come August, all this will change, when my husband, four-month-old daughter and I return home as part of the great summer expat exodus, and take our place among family, friends – plus a wonderful pile of online shopping.
Despite the fact that so many of the goods on sale in the UK are made in China, they aren’t available to buy here. Or if they are, they’re disproportionately expensive.
High import taxes, protectionist policies on the sale of foreign goods and the additional costs of shipping have turned shopping for everyday items in Shanghai into an extreme sport.
A trip to Mothercare in Shanghai will empty your wallet, as will a wander round Shanghai’s largest shopping mall Global Harbour (assuming that you find what you’re looking for among the uninspiring range of products).
As a result of this shopping landscape, many second-hand sales groups exist. However, I wasn’t prepared for the uncompromising sales tactics of foreigners abroad.
When I lived in Peckham, London, I used to be part of a easy-going Oxfam style used-goods forum where I could pick up a full set of garden furniture for £50, and the owner might even deliver if they were swinging past. In Shanghai, I watch in dismay as expats are forced purchase used products at their original price (abroad) out of desperation.
At first I was depressed by the cynical pricing. Now, I’m immune to my co-expatriates’ rampant and enthusiastic opportunism.
A lack of access to ‘stuff’ encourages strange behaviours in us all.
In my case, the reunion with my family this month will be made that much sweeter by the affordable, safe and recommended-by-Which-guide presents piled in the corner, I’m sad to admit.
However, before I’m allowed to dive into the goodies, there remains one small hurdle my husband and I need to overcome. We don’t currently have any luggage with which to travel home.
Last weekend, we headed to the Samsonite shop in Shanghai in order to remedy this problem, where the shop assistant quoted us a figure three times the price on the UK website.
Do Virgin Atlantic accept bin liners, I wonder?
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