But how about the tourist? What does he get for his money that causes
him to run hog-wild in Hong Kong shops? The answers are as varied as the
shrewdness or the gullibility of the individual tourist.
Let’s consider the gullible ones; they are so numerous and vulnerable.
The plump lady stuffing herself into a form-fitting Cheongsam. The
overnight Beau Brummel, swallowed alive by the 24-hour “custom-tailored”
suit he bought without taking the time for proper fittings. The customer
who accepts the first price quoted by a Chinese merchant. The photography
bug who buys a standard West German camera at the most exclusive
department store in the heart of the high-rent district, when he could
get the same thing for 20 percent less at a number of small, reliable
photo-supply shops. The optimist who thinks he can persuade a British
clerk to knock down a fixed price. The lamb who lets a sidewalk “shopping
guide” lead him to a fleecing. The poor soul who buys a Swiss watch, a
Japanese camera, or any other name product without comparing prices of
several Hong Kong shops or knowing the minimum sale price of the same
article in his own country. The woman who buys a particular line of
famous pearls from anyone except the authorized dealer.
Above all, the American who buys a piece of rare jade without a
Comprehensive Certificate of Origin, and consequently has it confiscated
by Customs when he reenters the United States. For that matter, any
American who buys a “presumptive item”—an article which the U.S.
government suspects was made in Red China or North Korea—without a
Comprehensive Certificate of Origin.
This business of the Comprehensive Certificate of Origin is a recurrent
pain in the neck to American shoppers and Hong Kong merchants alike.
Nevertheless, as an item of United States foreign policy, it must be
deferred to by American tourists in Hong Kong. Many reputable shop-owners
will not apply to the colony’s Commerce and Industry Department for the
right to issue Comprehensive Certificates of Origin, because it involves
so much paperwork, red tape, and delay that the shops would just as soon
skip the American market and concentrate on the British and others who
can buy without these pesky certificates.
The list of items considered to be presumptive is by no means clear-cut,
and the items on it may change from time to time, further clouding the
issue. Some of the articles considered presumptive are: brassware,
brocade, ceramics, cotton goods, embroidery, figurines, wood furniture,
greeting cards, handicrafts, ivory ware, jade, semiprecious jewelry,
lacquerware, porcelain ware, woolen rugs, silks and wallpaper.
The nonpresumptive articles, or those that can be freely imported into
the U.S., include: binoculars, cameras, cashmere items, enamelware,
furs (but not all furs), precious stones, leather goods, mosaics,
mother-of-pearl, plastic articles, rattan ware, sporting goods,
umbrellas, watches, wool clothing and yachts.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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