Ridiculous gwan shi /lack of variety in goods

Taiwan Living in Taiwan
1

every time i go to a music store, they don’t have what i want. if they ask the distributor, he doesn’t get it in.

i have a friend who knows somebody who knows somebody. same item, no problem!

this is the one thing that makes me tired about living here. even B&Q. maybe for people here just learning how to do things for themselves it’s “wow”, but for me, son of a 3rd generation builder (my dad is a man of many talents) B&Q doesn’t have a lot of really good stuff.
i really miss the “flow of goods” in the States. stores almost always are in stock. are there real problems with supply chain here? why is there so little variety in the kinds of goods here?

costco dissapoints me too. not ranting. just commenting.

2

because here, the mom and pop stores are better? and still around. You don’t have to pay too much for a frick bolt.

3

[quote=“coonass”]every time i go to a music store, they don’t have what i want. if they ask the distributor, he doesn’t get it in.

i have a friend who knows somebody who knows somebody. same item, no problem!

this is the one thing that makes me tired about living here. even B&Q. maybe for people here just learning how to do things for themselves it’s “wow”, but for me, son of a 3rd generation builder (my dad is a man of many talents) B&Q doesn’t have a lot of really good stuff.
i really miss the “flow of goods” in the States. stores almost always are in stock. are there real problems with supply chain here? why is there so little variety in the kinds of goods here?

costco dissapoints me too. not ranting. just commenting.[/quote]

Common theme running through all your posts continues.

Hey, take a wild stab at what I’m getting tired of… You cry for help. People tell you they are listening and they will support you. You cry again.

Anyway, I thought the ONE thing that makes you tired about living here was… Tai Ke men, Tai ke culture, people staring at you, women who are teases, women who are whores, your womans attitude to you, your womans father, the quality of guitars, the treatment of foreign artists, the fake nature of Taiwanese stars, your house being a waste of money, being 40, people who own bars showing you disresect, your job, that school with the big windows, professional assassins being after you, that guy who is following you who may work for the govt., the govt. deliberately, secretly and systematically holding you back, … Have I missed anything? Oh yeah, not being able to order the specialist music and wood you want from mainstream stores.

Let’s look at todays MOST important of issues… You can’t get the music you want in a shop, and a mainstream hardware store doesn’t carry the specialist equipment you desire.

Seriously, who will give a shit about these issues?

The way you view Taiwan is your biggest hurdle. Shit happens the world over. The measure of the man is in how he deals with the shit.

How can you keep struggling like this man? Seriously. Music and wood.

4

God, don’t get me started! ‘:twisted:’

I feel the way you do in many aspects. I think that everyone has his or her own way of dealing with the differences. Here are some of my ways.

I gave up on the music stores a long time ago. I have such a wide variety of (or weird) musical tastes. I could rarely find what I wanted in music stores here. I solved that problem with Kazaa first, then Bittorrents. I personally have no problem with downloading music that’s unavailable in Taiwan.

Can you imagine what it was like here BEFORE B&Q? ‘:eek:’ I shop there for plants and gardening stuff and I’m thankful there’s a B&Q near my apartment. The big flower market in Taipei is further away from my place and there are the issues of parking and carrying heavy ceramic pots and potting soil from the market stands to my scooter.

Maybe it’s just supply and demand? 300 millions Americans vs. 23 million Taiwanese. Maybe many Taiwanese aren’t aware of new products? Maybe there’s little demand for building products because the average Taiwanese consumer never learned to build things or to make small repairs on their own? Like you, this is not a rant, just possibilities?

I used to work at a school and my classroom door had squeaky hinges. I told my boss that the noise was annoying. Later she told me that she had called a carpenter, and the carpenter said that he would have to rehang the doors! ‘:loco:’ The next day, I brought in a can of WD-40 and fixed the problem myself. My boss was amazed that such a product existed! AND I had bought the can at…B&Q! ‘:D’

When my bathroom drain is clogged, I don’t call the plumber. I just unscrew the drain and clean it myself. I bet my former boss wouldn’t even know that the drain comes unscrewed.

Me, too, sometimes. But I love Pepper Jack cheese, and Costco’s the only store I’ve found that sells it!

And not to give the wrong impression, but I also prefer the mom and pop stores. And I do check with the ones near me before I head off to the chain stores. The old man who owns my local hardware store and I have a great sign-language relationship! ‘:p’ I’m sure I amuse him greatly with my antics in his shop, trying to describe what I need! :slight_smile:

Finally, I’ve been here many years, and refuse to pay exorbitant prices here for things that are very cheap at home (NT$2000-3000 for an electric cooker–Crazy!! I bought 2 at home for about NT$240 each). I make a list of things I want, buy them at home, bring them back from vacation.

5

the price of some stuff here is wierd. rice cookers should be really cheap. but as you said, the price is high for what they do. bathrobes are super expensive for some reason. i also feel razors are expensive compared to the states. what gives?

6

You need to shop online more (e.g., eBay) and have stuff shipped over. :idunno: That’s just part of the price of living in a foreign country – stuff you’re used to is harder to get. Get used to it, or leave. Whining all the time sure doesn’t help.

7

OK–please share the best way to clean it–I am facing a slow drain right now.

8

[quote=“Flicka”][quote=“david_in_taipei”]

When my bathroom drain is clogged, I don’t call the plumber. I just unscrew the drain and clean it myself. I bet my former boss wouldn’t even know that the drain comes unscrewed.

[/quote]

OK–please share the best way to clean it–I am facing a slow drain right now.[/quote]

PM me if you’re serious. I don’t know if you’re making fun of me or not. ‘:oops:’

9

You have a bit of a point DB but truth be told, you can stay in taiwan for years and still have something to whine about. It’s human nature, to whine.

I wish you guys would stop make Taiwan some sort of Oz or something…

10

And there are way too many whiners in Taiwan! I miss back home where nobody every complains about anything!

However, how many local Taiwanese are do-it-yourselfers? How many have the same taste in music as Americans?

As previously mentioned, it’s a matter of supply and demand.

11

guys, when i say music store i mean musical INSTRUMENT stores. the distribution is controlled by a few people. they have created a monopoly distribution.

hai gouh and jing ma yi are both scumbags.as i know, at least one of them is chinese mafia.

the dealers here are impotent when it comes to customer satisfaction.

12

You buy musical instruments at B&Q?

13

I use lead pipes to make trumpets. Sure the sound isn’t so good, but at least I don’t have to pay those monopolists.

14

[quote=“mofangongren”]I use lead pipes to make trumpets. Sure the sound isn’t so good, but at least I don’t have to pay those monopolists.[/quote]I suspect this is irony. But for anyone who’s interested, you could in theory make a trumpet out of lead pipes or just about anything really, and it would sound alright as long as the interior dimensions were correct. Same goes for saxes. At one time, Charlie Parker pawned his regular sax and resorted to playing a plastic sax that he’d got free from a sponsor. Still sounded great.

15

I recall that the comic “For Better or for Worse” once had the uncle telling the FBOFW kids that a length of garden hose could suffice – that the shape of a trumpet/bugle being fixed was mostly a matter of player convenience and materials. And thus the comic was sidetracked into using that precise instrument onstage.

16

[quote=“mofangongren”]I recall that the comic “For Better or for Worse” once had the uncle telling the FBOFW kids that a length of garden hose could suffice – that the shape of a trumpet/bugle being fixed was mostly a matter of player convenience and materials. And thus the comic was sidetracked into using that precise instrument onstage.[/quote]You can certainly get some kind of note out of a bit of hose. Too flexible to maintain the precise internal dimensions for serious musical use, though, I think.