Taipei’s New Year Market was launched last week. The market is on and around Dihua Street Sec 1. Shopkeepers say that business has recovered markedly this year, but that prices are about 20 percent up on last year. People buying Lunar New Year goods should take care not to be sold short. One person who bought mullet roe in the morning later weighed it on a scale provided by the Taipei City Government, only to find that it was about a quarter under weight.
On the first day of the New Year Market, the crowd started to flow in around noon. Students working part-time in the market hawked the goods in Tang Dynasty costume, adding to the Lunar New Year ambiance. Shop owners on the New Year Market street said that New Year goods were already in demand by the end of last month, signaling that business would be better this year.
Vendors said that imported Japanese goods would see higher price rises because of a strong Japanese yen and falling fish catches, but Taiwanese fishery goods would be dearer, too. In order to let shoppers be sure about what they are buying, the Taipei City Government has installed a public scale at a service desk. Customers can weigh their purchases on the scale, and go back and complain to the seller if the weight doesn’t match what they paid for. Most people use the scale for goods such as scallops, mullet roe and other pricey products.
PHOTO: CHIEN JUNG-FONG, LIBERTY TIMES 照片:自由時報記者簡榮豐
The city government suggests that shoppers weigh their purchases on the scale at the service counter of Yongle Market if they want to make sure the weight is right. Shoppers are also advised to buy their goods in sealed packs to avoid disputes.
An official at the city government said that consumer disputes tend to occur when people think the goods are stale or overpriced, and advised people to shop around before parting with their cash.
(LIBERTY TIMES, TRANSLATED BY TAIJING WU)
台北年貨大街上週開賣,年貨大街泛指迪化街一段,業者分析,今年買氣明顯回升,但年貨價格較去年漲價約兩成。不過,花錢買年貨,當心斤兩不夠實在,有民眾上午買了烏魚子後,利用台北市政府準備的公秤一量,當場發現重量減少約四分之一。
開賣當天,採買人潮近中午開始湧現,今年迪化街的業者讓工讀生穿上唐裝,一群人齊聲叫賣,增添不少年味。業者表示,上月底就陸續有民眾採買年貨,今年買氣明顯較旺。
業者解釋,受到日幣匯率走強及漁獲量減少的影響,日本進口的年貨漲幅較大,而本土魚貨也上漲。為確保民眾購買的年貨實在,台北市政府於服務台放置公秤。民眾於店家購買年貨後,再到服務台以公秤秤重,一旦發現產品重量少於業者宣稱的重量,可以返回店家討論。較常使用公秤的多半是購買干貝、烏魚子等高檔年貨的民眾。
市府提醒,民眾購買年貨後,若想確定斤兩是否確實,可前往永樂市場廣場的服務台,利用公秤量測,為避免爭議,購買時最好以密封包裝。
北市府官員表示,以往年貨大街的消費爭議多半是民眾認為年貨不新鮮及年貨太貴,民眾購買前最好貨比三家。
(自由時報記者林相美)
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