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Not for Profit Center for Russian, Ukrainian & FSU Bride Info. > Russian Bride Forum: General Discussion Forums > Advanced Russian Bride Topics > Russian Women Shopping Mentalities… |
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Not for Profit Center for Russian, Ukrainian & FSU Bride Info. > Russian Bride Forum: General Discussion Forums > Advanced Russian Bride Topics > Russian Women Shopping Mentalities… |
| Moderated by: ronin1 |
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| Russian Women Shopping Mentalities… | Rate Topic |
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| Posted: Friday December 15th, 2006 07:08 am |
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1st Post |
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ronin1 Administrator 
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Russian Women Shopping Mentalities… If you haven’t gathered already, most RW are shrewd shoppers on their own turf. In an environment where the supply of funds are low and the supply of goods are ever fluctuating, RW reign supreme in their ability to purchase the best products at least cost. The trade-off is that shopping is a serious business that takes a considerable amount of time before a RW will decide to reluctantly part with her rubles. Most WM are not so discriminating with their purchases. Our Western environment is markedly different. We typically have considerable funds where both good and bad products are plentiful. The one thing that we often have is a shortage of is the time to consider our purchases. Consequently, we often make the most of our time by putting more of our efforts in the big-ticket items and services. So you want to marry a RW? There will be a clash in these shopping approaches. Bear in mind that it is the RW that is at the disadvantage since she will be on your stomping grounds. It is up to you to be considerate or bear the consequences. The first thing you may notice in the first months after she has arrived is that the stores have more than everything. For you these malls, mega-stores and shopping where houses are normal fair. To her it can be info overload. For her, soap is soap. In the West we have isles dedicated to soaps alone not to mention specialty stores just for soaps and their derivatives. We have near infinite variety while in Russia they have limited selections. So you may think that having more of a selection is good. Well it is if you know what you want. RW don’t. WM have developed their tastes and likenesses over their lifetime… from foods to sundry items. It was all trial and error. For RW it will be no different; however it will be a crash course for them. The first hurdle is to get past our Western product packaging. Many RW have less than perfect English. They may have little idea what is in a package. If they do no see the actual product they will want to open it. If she can see the product through the package she will still want to open it to taste or test the goods. No RW worth her shopping salt will buy a product sight unseen or not sampled. And how many products are there in soaps alone? If left to their own devices they will be at the store all day. This is where patience comes in to play from the WM. The next thing to consider are the stores you take her to. Perhaps you like to get your clothes at the upper scale stores. Your natural inclination would be to take her there to select the level of clothes you would feel comfortable with. However to most RW, they would have sticker shock at the prices for a dress or a pair of shoes. RW are looking for good quality merchandise at bargain prices. If you take them to Macys, Nordstrom’s or the like they may refuse to accept anything from there. Also, by taking tem to such outrageously priced stores will give a RW the idea that you are not wise with your money. Sure they would look great in expensive attire, but then again RW with their model figures and classic looks will look like they just came off the catwalk even if they are draped in a burlap sack. It’s better to start her off at the lower-end or outlet stores where they can do what they do best… sniff out the bargains. This way they will feel that they are contributing to the family by saving money and you can praise them for that. Stick close to her. Don’t wander off. Good RW are used to having their man approving or disapproving their choices. If an item costs too much (unlikely that will happen) or you don’t like what she has chosen, just say, “That’s expensive.” This is the same as saying, “No” with having to say no. Shopping with most RW can be counter-intuititive. If you go the western way and push her to spend money, she will not be a happy camper. She will think that her WM is a spend thrift and really start to question if she made the right choice. If you lose patience and rush her to making purchases, the result is also the same. Give her guidance and support. It will take some time, but once she gets the lay of the shopping land she will save more money than she spends. Ronin Last edited on Friday December 15th, 2006 07:18 am by ronin1 |
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| Posted: Friday December 15th, 2006 09:46 am |
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2nd Post |
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TrevorM Member
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Ronin, You really hit the nail on the head with this one! It's too much effort to quote every one of your points, they are all so true, but just to reinforce a couple of them. When I go shopping, I know what I want, go to a shop and buy it. A RW may think she knows what she wants, but she will will still spend (quite literally) hours comparing items in different shops and even in the same shop and will then say "Oh, I don't know. What do you think?" For WM taking a RW shopping, patience is not just a virtue, it is an absolute necessity. Best learn this early on or your head is likely to explode with sheer frustration! Thank goodness for Chinese manufacturing. A RW is as happy as anything in the outlets that sell cheap chinese manufactured underwear, where she can buy a whole wardrobe full of good quality stuff for peanuts. (My wallet heaves a sigh of relief). Trevor
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| Posted: Saturday December 16th, 2006 03:52 am |
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3rd Post |
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dwfunk Member 
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Enquiring minds would like to know how she will take Wal-Mart? Target? ------ David & Natalia Republic of Texas/ Moscow, Russia УЛ. КОНЕНКОВА 16th World Spacemodeling Championships
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| Posted: Saturday December 16th, 2006 04:44 am |
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4th Post |
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ronin1 Administrator
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Like a fish to water  . However it will be mostly housewares, crafts and supplies. For clothes, try outlet or clearance stores... anywhere good quality goods can be had at bargain basement prices. Most popular are stores like Ross. Initially, my wife wouldn't buy dresses for over $10 or a skirt over $3. Her first dress was a steal at $8 and she looks gorgeous in it. Her first skirts were in the $2 range. I really got her respect when I dug up a pair of size 2 fully lined skirts for 50 cent each! She couldn't believe the combination of quality for almost a throw away price. =========================
Thanks for reminding me of this important point. Indeed, RW will agonize over deciding which product is best. And when they decide, that is only the half of it. Then they will scour all the stores in the area to find the best price! This will be very frustrating to the WM since he may initially spend a day and a tank of gas to knock off 20 cents from a can of cleanser. Just chaulk up the expense to RW education costs. Ronin
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| Posted: Thursday January 4th, 2007 03:22 am |
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5th Post |
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dwfunk Member
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Another question in regards to 'extreme bargain' shopping, how do they take to "coupon" shopping? Do they adopt it at all? in any form? Just returned from a Holiday trip to Idaho to see my folks and siblings. While there, I was reminded about how extensively my mom utilizes coupons. She also scours the sales papers and will write you a shopping list of items to get along with the appropriate coupons and from which store. She also 'routes' the stores on the list! ------ David & Natalia Republic of Texas/ Moscow, Russia УЛ. КОНЕНКОВА 16th World Spacemodeling Championships
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| Posted: Friday January 5th, 2007 06:49 am |
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6th Post |
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ronin1 Administrator
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dwfunk, To my knowledge there isn't magazine or newspaper coupons used in Russia. They have things like special 'development free' coupons attached to film when you purchase them from photo shops. They also have discount cards from large retail firms. Do RW work well with coupons? Like a duck to water!!! Whatever it takes to get the best price... they will adjust to it. This is one of many ways they can earn their keep without going to work. The down-side is that once they get coupon fever you maybe have tospend a lot of time carting them to the stores all the time.  Ronin
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| Posted: Wednesday January 10th, 2007 03:41 am |
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7th Post |
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ronin1 Administrator
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Hunting for a Vacuum Saga… On the subject of RW shopping, we have found ourselves short of a vacuum cleaner. It was a slow death over a month or two, but the writing was on the wall that there was no phoenix in this demise. The old upright has seen its last days. This was another opportunity for my wife to go on the hunt for a vacuum cleaner to her own liking. For a month and a half we ended up scouring every store in a 20-mile radius for a suitable replacement that would fill a RW’s stringent requirements. The first requirement is that it had to be a canister model like what most RW are used to owning. Those small Russian flats are cramped with little area to move around so uprights are pretty useless in comparison to the versatility of a canister. But versatility means more cost. Well, my wife will have to live with it so I figured that it would be worth the extra cost. Soon my wife had me looking at items costing one grand and more! I started out looking for a simple cleaning utensil and now I was feeling like I was going to make an investment. One of the salesmen touting the one grand plus machines was relating how little the vacuum cost in comparison to my house! Now that was strange thinking that plastic is worth more than one hundred dollars a pound. Soon afterwards I realized that this running around was just a dry run. Just kicking the tires from my wife to decide which was the best for her. She finally settled on a reasonably priced Swedish model but at half a grand I could still feel a big pinch in my wallet. Well, here again my wife was just starting. Now was the search for finding the best price. By now it was after Christmas and we had to repeat our travels. Finding this model was difficult because we soon found that it was being discontinued to make way for the new models. Eventually, she found what she was looking for. The best model at a 60% discount. It was a lot of work for me carting her everywhere, but now it is her machine and her pride and joy. She beams when she uses it... so much so that if I would had known, I would have bought it years ago. Talk about simple pleasures. Ronin
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| Posted: Monday January 15th, 2007 08:48 pm |
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8th Post |
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dwfunk Member
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I was shopping this weekend for tools, didn't buy yet, but made a stop at one of my favorite tool "sources," a pawn shop. So, this brings up another enquiring question along the lines of 'ultimate bargain' hunting, how might I expect my lady to take to pawn shops? ------ David & Natalia Republic of Texas/ Moscow, Russia УЛ. КОНЕНКОВА 16th World Spacemodeling Championships
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| Posted: Tuesday January 16th, 2007 06:11 am |
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9th Post |
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ronin1 Administrator
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dwfunk, It depends. They have pawn shops in Russia as well, however most utilize this shop as advertised and will retrieve their belongings. Perhaps I can shed some light by talking about the secondhand market in general. Russia has second hand stores. It is somewhat similar to goodwill. The products are always from other countries. I suspect they are from charitable organizations around the world. Of course such valuable commodities are not given away freely in Russia, though the prices are reasonable... such as selling clothes by the kilo. They also have consignment stores (transliteration is 'commission strore') where individuals can sell their slighty used goods. It can be as little as a cup or trinket. These stores were very popular in communism days. The stores where good size and where always packed. Now they are not so popular, however it's popularity probably varies by region. So for those RW that have spent much of their life before the walls came down, secondhand goods could be just a normal way of life and if so, those ingrained ways are hard to change. Ronin Last edited on Tuesday January 16th, 2007 06:14 am by ronin1 |
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