"No buy, no try."

I was walking along the streets of Monkok, enjoying my stuffed bread and a couple of takoyaki when I came across one of the area's small camera shops.

I looked at one of the windows and saw a Nikon SB-600 flash gun. Since I was planning to buy one in Manila, I got curious on how much does it cost as compared to Hidalgo shops.

I went inside and the place was a photographer's haven! Products range from camera bodies to battery grips.

Walking along the streets.

An old guy who appeared to be the owner of the shop approached me and asked if I needed any help. Since he didn't speak much English, I asked how much for the flash gun while pointing at it:

Me: How much for the SB-600?
Seller: No! No! It's Chinese, come, you should use this one.

I got confused, a Nikon flash made in China? He led me to the counter and brought out a small green box where he took out a cheap-branded flash gun:

Seller: This one, better, give me your camera, i will attach.
Me: Is it ok? I don't have batteries.
Seller: I have batteries, wait.

I was beginning to get suspicious, why would he sell me a cheap flash gun and not a dedicated Nikon SB-600?

As he was reaching for freshly packed batteries, I blurted out:

Me: Look, I'm not gonna buy this okay? I just wanna try it on.

He ignored me and he just continued to unpack the flash gun. I suddenly got alarmed when he was about to rip out the batteries' plastic wrapper. I will definitely pay for it if he continues to open it so I explained again:

Me: Wait, wait, I'm not gonna buy this ok? I'll just try it on.
Seller: What?
Me: I'm not gonna buy the flash, I just wanna try it.
Seller: Oh no no, no buy, no try.
Me: Whew, ok thanks.

That was close. I almost purchased a knockoff flash gun and I only had a couple of dollars in my wallet at that time. Imagine what would happen if I got forcibly ripped off that time.

Two things had happened: First, we misunderstood each other. Most of the sellers in Hong Kong has this "you point, you pay" attitude. They always assume that you will surely buy a product even if you are only asking for its price. And in my part, I thought he just wanted to try the flash on my camera.

What a crafty seller...