Biz Scene: BIZ UNUSUAL

Coupon mania

Want the cheapest deal? All you need are discount coupons. And if you don't have them, help is at hand: Surf the Net to find out who have these, and buy it from them. The coupons range from those for restaurants and clothes to cosmetics and concerts. Some people are even making a neat bundle trading coupons online. Sandy, a seasoned coupon hunter, who began to look for coupons of restaurants and cafs two years ago to save money on dating, has now been appointed by her boss to purchase gifts for the company's clients with the help of coupons available online.

Shoe shining for college

A group of students in a college in Chongqing has set up 10 shoe-shining outlets in the campus. All the 53 students come from poor families and want to make money by shoe shining to pay their tuition fees. To help the students and encourage their entrepreneurship, the college has provided them with the sites and necessary equipment for free. Many teachers have even purchased membership cards and become their long-term customers to help boost their income. One of the students said he secured 400 yuan the very first day.

Rare inkstone

An inkstone is going for 11.66 million yuan in Chengdu, Sichuan Province. Shaped like an ellipse, the yellow-and-brown inkstone is 0.6 meters long and is decorated with pictures of ancient coins and a lizard. The stone's owner, Liu Kaijun, said it's Juque stone, a rare and precious material for inkstone, and was dug from the steppes along the Jinsha River. He said the pictures originated from a legendary story in the Three Kingdom period of ancient China.

Discount for singles

November 11, or "11.11", widely celebrated as bachelors' day, yet again provided the perfect platform for sales promotion as many online stores tried to cash in on the event. Taobao.com, the nation's largest online shopping mall, offered several discounts to singles over the weekend.

(China Daily 11/13/2007 page15)