I went to the Xiang Yang market again to buy shoes for the U.S. trip. It is said the temperature of Chicago may drops to -30°C when I arrive there. Oh. I have to be serious for this because I have never been to any place that is so cold. I went around the Xiang Yang market for several rounds before I found a parking lot. It was too crowded and I have to very careful about the cars rushing by and the bikes and passengers. I LOL when I saw a foreigner hide himself behind a large bus and extended his head out to see if it is safe to go, and they jumped out and rushed to the other side of the street. It seemed he was a solider fighting with his enemy in the WWII. He is so funny. Of cause he was scared about going crossing the street. I finally parked my car at 10 RMB for two hours.
The Deal
I never really know bargain in the market. I bought a pair of shoes at 230 RMB. It was labeled Camel. I believe it is fake, but I am not sure.
I have to admit that I don’t know whether the goods in the market are real or not. Maybe they are off similar quality of the real goods, or even from the same manufacture (in case of OEM), but not authorized to use the brands. That is the reason why it is so cheap.
40 Brands Forbidden
At the entrance of the Xiang Yang Market (the entrance near the Huai Hai Road and Xiang Road), there is a notice board. On the boards, the market administration announced according to blah-blah regulation, “selling fake goods of the following 40 brands are forbidden”. Louis Vuitton, and Vacheron Constantin are on the list. In the market, products labeled as Northface, Camel, Nike are displayed everywhere, but non one dare to put on a L.V. bag or Vacheron Constantin watch. I don’t understand why there are differences. Wendy guessed maybe they don’t have a China office yet.
Ironically, when I was reading the notice, as every other minute, the vender approached me and asked me if I am interested in their watches and bags. He was really humorous to open the conversation this way: “Hey. Don’t waste time reading this notice. It is my catalog. Everything that is not forbidden to sell in this market can be found in my store. Why not go and have a look?” Interesting, but why?
Tennis
I had the other two tennis lesson tonight. I completed my fore hand course and started to learn back hand. Mrs. Liu, my tutor is a very nice one. I would like to recommend her to new learners.
Dont worry too much about the cold in Chicago. Buildings in America are heated MUCH better than buildings in China. And most of your walking will be on cleared sidewalks anyway. Just make sure you have a good jacket in case the Chicago winds blow. Also, a good pair of thinsulate gloves will make your stay more pleasant. Dont bother visiting Chinatown in Chicago. There is nothing special there. Oh, be sure to stop at a Seattle’s Best Coffee. In my opinion, it is much better than a Starbucks.
I’m one of your web blog’s hidden fan. I went to Xiang Yang a couple months ago. I bought Le Coq Sportif sneakers for 100 rmb, ofcourse the first price I was told was around 240 rmb. After the deal, the Chinese man was coming to buy the same style as mine. And he paid 130 for it!
People always advice me to bargain when buying stuff from the Chinese. I was a bit surprised as even local people got a higher rate compared to a foreigner as me. :)
Anyway, Shanghai is a very charming metropolitan city. I’ll be back soon.
I was looking to buy some bootleg name-brand hiking/walking shoes but couldn’t find them in bigger than size 8. I ended up buying “Bright Ox” for 240rmb from one of those many shoe shops on north Sichuan Lu, which turned out to be very comfy, well made and (so far) robust.
I bought a nice LV bag for Xiuying at Shenyang airport for 360RMB.
The quality seems very good (I checked of course).
Inside was a tag with “Louis Vuitton – Paris – Made in France”, but the retailer told me that it was from Hongkong.
Anyway, she’s happy about it !
I recently bought a new design of a Northface girl’s jacket for 130 RMB at Xiangyang, first price at 460RMB.
And I have bought a Northface winter duvet jacket for 105RMB, first price at 450RMB.
Be hard on them ! Ask several places for the same thing, and see how low they are willing to go, before they give up running after you !
Big shoes are a problem at Xiangyang.
Beware of DVD – CD – Rolex” guys, they want to show you their goods in remote places where noone knows what’s going on.
Just look stiff forward and keep saying “bu-yau-la” !
Keep your wallet and mobile phone inside the jacket, closed. There are many people, and you will ignore the pushing people after a while, thus being more uncautious.
Agree with Carsten. Depending on what you buy at the market I fould I ended up paying about 25% of the asking price. One childrens GAP turtleneck I wanted was first quoted at RMB 120. In the end I bought 2 for 60 RMB.
Walking away from the shop also works. Make an offer and if they do not like it just walk away. If they really want to sell it to you they will call you back. If they don’t, at least you probably know that your price was too low. Good info for your next try at another shop.
By the way, the LV bag would not have come from HK. Just about nothing is made in HK any more. It most likely would have been made in China.
G
hehe I’m like that guy. So scared of crossing the road here. It’s so different from my country.
I have an ancle in Tai Wan who like montblanc very much. For a exactly same M pen marked 2000 RMB in offical shop, the reseller in Xiang Yang market ask for 20 RMB. Obviously, it’s fake. And finally, my ancle got it with only 4 RMB. I cannot see a difference … really nice.
I don’t know how to bargain as well, that’s why when I bought a winter coat in Xiang Yang Market, I still paid much for it, though it was nice. I usually shop at Qipu Road Fashion Market, with Chinese work colleagues as they know how to bargain. The stuff here are really cheap and nice (if you know how to look at the quality). Most people who shop here, however, are locals, so it’s better to bring someone who can speak and understand Chinese. Also, expect this place to be so crowded on weekends. By the way, they’re only open up to 6pm everyday.
Carsten,
Perhaps you should consider to give the authentic made soft goods and apparel to your girlfriend Xiuying and maybe she’ll treated you with “authentic” sentiment………..just a joke!
Wish to remind you X’mas is just at the corner.
Stephen
Mr. Wang,
Avoid wearing shoes with lining in North Amerca, unless you are prepared to hike the tundra, otherwise you may receive the athletic foot due to intense sweating when you pace the mall. Also avoid wearing any shoes with leather sole as it may slip.
Stephen
Stephen, the brand names are not worth the huge difference in price. And she knows.
Oh, I bought a videocam in Hualian on Nanjingdonglu, the camera on display was “made in Japan” as it said on the bottom label.
When I came home, the camera said “Made in China”.
I went back for a real japanese camera, and they wanted me to pay 800RMB more !
After a hefty dispute, I got the japanese camera, but the guarantee could only be claimed in Hualian then… Weird !
Here’s a warning for foreigners who buy branded things in China :
The guarantee ONLY covers inside China ! NO international guarantee.
Beware the customs regulations of your home country – there is usually a highest limit how much you can take to your country before you have to pay tax etc.
If you live in the EU, goods purchased outside EU have this limit and will be taxed at arrival (if they find it). After smuggling it in, you cannot take it out of your country again, because the risk of getting caught will be the same next time you enters your home country.
So, consider if it’s really worth it to buy it in China or other “cheaper” countries.
The guarantee for things pruchased inside EU is up to 2 years now, so why risk it ?
Carsten,
I guess you are not a marketing guy.
A homogeneous product are marketed and sold all over the world at the affordability of that market segment and not according to the cost. Product brought from other segment cannot enjoy the same after sale service in order to stop parallel import.
Some famous brand names would even allow countfeit to flood the particular market segment in order to gain free promotion and they always know when stop the infringement and regain the authentic product market. Xiang Yang market is actually helping the famous brand names to promote their products. If you are interested, look to LVMH.com how they market their products and gain hefty profit worldwide.
Stephen
Carsten, the web should be lvmh.fr
My work office is near this market, however, I never went there buy anything. And most of buyers there are foreigners, but why?
hellow,
I read your blog and felt interested in what your mentioned about tennis. I am starting my tennis training now and really looking for help on finding a good trainner and playmates in metro-chicago area. Would you like to give a hand? My email is : duckheadbbs@yahoo.com
Thanks
Will
just found your blog.Is there another market as good Xiang Yang Market.Have not been to Shanghai but,when I do go it was one of the places I was going to shop
There is one called Qipu Road Marketing. It is north of the Suzhou Creek, near Henan Road. It is not as good as Xiang Yang Market. The goods are cheaper, but lower quality.
I am coming to Shanghai next week and have visited Xiang Yang market numerous times over the years but had heard it has been closed. Is that true? If so, where should I go instead?
im currently here in china and will be going back home later and i went to xiang yang on june 29 2006. a day before it was closed. evrything was so cheap. i mean, i bought fake wallets for, guess what… 3 for 10 rmb!!! imagine that! i also bought a lot of shirts that has Shanghai prints for 10rmb each! other things i bought was, chopstix set of 5 for 15rmb, small luggage 90rmb, neck ties 5rmb, and a lot of small stuffs on the 2rmb store ( counterpart of $.99 store in the US) too bad its closing already…
hello , if it possible ı want to learn email or new adress xiang yang markets passage shop at 51.. they was sell bags.
thanks
Hiii every 1.. what ever is mentioned here is all true.. I am from India. My job takes me several time to shanghai.. This months too i’ll have to go twice… only 1 tip i would like to give to all who are interested in buying from shanghai.. And that is if u liked some stuff worth 500 yuan u start bargaining from 40 to 50 yuan. I roamed a lot to science and technology museum center.. After getting an idea about the market price and their marketing strategy i came to know that they mostly follow this policy which is as follows.. I saw a product which they said initially for 340 yuan.. i bought the same at 40 yuan leaving 300 yuan behind..But i first i gave my price as 30 yuan..If you’ll get at 30 then thats the best deal or now you know that they will not give you less then 40yuan. But i would suggest u before quoting any price try to convert your final price to your home country.. it should be as same as you are buying close substitute from your home country…
I have heard a lot about xiang yang market but never been so this time i am planning to go their for sure.. can any 1 tell me where it is and how to go their.. I will be put up at “grand metro park jiayou hotel” pudong..You can contact me at mulla_i@rediffmail.com.. Thank u.
@Ismail, Xiangyang Market has been closed for many years, and you will find the whole story under the Xiang Yang Market section of this blog.