Mrs Razz wants to go on a little shopping spree...oops...I mean holiday...in a few months and is particularly keen on acquiring a few new designer handbags
With me not being a multi-millionaire she's been looking at buying some "gently used" one's at shops in Hong Kong and Japan.
I think the one in HK is called Milan Station? In Japan, Brandoff? There are other places but these are the one's I remember...
Are they the real mccoy in these shops? And more importantly...are they cheap?
It won't be much if a trip but you can pick up very nice and very cheap designer bags easily at the border marker (Rom Klua) in Aranyaprathet.
They may be good copies or they may be "irregulars" (rejected by the factory for some small flaw not readily apparaent), either way they look and feel like the real thing.
I bought a large leather Chanel bag there for 500 baht.
For what it's worth, I made it a point to compare the cheap fake handbags and wallets (Luis Vuitton) I obtained in Thailand with the genuine article in the States...the fake ones are pretty accurate, and it is very difficult to spot the difference.
It won't be much if a trip but you can pick up very nice and very cheap designer bags easily at the border marker (Rom Klua) in Aranyaprathet.
They may be good copies or they may be "irregulars" (rejected by the factory for some small flaw not readily apparaent), either way they look and feel like the real thing.
I bought a large leather Chanel bag there for 500 baht.
For what it's worth, I made it a point to compare the cheap fake handbags and wallets (Luis Vuitton) I obtained in Thailand with the genuine article in the States...the fake ones are pretty accurate, and it is very difficult to spot the difference.
Unfortunately my wife has worked in retail for many years and she can tell!
To me the main difference is quality and "feel" of the leather/canvas.
There are other obvious pointers - stitching, alignment of brand logos, quality of brassware, hot stamping, batch code/serial numbers etc etc.
95% of fakes even I can spot straight away
Plus I'm not really into funding organised crime/terrorism
MiG is not 16. just a very sophisticated intelligent robot
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7,186 posts
Posted 2012-01-02 15:01:48
Fakes are violation of intellectual propert rights. I'll give you that
But organised crime and terrorism? Aren't you stretching it a tad far? Or is that more to the story we should be aware of?
By the way there's a shop in mbk centre that seem to sell (and buy) second hand bags
(personally I don't care to much about these supposed 'designer' stuff. Why would I wanna pay 40k or whatever it cost so I can help them advertise their brands? Cos that's what most of these designs do - plaster their logos all over the bags!!)
I admit, I dislike the designer brands for that very reason miggie, when the entire design of the bag is covered in their logo, well, not my style is all.
Afraid I can't help you with HK shopping, I would recommend to your wife that if its that important to get a designer bag that she ask when she gets there, or suck it up and pay retail prices, at least that way she knows she's getting the real thing.
I was out wth my family yesterday and we ended up on Peking Road , Kowloon , HK . There were numerous shops selling handbags with price tags at 160000 HK$(x 4 for bhat equivalent) and so on . I was quite surprised as some of the shops had a certain bargain basement look to them . I am not sure who their customer base is but I also noticed the big shops such as LV had a door policy allowing only a few in at a time . The place was heaving with jollie shoppers .
Fakes are violation of intellectual propert rights. I'll give you that
But organised crime and terrorism? Aren't you stretching it a tad far? Or is that more to the story we should be aware of?
By the way there's a shop in mbk centre that seem to sell (and buy) second hand bags
(personally I don't care to much about these supposed 'designer' stuff. Why would I wanna pay 40k or whatever it cost so I can help them advertise their brands? Cos that's what most of these designs do - plaster their logos all over the bags!!)
I just don't like to waste my money on overpriced designer labels. I don't consider that necessarily fashionista, but if you do, thats great and if it makes your wife happy then why not?
I just don't like to waste my money on overpriced designer labels. I don't consider that necessarily fashionista, but if you do, thats great and if it makes your wife happy then why not?
Exactly
It's like the difference between a mini and a merc...they both still get you to the same place.
For what it's worth, I made it a point to compare the cheap fake handbags and wallets (Luis Vuitton) I obtained in Thailand with the genuine article in the States...the fake ones are pretty accurate, and it is very difficult to spot the difference.
Unfortunately my wife has worked in retail for many years and she can tell!
To me the main difference is quality and "feel" of the leather/canvas.
There are other obvious pointers - stitching, alignment of brand logos, quality of brassware, hot stamping, batch code/serial numbers etc etc.
95% of fakes even I can spot straight away
Plus I'm not really into funding organised crime/terrorism
RAZZ
As mentioned, those at Rom Klua may not be fakes. They may be "irregulars" or even "diverted" merchandise..given that many designer labels are manufactured in Cambodia.
All I can say is that I can't see the difference (granted, that doesn't mean much) and apparently neither can the many middle/upper middle class Thai ladies who flock there to buy these things....and any difference there may be, is going to be equally so anywhere else if on the cheap.
BTW the exact same Chanel bag I bought for 500 baht in Rom Klua is being hawked by sidewalk venders in NYC for $80 (the type who sell stuff out of suitcases they fold up and run away with at the sight of the cops)...so there is a considerable price difference within the world of faux/irregular/stolen designer goods.
But certainly no one would advertise Rom Klua/Aran as a vacation spot.
If your wife cares deeply about the thing being an authentic brand (even if it is impossible to tell from its look or feel) then she is not going to be satisfied with any inexpensive option, because she knows that, unless stolen, these have to be either fake or in some way irregular.
As mentioned, those at Rom Klua may not be fakes. They may be "irregulars" or even "diverted" merchandise..given that many designer labels are manufactured in Cambodia.
All I can say is that I can't see the difference (granted, that doesn't mean much) and apparently neither can the many middle/upper middle class Thai ladies who flock there to buy these things....and any difference there may be, is going to be equally so anywhere else if on the cheap.
BTW the exact same Chanel bag I bought for 500 baht in Rom Klua is being hawked by sidewalk venders in NYC for $80 (the type who sell stuff out of suitcases they fold up and run away with at the sight of the cops)...so there is a considerable price difference within the world of faux/irregular/stolen designer goods.
But certainly no one would advertise Rom Klua/Aran as a vacation spot.
If your wife cares deeply about the thing being an authentic brand (even if it is impossible to tell from its look or feel) then she is not going to be satisfied with any inexpensive option, because she knows that, unless stolen, these have to be either fake or in some way irregular.
I don't know any "designer" labels made in Cambodia. (I don't count North Face, Nike etc) - They're fake.
Chanel handbags are made in France or Italy. Louis Vuitton bags are made in France, Spain and the USA (and I believe some collections are made in Germany for technical reasons). However, a few Longchamp bags are made in China.
Whether any other designer bags are made or have "parts" made in China and are then assembled in other countries I'm not sure...
If you've ever felt a fake side-by-side with a "Real" handbag, like I said 95% of the time it's easy to spot...not so easy when you look at one on it's own.
Depends on where you are willing to go. I have found Shanghai to be great, they have a four story mall full of stuff, clothes, handbags, watches, etc, etc, etc. I brought back some coach, prada, lv bags back for friends and many people would swear that they are real. Be prepared to bargain. Among expats it is known as the "Fakes Market."
Depends on where you are willing to go. I have found Shanghai to be great, they have a four story mall full of stuff, clothes, handbags, watches, etc, etc, etc. I brought back some coach, prada, lv bags back for friends and many people would swear that they are real. Be prepared to bargain. Among expats it is known as the "Fakes Market."
Thanks for that. But we're not interested in buying fakes
Milan Station in HK sells only real stuff, both new and used. I buy Hermes Birkin bags (new) for my girlfriend there from time to time and for that you have to pay more because it's impossible to order them now in Hermes stores (some stores in some countries will still take your order but there's gonna be a lot of waiting...a year or two for sure).
I have no experience with other brands but you can check it out when you get there and compare their prices with what you'd pay at home.
In mainland China it's still 30-40% more expensive then in HK so I wouldn't go to China on a shopping trip...HK used to be cheaper too but since a lot of mainlanders are now buying stuff in HK they are charging more...
Milan Station has several locations around HK, the most convenient place to go is Tsim Sha Tsui where there are 3 stores pretty close to each other.
Hello Mr. & Mrs. Razz, I'm absolutely addicted to Coach bags. Being there's only one outlet in Bangkok for these and - because they're imports - the bags are even more expensive than buying them in the States. So I've simply been shopping on eBay. I can spend hours searching for the exact bag I want, and then have fun shopping for matching wallets, passport covers, sunglass cases, you name it! New, used, it's all there to choose from, and a lot cheaper. Only downside is that not all sellers will ship international. For me it's no problem, because I have someone in the States receive packages for me and then forward them on to me. Expensive habit, but I love it! Just wanted to mention that as an alternative. It's hard finding the accessories I want here otherwise. WaatWang
It won't be much if a trip but you can pick up very nice and very cheap designer bags easily at the border marker (Rom Klua) in Aranyaprathet.
They may be good copies or they may be "irregulars" (rejected by the factory for some small flaw not readily apparaent), either way they look and feel like the real thing.
I bought a large leather Chanel bag there for 500 baht.
But not much of a vacation spot!
Do you actually believe you bought a large leather authentic "Chanel" bag for 500 baht? Really??
Fakes are violation of intellectual propert rights. I'll give you that
But organised crime and terrorism? Aren't you stretching it a tad far? Or is that more to the story we should be aware of?
By the way there's a shop in mbk centre that seem to sell (and buy) second hand bags
(personally I don't care to much about these supposed 'designer' stuff. Why would I wanna pay 40k or whatever it cost so I can help them advertise their brands? Cos that's what most of these designs do - plaster their logos all over the bags!!)
Anything and everything seems to be blamed as "terrorist" these days. Many governments are doing a great job keeping people in fear so they will willingly give up their freedom and civil rights. This has esp. worked well in USA.
But to the bags .... You can be assured that organized crime is very involved in the manufacture and distribution of counterfeit goods. In spite of these goods being cheap, it still takes big money to set up and run the manufacturing and distribution operation.
I just don't like to waste my money on overpriced designer labels. I don't consider that necessarily fashionista, but if you do, thats great and if it makes your wife happy then why not?
Exactly
It's like the difference between a mini and a merc...they both still get you to the same place.
RAZZ
While I agree that Chanel and Louis Viton bags are way over priced, I must admit this: I bought my girlfriend a genuine LV bag and was very impressed by its extremely high quality leather, brass hardware and craftsmanship. And after five years of continues use the leather has taken on a character that makes the bag look even better than when it was brand new ... and with proper care that bag will be nice and functional for many years to come. Unfortunately it's very difficult to find bags of this quality at a reasonable price, but I have seen such in Argentina and Spain. But even there, a bag of LV quality will cost you several hundred dollars, although that's much cheaper than LV.
For certain items, I don't mind paying a high price for very high quality material and function, and great design style .... in fact, I rather like it. However, I think it's silly to pay hundreds or thousands extra just for the name and logo. So maybe I was silly to buy my Thai girlfriend the LV bag, but it was worth it just to see her face when she opened the present and realized what it was.
its all a matter of taste and priority. I like to change out bags, get bored with one bag after awhile. For me, I'd rather spend my money on a new tablet or top of the line phone (geek woman) than a bag I will get bored with in a few months.
Different women want different things, doesn't make one right or the other wrong, just means we have different priorities, amazingly enough, we aren't all exactly the same
Hope Mrs. Razz finds the bag she is looking for, Razzell, but then the hunt is also part of the fun
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