triptastic

Could someone suggest to me where I can find the best quality replica bags? I bought some in Shanghai that were exact copies and would like to find some in Beijing. The usual markets all seem to have junky knock offs. Please advise. Thanks

Allan38103

You get what you pay for

I'm reminded of the fellow who saw a knock off Rolex, asking $48, and so proud of himself that he was able talk the seller down to only $12

He dprobably ended up paying $11 too much

Braindrain

A replica is a replica. Tons of guides on the web stating there is no such thing as "AA" or "AAA". If you want the best quality, go buy it from a boutique.

jiejie

These places exist in Beijing, but they are do not advertise their existence, and do not sell goods of this quality in the markets. You can only access them by knowing the right people, or friend-of-friend situation, in order to get an invite to view the goods and purchase. In summary, it's unlikely you will be able to tap into this circle.

Realistic choices are 1) buy the real thing; 2) choose a replica from what you see in markets for this sort of thing; 3) buy nothing at all. My personal preference is #3.

Jiatong

The 2nd floor, north west corner, of 'Lady street' market has the 'genuine imitation' bags, its just above the knock off apple phone area....

I actually like the flower market in this building !.

triptastic

Thank you, I will check it out.

anacapamalibu

Foreigners traveling to China buy counterfeit luxury goods.
Chinese traveling to foreign countries buy genuine luxury brands.

Who's got money?

You can make a connection at any counterfeit shopping center
to get the high grade goods. Best to have knowledge of
the product...some are virtually identical, especially those
that are made in China, ie: COACH.

jiejie

The issue there is that if you just try to make the contact yourself, that you may be assumed to be an IP enforcement officer from the company, under the guise of a shopper. (Yes, foreign companies do have staff in the field making the rounds and they are especially concerned about the high quality fakes vs the market crap, so they can do traceback to the source.)

anacapamalibu

They are not going to necessarily direct you to their source.
But they should have the Japanese books with every luxury brand's
current offerings. Pick out an item that you want and they will
deliver in a short time and you can check quality. If you have
good knowledge of the product you can detect the errors
quickly.

trueblu

Rather OT to this discussion: I don't like fakes, and don't buy them. However, I can't seem to find decent quality non-fake items (i.e. unbranded).

Let's say my wife wants to buy a new, chic, handbag. Options: a) buy a designer bag for say, $1000, b) buy cheap knock-off for $50 -- but this will fall apart within a week, and looks terrible, c) buy good quality fake for $150 (I'm guessing). (b) and (c) don't appeal.

Can one buy a good quality unbranded non-fake for $150 -- i.e. with decent craftsmanship and materials, but no fake logos? Surely if (c) exists, the skills exist to have something decent that doesn't have a brand associated with it.

I guess the problem is that Chinese have become so brand concious, as opposed to style concious, that if there isn't a logo, it's not worth paying decent money for it...

tb

anacapamalibu

Have seen a good selection of, nice style and quality, bags in
Shanghai boutique stores around Changle Lu area. Non-fake,
private label designs. Price 80USD to 200USD.

trueblu

Good to know these things exist. Luckily, my wife doesn't have a handbag fetish, so that was just an example, but generally speaking, I have found it hard to find decent quality non-label non-fake merchandise.

tb

anacapamalibu

Can find this in Shanghai.. Shaanxi Lu/Xinle Lu/Changle Lu area. Size and
cut of garments mainly for thin figure.

jiejie

I also do not buy fakes and don't give a rosy rat's @ss if people look down upon me for having no designer items or "designer" items. When I need something good quality at a reasonable price, I go to a middle-class or upper-middle class department store like Landao (Blue Island) and look for a solid Chinese brand. These won't be market cheap, but are usually built solidly and can be good value especially if a sale is going on. I've bought coats, purses, and household goods there that several years on, are still going strong. Not sure who's out in Haidian that is similar to a Landao, but bound to be something. You have a Parkson's out there? Places like Ritan Office Building (actually a collection of boutique stores near the south gate of Ritan Park) can have nice quality things at mid-range prices, and are more "chic" than the department stores. All these sorts of places don't bargain as per the markets, but if buying several items, it's always OK to ask if there are any "special discounts" going on that day.

ETA: corrected the typo as pointed out by moondog. At least I got the second reference right! Lanbao is a residential/business complex in a different location-not where you want to go!

trueblu

Useful and good to know. Not familiar with the stores you mention, but I've almost stopped looking for signs in English, so perhaps don't even notice if they are there. My wife is looking forward to a visit to the US, and I think she's going there with an empty suitcase to fill up...

However, for myself: I like well-crafted/made goods. My (perhaps incorrect) reasoning, is that since labour is cheaper here, things that are expensive in the west (i.e. handmade) should be less expensive here, other things (e.g. raw materials) being equal. A good example is truly bespoke suits. But even here, I've heard one really needs to look out for fake quality/brand cloth etc, and that quality isn't that great in the craftsmanship (not tried it out yet myself). But having said that, if one finds a tailor one likes, should get a decent suit for well under half the price of UK. But that is still no Yaxiou bargain.

tb