A Traveler’s Shopping Guide to Hong Kong
Sep 01, 2011
Travelers on low fares to Hong Kong often come for the exciting shopping experience of Hong Kong’s market places. Though you are bound to find a bargain just about anywhere you shop, shopping in Hong Kong versus the United States is not your atypical shopping experience. Before heading to the market to spend the money you saved on cheap plane fares, consider some of the Hong Kong shopping basics.
Price Comparisons
Bargain shoppers are a little jumbled when they start reading price tags in Hong Kong. Since the conversion rate can be difficult, not only understand the dollar conversion, but compare the price of a product in Hong Kong with what it would cost you in the United States. Many bargain shoppers arriving on cheap plane tickets are astounded to see that the prices in Hong Kong are significantly more than the United States.
Bargain for the Deal
Unlike stores in the United States, Hong Kong marketplaces are willing to wheel and deal with travelers and locals alike. Negotiate better deals on products like clothes, jewelry or even electronics to pair up with the savings you earned on cheap flights to Hong Kong. You should always be able to haggle at least 30 percent off the item’s price in Hong Kong.
Know What You are Buying
Unless you are fluent in Chinese, you most likely will not understand every tag you read. Therefore, bring along a dictionary or someone who does speak Chinese when you are talking with the vendors or reading price tags. This will safeguard you against coming home on cheap plane tickets with products you did not want.
Shop Carefully
The Hong Kong Tourism Board has safeguarded tourists shopping for bargains to pair with their low fares. Visit their website for a list of current approved shopping locations listed under the Quality Control Scheme Plan. If you are looking to bargain to save even more with your cheap plane fares, however, these are not the shops to see, since they do not bargain.
Bootlegs
Though a savvy shopper on cheap flights to Hong Kong can snag up some great deals, there are a lot of illegal and bootleg products floating on the shopping streets of Hong Kong’s marketplace. Therefore, make sure the product you are looking at is authentic and not a knock off or illegal product. Since majority of the illegal products are sold by some of Hong Kong’s most lethal gangs, it is best to avoid these products at all costs.