The devil wears Prada made in China.

Aaahh, the mysterious East, the homeland of Confucius, Shaolin monastery and Beijing 2008 Olympics. 🙂 Yep, the guys have a lot of stuff to be proud of. Including myself, who was born in Beijing. 🙂 But perhaps the most popular thing about that country is the gazillions of Chinese merchandise that can be found in any corner of the world. Even if the label says “Made in Italy” or “Made in France” it is not a guarantee that it’s not actually made in China. 🙂

The world is packed with fake Chinese Guccis, Calvin Kleins, Chanels and Rolexes. But once you visit any Beijing market you will see that fake brands usually fall into 2 categroies: actually “fake” and the so called “imitations”. For instance, a fake Prada bag will probably be made of some cheap leather-like material, have a bad zipper, stuck up threads and will smell like hell. Whereas an “imitation” Prada may look 100% real and it will take a super duper expert to “expose the deception”. An honest Chinese merchant (if there are any) will even admit that he’s selling “imitations” and might pull out a “real” fake thing for you to compare.

Imitations can be quite expensive and don’t be surprised if the salesman won’t agree to sell a “Gucci” bag for less than $ 100. But here’s a couple of bargain tips:

1. Whatever the price is (talking about markets here, there’s no bargaining at department stores), always cut it by at least 3 times. The merchant will often start laughing which means you should go up a bit. If it’s still a “no” and especially if you’re not crazy about the thing, simply turn around and walk away. In 90% of all cases you will be stopped by his plaintive “Hallo?” and “OK, OK!”
2. If your friends asked you to bring back 10 imitated Rolexes, don’t buy them all at once. The main reason is that a “wholesale package” will give the guy (ot the girl) more chances to cheat you and convince you that $ 1000 is more than a reasonable price for 10 almost real Rolexes.
3. If you are looking for something in particular, it’s good to have a picture of what you are looking for. Rumour has it that in China they can produce an exact copy of anything you show them in less than 24 hours.

And finally, here’s a virtual tour to the “shrine” of Chinese manufacturing. I was asked to bring back a Louis Vuitton bag from Beijing and had its picture with me. The sales girl didn’t have the right bag on the spot, so she invited me to follow her to the “warehouse”. When I saw a huge dirty barn in the heart of a Beijing “ghetto” filled with world famous brands I lost all faith in glamour, luxury and the rest of the “Sex and the city” system of values. 🙂 No regrets at all.