On Oahu in Hawaii we have a Chinatown. Chinatown has foods, fresh vegetables, fruits and household wares. You can find almost everything in Chinatown. Many prices are very inexpensive in Chinatown. The aroma of delicacies cooking, to lighters 3/$1 or ethnic food can be found at Chinatown. Many vegetables are lots cheaper than supermarkets, such as long purple eggplants sells for 2.29 at supermarkets, but at Chinatown they are a dollar cheaper. Chinatown is easy to go to on the bus too. Do you have a Chinatown and do you go shopping there to save money?
The deal presented here seem pretty good to me for someone looking to save a few money while making purchases of some goods and services. Unfortunately, here we don't have China Town services but there are great shopping outlets and malls that offers good prices for goods and products at a discounted rates. Shopping mall like Shoprite in Nigeria, offers a good discount on goods and items purchased from them. Most times, they give 10% to 15% discount on the prices of their products.
We also have a Chinatown here called Binondo. It has the cheapest items in the country especially if you are going to buy in bulk. In fact, we bought our extended garage’s tarpaulin roof there some months back for $100 which would cost almost double in other markets. And it’s not only the dry goods but also food items like fruits and vegetables. That’s the wonder of the Chinese traders, they can sell their wares cheaper.
We have a Chinatown in our country as well. Unfortunately, it's a two-hour travel from our place and if you don't really need to buy in bulk, the purchase price will turn out to be more expensive than stores nearby. My office mates and I used to go there a couple weeks before Christmas to buy knick knacks and office party decors. Small gift items and toys are incredibly cheap and so are bags and clothes. Some enterprising people in our place buy them in bulk and sell them on the sidewalks at a good profit but they still come out cheaper than those sold at mall. It's not just the prices though. You can also find items that you don't normally see at malls or department stores simply because their manufacturers/importers don't want to deal with the stringent requirements and standard credit terms of the big stores.
Being in a rural part of the US, there isn't any Chinatown, though quite a few Chinese restaurants. Anyway, I'm wondering if the savings from Chinatown is equal to what you find at consignment shops - which are numerous here. Also, what exactly is the trick of the Chinatown marketers?
Unfortunately I don't have a chinatown where I live at. The closet thing to it might be a few dollar stores and convenient stores here and there. Maybe even a $0.99 store. I chinatown does sound like a great place to do some fine shopping on a budget and does sound likea phenomenon that should expand through the US.
