Hong Kong and Macau_ City Guide (Lonely Planet, 14th Edition) - Andrew Stone [95]
Of course, there are some honourable exceptions among a small band of local designers and some trailblazing retailers. So where should you look?
Cool independents are springing up in the narrow streets of Soho and to a lesser extent old Wan Chai, while the crowded minimalls of Causeway Bay offer some quintessentially Asian shopping experiences. A new breed of Chinese and Japanese mini department/lifestyle stores, such as Muji (Click here) and Delay No Mall (Click here), are also excellent places for value, design interest and style across a range of goods.
What’s worth shopping for? Clothing (off the peg or tailored), shoes, jewellery, luggage and, to a lesser degree nowadays, cameras and electronic goods are the city’s strong suits. Excellent art and antiques shops also abound.
There’s more good news. Wherever you end up shopping, in general the shopping experience is made pretty easy. Service is attentive, opening hours are long, credit cards are widely accepted and the government will have a fight on its hands if it ever tries to revive shelved plans for a sales tax, so the marked price is the price you’ll pay. Sales assistants in department or chain stores rarely have any leeway to give discounts, but you can try bargaining in owner-operated stores and certainly in markets.
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OPENING HOURS
In the Central and Western Districts, daily shop hours are generally from 10am to 7.30pm, and in Causeway Bay and Wan Chai some open later (about 11am), but many will stay open until 9.30pm or 10pm. In Tsim Sha Tsui, Mong Kok and Yau Ma Tei, they close around 9pm, and in Tsim Sha Tsui East at 7.30pm. Some smaller shops close for major holidays – sometimes for up to a week – especially during Chinese New Year. Many also close on Sunday. We’ve included opening hours in reviews only where the hours differ dramatically from these standard times.
Winter sales are during the first three weeks in January; summer sales are in late June and early July.
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BARGAINING
Bargaining is a way of life at retail outlets throughout Hong Kong, with the exception of department stores and clothing chain shops, where the prices marked are the prices paid. Some visitors operate on the theory that you can get the goods for half the price originally quoted. Many Hong Kong residents believe that if you can bargain something down that low, then you shouldn’t be buying from that shop anyway. If the business is that crooked – and many are, particularly in the Tsim Sha Tsui tourist ghetto – it will probably find other ways to cheat you (such as selling you electronic goods with missing components or no international warranty).
Price tags are supposed to be displayed on all goods. If you can’t find a price tag, you’ve undoubtedly entered one of those business establishments with ‘flexible’ – ie rip-off – prices.
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DUTY FREE
The only imported goods on which there is duty in Hong Kong are tobacco, perfumes, cosmetics, cars and certain petroleum products. In general, almost anything – from cameras and electronics to clothing and jewellery – will be cheaper when you buy it outside duty-free shops.
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WARRANTIES & GUARANTEES
Every guarantee should carry a complete description of the item (including the model and serial numbers), as well as the date of purchase, the name and address of the shop it was purchased from, and the shop’s official name chop (stamp).
Many imported items come with a warranty registration with the words ‘Guarantee only valid in Hong Kong’. If it’s a well-known brand, you can often return this card to the importer in Hong Kong