I needed a watch, so I got one from one of the knock off places near Nanjing lu. I realized after the fact that I should have come on here to find out about how much I should pay. Anyway, I wound up paying 250rmb for an automatic Omega.

How bad did I get ripped off?

On another note, I'm looking for some good walking shoes, size 12. I'm having a bit of trouble finding anything but dress shoes in that size. Anyone have any idea where I can get shoes that big?

With some hard bargaining, I reckon you could have got the watch for about 50 rmb.

Shoes - if you're having trouble getting your size, why not have some hand made - all leather, quality job for about 500 rmb. There is a guy on Changle Road, who does a great job, any other posters know his business name and address, something like 1238 Changle Road?

Yes, Billy Wang, Billy's Shoes, 1238 Changle Road, it'll take 3 or 4 weeks though from being measured up.

The original price they quoted for the watch was 1,100rmb. I have no idea what the profit margin is, so I thought getting her down to 250 was pretty good, but ya 50 would have been better I like watches (for myself, and as gifts) and will probably go back for more. I'll probably shoot for 150-200, especially if I'm getting more than one.

Thanks for the tip on where to get shoes made, I'll definitely go look at his stuff! It would be nice to have some comfortable walking shoes that are a bit more waterproof than the ones I have now.

What about for sneaker type shoes? Anyone know where to get some of those in a size 12 (46 2/3)?

HeavyPlum wrote:I needed a watch, so I got one from one of the knock off places near Nanjing lu. I realized after the fact that I should have come on here to find out about how much I should pay. Anyway, I wound up paying 250rmb for an automatic Omega.

How bad did I get ripped off?

On another note, I'm looking for some good walking shoes, size 12. I'm having a bit of trouble finding anything but dress shoes in that size. Anyone have any idea where I can get shoes that big?

spandex, 50 that's really impossible!!!!

I wanted one and I had to pay at least 170 - 200 I think. I really wanted the watch and spent half an hour trying to bargain and convince the staff but they refused, this was in taobao on nanjing xi lu.
so it ended up with me not buying it which I really really regret now

Bought 2 this weekend, a porsche and a tag, payed 250 total, but i have been taking people there for awhile so he hooks me up

it's hard to say since some fakes are worth a lot more than others, but I think between 100 and 150 is good for an automatic.

Sneakers- head back to the fake markets, especially the one under the Science & Technology museum in Pudong. They're more used to foreigners with big feet than any of the sports shops I've found.

35 is the lowest price

you'd get a **** watch for 35

u'd get the same **** watch 4 more

maybe but there are loads of grades of fakes .

In my experience, the ones you pay 150ish for are about as good as a Swatch, DKNY or Casio type of brand.

i bought about 30 a few months ago. the majority, even the 100 rmb "quality " ones packed up after a month or two

I've had a Cartier rip off for about 3 years now, works perfectly, my Tag is still going strong 8 months later too.

You must be unlucky!

Strongly agree with Swiss-James, there are big quality differences between fake watches.
But, if you pay more than 150 rmb, it does not mean that the quality is OK, however, for 30 rmb, you can be sure that your watch is fu**** up.

As a big watch lover, I still go and buy my watches at the same place and now, the guy there knows me well and then, he always tells me which of them are good quality or not.

For really good watches, prices can go up to 250 or 300 rmb. I once bought a Rolex with EXACTLY the same mechanism than the real one. In this case, it worths to pay 300 rmb.
BTW, most of my watches lasts at least 3 years.

matmat wrote:I once bought a Rolex with EXACTLY the same mechanism than the real one.

I highly doubt this.

Pictures are required in this case.

sienna wrote:
spandex, 50 that's really impossible!!!!

Nope, if they don't come down to 50 I walk away, more often than not they do, I have several fakes, Rolex, Tag, Omega, all bought for 50 rmb, although I accept there may be different quality of fakes, but that is another can of worms. How are we supposed to judge the quality of fakes (by which I mean the internal mechanism) on the street from looking at them for 2 minutes?

Thanks for the tips; I am not that into watches, or buying them that frequently that I could be bothered with this research and "build up a personal relationship thing" though, but I can see your point. I once bought one and wondered why the date had not moved on after several days. On closer inspection, I discovered that the date had been painted onto the face of the watch, and he sold it to me on that date. You have to have a sense of humour sometimes.

a friennd of mine who worked with testing equipment used to buy two watches ata a time. Only high-end replicas. He had a collection of several dozen watches that he had tested. he found teh high end copies had swiss movements or Japanese movements and that other than teh fake branding, were often excellent watches. but beware as many have said, the fakes you see for less than 150 are usually lower grade watches virtually assured that their movements are not even Japanese. Not to say these dont work , because some of them work fine, but could be there are flaws in teh workmanship and such. So just be picky.

I can't see any of the fake market watches being imported.

This is China. Why would they pay much more money to buy Japanese or Swiss movements, when they can get Chinese ones cheaper?

And they would cost a lot more than 300rmb for the foreign ones.

As a side note, has anyone seen any high quality Rado watches?

spandex wrote:I discovered that the date had been painted onto the face of the watch, and he sold it to me on that date. You have to have a sense of humour sometimes.

post of the day!

I normally find that when they show you the first lot of watches, they're crap quality- faces upside down "Lorex" written in crayon etc.

When you say that lot are all rubbish, they open up all of the secret drawers and suchlike- start getting out heavier watches with better straps, hammering nails into the crystal on the face and pointing out the different features.

I still reckon there are grades above that where they walk you blindfolded into a cave filled with dry ice and armed guards, but I guess my Chinese needs to improve before I get there.

It is funny how people complain that their watch only lasted a few days or months etc. when 9 times out of 10 it was just that it sat on the shelf too long and the battery went dead. Buy good Swiss batteries on ebay and watch will run for about 4 years.

Virtually all fakes use the same battery size. Batteries are really cheap in bulk and fairly easy to replace.

matmat wrote:I once bought a Rolex with EXACTLY the same mechanism than the real one. In this case, it worths to pay 300 rmb.

not for 300rmb u didnt. not gonna happen.

I never had any fake watches. Also I never had any expensive ones. My first watch was a SWATCH and it lasted for more than 5 years since my high school. Then I was given another SWATCH as my birthday gift in 2006 and it is still working perfectly. Dont think I will ever buy a fake watch for some reason. Hopefully I will get a Catier for my following birthday this year.

Hey nice dog Laohu. Adorable!!!

Swiss-James wrote:I still reckon there are grades above that where they walk you blindfolded into a cave filled with dry ice and armed guards, but I guess my Chinese needs to improve before I get there.

I had a "supplier" like that in Beijing, she specialised in bags but also had watches - it was more expensive than regular market stuff, but superb quality. I bought some of my bags and watches 6,5 years ago and they still look and work like new. Moreover, one of my friends is a watch collector, he had a close look at my "Vacheron Constantin" (not inside though) and couldn't tell it was a fake.

Has anyone seen the China Knock off watch Catalog. Its about 2 inches thick and has every major watch manufacturer watches in it. You can order any watch you see and they will get it for you in a day or two. I thnk the lowest you will pay is between 150 and 200 rmbs.
The same dealers will also sell you watches Rolex, Pantera, etc etc for 50 rmbs. I cant help but think they are the same watches.
Everytime one of my friends comes from the states they all want watches.

I have a Rolex I bought 15 years ago, and it still keeps perfect time. Maybe because its Real. I have seen some Knocks off three and four years old that still work. Go Figure

I have a few good fake rolex. Keep great time but I don't believe they are water resistant even though they have the rubber seal by the date adjuster wheel ... haven't actually tried

You get what you pay for, also in China.
I did not believe in the A and B quality story etc, until my dealer put 3 same watches in front of me. I believe now and I understand now why one watch is 100 the other 1000.
I bought in Korea a Columbia jacket (700 RMB), can’t find this quality here.

I offered 500 RMB to one of the watch touts in front of Plaza 66 for 5 Rolexes and he turned me down. He thought the 500 RMB note that I was giving him was a fake because it had a picture of Yao Ming on it.

Rezitator wrote:You get what you pay for, also in China.
I did not believe in the A and B quality story etc, until my dealer put 3 same watches in front of me. I believe now and I understand now why one watch is 100 the other 1000.

Please explain. I don't understand the differences you saw between the three watches.

Well, some are better fakes than others, but in the end, still fakes, so no quality guarantee. But paying 1000 kuai, if it works for a few months, i don't think it will hurt too much when it breaks.