we'll be moving to Shanghai end this month and have just rented an unfurnished apartment. Need to purchase electrical appliances like fridge, front load washer and dryer, microwave oven, etc. Also furniture like bunk-beds, double bed, wardrobe and bookshelves.

Any suggestion where's a good place to go in Pudong? Not looking for branded stuff, more for durable and reasonably priced stuff. Ikea will be our last choice.

Thanks!

Ha Ha. Agree with your last sentence.
If you use the search function for "furniture", heaps of options there.
I dont know about Pudong area, as we completely furnished in the Putuo District, but in most cases had free delivery.
Alternatively, a delivery van can be quite cheap.

Can I ask why on earth you rented an unfurnished place? Just curious.

Klick wrote:Can I ask why on earth you rented an unfurnished place? Just curious.

because we just didn't like any of the furniture in those nearly 30 apartments we've viewed. And 2 apartments with furniture that are acceptable refused to change the 2nd room furniture to suit our children's needs. So since there's this unfurnished one, that rents cheap, we might as well grab it. Moreover, we'll be bringing some of our existing furniture too, as it'll be easier to lease out our own place back home unfurnished.

anyway, we're staying for longer term, so whatever tax they're gonna impose on the furniture will still be worthy.

happy with the answer?

Sure. I was just curious why anyone would bother. To me, I just can't be arsed with the hassle of running around town, trying to find this , that, the other thing... because for sure you will have to go to about 50 different places to get all the stuff you want. For sure we just saw a load of places with furniture we didn't like, but once we found a couple we did, the owners had no problem with taking out the second bedroom stuff so we could put our own kid's furniture in, so I'm surprised you encountered resistance on that point. (And FWIW, I think IKEA is actually great value for kid's stuff.) But hey your home, your castle and all that wot wot, you do what you like.

thanks Klick. I guess maybe we were also pressing down the rental, that's why they refuse to make the changes. anyway, we've got a nice place that suits our needs.

50 different places? nah, dun think we need to go that many places. the main things like sofa and dining set will be bringing our existing ones. Only need couple others insignificant stuff, and of course, basic electrical appliances. well, shopping is a woman's forte, and we're most focused when doing that. hee...

Cheers!

Electricals- Sunning (a local electronics chain store).

Furniture- look up Macalline Malls (or Red Star Furniture). They have a few in Pudong. These are huge furniture malls with hundreds of stores. You can negotiate on pricing in most stores.

kiwitay wrote:50 different places? nah, dun think we need to go that many places. the main things like sofa and dining set will be bringing our existing ones. Only need couple others insignificant stuff, and of course, basic electrical appliances. well, shopping is a woman's forte, and we're most focused when doing that. hee...

Well there is definitely no shortage of places to shop here, that is for sure! That said, I think that's part of why you have to go to so many different places. OK maybe not 50, but my experience has been that it's really different to find any one place where you can get several things in different categories. It's like - I'll go to one store and find oh great, here are some lovely dishes. But no placemats that I like, so I have to get those from somewhere else. So I find a place that has nice placemats, and I also need coffee mugs, but I don't like any of the coffee mugs here, nor did I like the ones at the first place, so I have to go to yet another shop. I can't tell you how many places I have been to try to find decent sheets, of good quality, in a design that I like. Oh so then, that means I need to go to the bedsheet market (which is like waaaay the hell on the other side of town). Oh and for a new lamp, well, for the best choice and the best deal, you have to go to the lamp market. This is the thing of shopping here - you can get everything eventually, and you can get it at a good price, and you might even get decent quality, but you have to hunt it down and then go get it in some 'specialist' market or area. That's why I was saying you have to go to so many different places - there's very little "one stop shop" action here.

Reminds me of a conversation I had with some other mums at the playground the other day - we were having a laugh because one the women was talking about how she got it into her head to make a nice seafood risotto, and it ended up being this huge project because she had to go to 4 different shops to get everything she needed, because there was no one place to buy arborio rice, (good) fresh shellfish, flat parsley, etc.

But you know, good luck to you with your move, you'll definitely need that 'focus'

Klick wrote:For sure we just saw a load of places with furniture we didn't like, but once we found a couple we did, the owners had no problem with taking out the second bedroom stuff so we could put our own kid's furniture in, so I'm surprised you encountered resistance on that point.

You are really lucky
We have one room with really awful furniture. Was the son's room - we use it as office. We dared to ask to take out the ugly bunk-bed.
Answer: no. Then I asked how much they want for the bed. Answer: 5000 kuai Me: for all the furniture in the room? "Noooo, only for the bed since we will have to buy a new one when you move out"... yeah, I bet they paid so much ....

We had visited in FREEMEDOWS, Northern Area Pakistan in last summer. The whole room was made with wood, it seems good look

If you're looking for mattresses or bed toppers let me know. You can send me a message or visit my website at http://www.slumbermaax.com

Welcome to Shanghai!

Pudong has three "furniture squares," the largest one in the direction of the expo area. Definitely not for expats, truly set up for locals, everything is in Chinese. Lots and lots of furniture stores, like OZDave said, in just one area. You could definitely furnish any style house there in a day, for the same prices as at IKEA, you can get much better furniture there. Having said that, they still have degrees of quality, and (lack of) style. But it's a great place to take care of the house. I don't know the address because it is on a chinese character only business card, and I can't read characters. But taxi drivers will know....

spencerjan - thanks for yr offer, but we're bringing our own beds and mattresses.

JLIG - thanks for the description of the place. will ask my fren there if she knows of this place.

thank you.

Make the trip to Puxi....Yuexing Furniture Mall at 168 Aumen Road. All types and prices of furniture.

Also restaurant supply places on the same street for the small appliance and kitchen gear

If I have one suggestion it would be to bring your US washer and dryer with you. Here you either get a choice of crappy combo units or super expensive export brands. For example, a Whirlpool Washer is over 1,000 USD.

All my funiture in my house is mine so I see your point of bringing or buying here.

I would second the Aomen lu suggestion. It is a huge place with many different styles. They make everything to order (however it does take about a month). We did this for our first place as it was empty and the landlord gave us a budget to furnish how we wanted. You can always bargain down the prices, however few speak English.The stuff comes from the factory and they deliver it to the home. There is also a kind of Chinese Ikea there with all kinds of stuff for the house at reasonable prices. Right in front you also have the Restaurant and Hotel supply store which is GREAT for buying silverware, pots, pans, tupperware, glasses, plates and much more at super prices.

Good luck,
L

Whilst you are in Puxi checking out the Aomen Rd Mall you can also head down to Wending Rd and Yi Shan Rds in the Xu Jia Hui area where there are tons of smaller furniture malls.

Adrienne

Shanghai Properties – Expat Agents Speak Your Language
http://www.shanghaiprops.com

thank you all for your valuable tips. looks like Aomen Rd is THE place to go to. and I like the hotel and restaurant supply store! will definitely check them out.

now I'm rushing and packing for the shippers to take the things out by Monday. phew! such a rush....

Yep, young platty and supernena are on the ball about the hote supplies place at Aomen Rd. It is WONDERFUL and has far better variety of western styled cooking equipment than many of the supermarkets.

Hotel Supplies Equipment
345 Aomen Lu,
Putuo
near Jiangning Lu
Tel: 6276-1111
www.hec.com.cn
hecsh@hec.com.cn

Happy shopping!!

Adrienne

Shanghai Properties – Expat Agents Speak Your Language
http://www.shanghaiprops.com

Adrienne wrote:Yep, young platty and supernena are on the ball about the hote supplies place at Aomen Rd. It is WONDERFUL and has far better variety of western styled cooking equipment than many of the supermarkets.

Hotel Supplies Equipment
345 Aomen Lu,
Putuo
near Jiangning Lu
Tel: 6276-1111
http://www.hec.com.cn
hecsh@hec.com.cn

Happy shopping!!

Adrienne

Shanghai Properties – Expat Agents Speak Your Language
http://www.shanghaiprops.com

Thank you Adrienne! You're a gem! *muack muack*

I agree with wending lu, aomen lu, also there is dongfang lu in pudong and shanghai home expo and various other malls on Wuzhong lu ( near hongmei lu)

Hi Kiwitay, was it difficult to send a container of furniture to Shanghai? I have checked here in Sydney it will cost me about A$5500. I think it is reasonable if I can fill up the whole 3 bedroom apartment, so I dont have to buy anymore furniture. Are you allowed to bring electronic stuff, like TVs or coffee machine.

Same like your case, I need to rent my house in Sydney, unfurnished.

Does anyone know how much I would spend (approximately) to furnish a 3 bedroom apartment? Leather sofa - 2 and 3 seaters, 3 comfortable beds 9the ones I have here are King Koil and Seally), coffee table, dining table, and study desk.

I was looking at some unfurnished apartment on the website the other day, not too many but intrested to know. I will b moving end of this year.

Thanks!

I totally renovated a one bedroom apartment in Shangers for 35,000 rmb. This included all furniture, king size bed large fridge/freazer, re-done kitchen, leather lounge suite, bathroom vanity, huge plasma TV. Blah Blah. All new paint, and plaster. Did the work myself. Extra bedrooms do not cost extra.

My advice: Save ya money on the bluddy container, buy ya stuff here, and save money.
My total cost was less than your container from Seedney, so why bother?

Hi Avoca29,

our shipment was paid for by the company, and it cost RMB28k (approx A$4.8k for a 20ft container, plus insurance. It took about 2wks to clear customs here, in addition to the shipping time. You can hv a rough estimation if your shipper can tell u how long shipping is from Sydney to Shanghai.

I was very careful in preparing for our shipment so as not to cause any delays bcos of restricted items. So there was no big electrical/electronic stuff. Neither did we put in any CD/DVDs. But I do hv all my kitchen appliances with me, which are non-taxable. Our shipment cleared customs pretty easily without any import taxes.

if your shipment is provided for by your company, then go ahead and ship the stuff here. We felt so much more at home with our own furnishings and all. Otherwise, you should just rent a furnished apartment and add on anything that you'll need.

As for buying furniture here, I cant provide much help in terms of costs. But do be cautioned that whatever furniture you order, it'll take 3-5wks for delivery. It's either because the warehouses are outside Shanghai, or they dun hv ready stock and need to place an order.

all the best to your move.
Carol

I've got some furniture for sale... you're welcome to take a look...
http://shanghaiwoodfurniture.wordpress.com/

but to prove i'm not just hijacking this post for free advertising - I think Wending Lu is a good place to pick up furniture - if you take the time to really hunt around there are some great bargains amongst the over-priced junk. Close by (head down Puhuitang lu - i think - on the corner with yishan lu) there is a charming little store that sells traditional style furniture, the owner is pretty friendly and prepared to bargain.
Only been to Aomen Lu once and thought is was tacky... couldn't find anything i liked (furniture wise - don't know about appliances)
Another gem - if you're looking for the traditional style - is a small store on Yongjia lu close to the intersection with Shaanxi Lu. Nice pieces and great service.
Anfu Lu seems to have an ever-growing number of furniture stores too, good quality IMO but a little pricey.
Hope it helps
Bob
p.s. I agree with OP - unfurnished apartments with a rent discount are great - if you shop around and bargain hard to can buy your own furniture with what you would save on the annual rent

Another one.
Michael tells us that wordpress is blocked in China, and I believe him.
Good luck.