Mitzyboy

Well thats plain daft!
Anything plastic, light bulbs, shampoo, insect repellents, kitchenware, kitchen towels, toilet rolls, garden stuff .... theres a huge array of reasonable quality non risk cheap items in these supermarkets. Its only stuff that has been imported from China .. a lot like you would buy in any other shop but pay 5 times as much for!

lynnxa

and 'trading standards' here in Spain do the same

I've seen quite few reports on spanish tv recently about various things - not just from chinese bazaars & markets though

Lionda

I once read somewhere that to get round the Made in China bit the chinese called a factory, for instance, England so they could legitimately put Made in England on the product

lynnxa

manamama

There are four chinese shops in our small town.


...It does sell aload of tat especially the toys !!

paintermujer

Yes,I agree.

We have lots of chinese shops near.They do vary but we have found one that we have bought lots of household stuff from at a fraction of what the supermarkets etc. would charge.

When we first moved we needed a cable for the pcs.Couldnt find the right length anywhere so drove to PC City,paid nearly 50 euros for it and after finding the chinese shop they sold exactly the same cable for 6 euros.

The toys tend to be the cheaper non branded type which I wouldnt buy but there is always so much stuff on offer anyone would be a fool not to use them and save quite a few euros.

JLFS

my wife is a Poundland addict, she buys loads of those knitted slippers, she wears them all around the house, and wherever she travels she takes a few of them and they wash like sock.

She loves the fact that there is only one price and she buys tons of writing sets and hair things, batteries are another favourite.

Drinking chocolate, the mint and orange variesties cost about 4 quid in Sainsburys, only a pound. She brings loads back from her trips to the UK.

spanishdancer

I am a poundland fan too, I think the equivalent with branded products would do very well here. I buy similar stuff to your wife JLFS, often cheaper then Superdrug and just convenient because you can easily add up how much you are spending as you go along

Lionda

Are we straying off topic here

chulo

Maybe I'm a slave to commercialism and good taste.

Although commonsense should allow ones comments to be understood.

I have never entered every chinese shop in Spain, therefore I'm sure some here buy good quality products at a fraction of there cost in other outlets that I have not visited.

I can only comment on the one or two I entered.

And they sold cheap crap and the price appeared to reflect the value of the product.

lynnxa

true - some of it is cheap crap, but a lot of it is just inexpensive & pretty good quality

we've been having trouble getting good ear/head phones - the ones that go into your ear

we've been all over place & spent a fortune on ones that 'leak' the sound - really annoying when in the same room as two kids that are linked to their MP4s permanently

one of our local chinese bazaars sells some for just 2 euros - brilliant sound quality & no leakage

Lionda

Hi Lynne Do you remember recommending the chinese Christmas 'rice lights' to me last year? After my Christmas lights from a reputable store in England had let me down. I am using them for the second time, now in England, and they are still working brilliantly (pardon the pun ha ha). Thanks again

steviedeluxe

The problem with everything being one pound (or 99 pence) is you can get fooled into buying a lot of stuff you don't need - after all the shop has to make its money some way. Also, in some cases you're not getting such a great deal - what would be 30 or 40 cents in a Chino, would be a pound in the Poundshop, because that's how it works. These places use psychology to make you spend. Another trick (more common in the larger supermarkets) is the buy one, get one free trick. Often the price went up the previous week to compensate. I have to devise tricks to stop my better half spending too much time shopping, otherwise she'd blow the month's money in a day, and we'd still have nothing to eat for dinner!

lynnxa

Hi Linda!!
yes I do remember!!


and I'm still using 7 year old rice lights

Karolina

In response to the original thread, i have to say it sounds like returning to the UK isn't such a bad idea!

i came to australia almost a year ago on a working holiday visa hoping t find sponsorship so i could stay here forever. now me and my oh are probably gonna come back to england next christmas. and i don't think the uk is as bad as i thought it was. i'm looking forward to being able to stay with friends or family till we sort jobs out, which is gonna be a doddle after looking for work over here, what with visa restrictions and all! if your bro can sort you out with a job too that'd be perfect. good luck with whatever you decide but cancel the sky if you're struggling for cash!