Currently in Shenzhen for he next week or so, wondering if there's anything that's actually cheaper than australia or simply unavailable?
I've had a quick look at Tmall and JD.com for phones but the prices seem to actually be more expensive than banggood as an example.
The number 1 thing I want to buy is a phone but open to a bargain of any kind :)
What to Bring Back from China?
Comments
I don't think a brothel will fit in a suitcase.
If it does then please bring me one back!
What is this a brothel for ants?!?
It's probably more worth it to experience the service industry rather than spend time shopping.
Not necessarily. Spending time bargaining, watching sellers pull out their little calculators and haggle back, can be one of the highlights of visiting China.
So much fun. I looked at a DW watch that I legitimately had no interest in. After waking away because I didn't want it at all. They lowered the price by half. Kept walking. Half again. It was great.
I hope it was no more than $4 as that's what I bought one on aliexpress a few years back, great copy, with box and papers too.
@PVA: I didn't end up buying it because I didn't want it. I think it started around $60 and ended up around $10. Probably could have gotten lower had I really been keen but I legitimately walked away and couldn't hear her any more.
Dashcams
Lemon chicken
Prawn crackers
Dog
Xiaomi anything and everything!
Xiaomi 13" laptop. Make sure you check for dead pixels
Infant formula.
A chinese baby
smart home setup
15 headphones
MDMA
Cigarettes. Pack of Marlboro Red cigarettes should retail for under $5 there, compared to around $30 here. You can bring two packs back as long as the second pack is open, for a max of 50 smokes. Customs sheet says declare more than 25, so that's what you do. Say the second pack is open and they let you through tax free.
Crown executives.
A rash
Repatriate some of our stolen baby formula.
It was paid for, therefore not stolen.
Doesn't mean it's right. It's creating shortages for profit reasons.
Welcome to the market economy
More property investors. We don't have enough.
Headphones maybe. 15 pairs if you can
edit: on a more serious note, tea if you're an enthusiast.
would it get past Customs though? I thought they are/were pretty strict on anything to do with plants (and animals) products.
Customs don't mind tea as long as you declare it. I've brought back tea from China, dried mushrooms from Europe and the USA, European cheese, even edible hemp seeds earlier this year. Customs agent didn't care and waved everything through. What Customs really hate is deception and people pretending to be ignorant.
ok them
previously I brought back some nice looking pet snacks from Hong Kong/Japan, but they all got confiscated, maybe meat products are treated differently :(
and I did declared them, none of that "Lo Engrish!!!!" BS you see on those TV shows :)
plus if you're buying items that have a brand/packet its fine.
if you're bringing back tea or mushrooms in a paper bag - thats a different story i think
@FW190: Yes, anything with a viable seed, almost all fruit, most vegetables, and certainly all meat products will be confiscated. I know people who brought in canned meat (foie gras), but anything dried is toast.
To add to this, I tried bringing in a couple of seng choon brand 'century'-type eggs (boiled, soy marinated, vacuum packed) - ba baow. Eggs no good. Forgot I can go down to Chinatown and buy the same brand anyway!!
Have brought honey home before from Thailand, Europe, Japan and NZ, no problems. One agent looked closely at a jar though and said they look for impurities/inconsistencies in the honey to see if it's a risk. Clear honey is a afer bet when bringing honey in.
Honestly just buy anything you might need that you might normally order from China or overseas when you get back here.
Last decent purchase I bought from China was a nice 80L hiking type bag or backpack for $40 AUD delivered think it was from gearbest or Aliexpress.
They are normally much pricier than that and can go up to $150 AUD for good quality brand ones but average is around $80 - $120 AUD.
If you need one I found China to have the cheapest so I took a gamble and really happy so far seems very sturdy but only time will tell..l
Maybe this isn't such a good advice since the last thing you would want to break is your bag carrying all your other expensive and useful items but if you are strapped for cash or tight on money then it is a good and really only cheap budget alternative.
Having said that carrying it home will be impossible so just get some electronics or tech gadgets like headphones and stuff lol or something maybe extremely unique to China like a girlfriend.
Bring back a jar of the polluted air so you can open it years later and relive your memories with a quick smell.
Any survernior that not made in China.
Nothing cheap IN China. Dont buy a phone there at all! Very expensive, old models and may not work in Oz.
A wife (or backup).
Get yourself a nice boyfriend/girlfriend
Milk Powder!
Fireworks :-o
Pilfered communist party propaganda banners.
How about artwork?
I bought some in Taiwan and loved it!
without even trying you will bring back pollution sickness
Silk items. Parents bought back a massive silk blanket which I use almost year round. The breathability (is that a word…) and insulation is amazing.
I have some friends there and I know for sure that xiaomi or doogee or any other chinaphone are cheaper than aus and us. also clothes are cheaper and bargainable…lol…ust be careful with fakes
Fake things/Niche luxury brands. That's about it. Most things (that you want) are more expensive or similar priced in china. It's probably more worth it to experience the service industry rather than spend time shopping. Massages/Restaurants/Bath/Brothels/Shows are definitely cheaper in china.