I am still recovering from my first trip to Shenzhen, China a few days ago. It was my first time to cross the border into China and my first time to hang with The Professional Shoppers (other wives). I had a great time and I am looking forward to going back. Even though the shopping is GREAT and cheap, it's still a fairly expensive endeavor so I think it will be something I do every couple of months. Some of these people go a few times a month! I would be exhausted! And broke...

A few weeks ago I had to go to apply for a China visa. Which relatively speaking, is like going to the DMV. For your first visa, they will only give you a two entry visa. I have been told that if you use those 2 entries in a short time they are more likely to issue you the 6 month unlimited entry when you go to re-apply. I am hoping that works out! Once you factor in the cost of the visa, the cost of transportation, and the cost of the shopping it can start to add up. But if you have realistic expectations and you get good deals then it's totally worth it.

Shenzhen... how do I explain it? Well first of all, it's a city. I went to a single mall in this city that is directly outside the train station and customs and immigration. Like, we got off the train, went through customs and immigration, and then went to the ATM to get China money (RMB it's called). We walked out of the doors, crossed a little bike path/street and went up an escalator into the mall. I was told that this mall is kind of the obvious place to go and it has a bit of everything offered inside.

You could also head to the art district, the home goods district, the antiques district, or one of the other malls. It could take years of going there regularly to see it all. We spent 9 or so hours at this one mall and by the end of the day I still wasn't able to keep track of what floor we were on. The mall had 5 floors. I think.

What did I buy you ask? I got two handbags. One is a knock off, one is by a Chinese designer. And I got 3 dresses and a shirt for D. All of them with intact designer labels. Are they real? Are they fake? Who knows. I paid TJ Maxx prices for everything.

So, more about this mall... Where do I begin? Take your idea of a Western mall in middle America and erase it completely from your mind. The aisles are narrow. The ceilings are low. The stores are tiny. The biggest stores were maybe 20 feet by 20 feet. The small stores are the size of a walk in closet. 5 floors FULL of tiny little stores. And then instead of Macy's or JC Penney as the "anchor" stores, there are huge open areas with a million (ok hundreds) of vendors all selling the same things. There was a huge jewelry area. Actually there were 2 because there was one on the 2nd floor and another one on the 3rd floor. And then there is an even huger area of fabric vendors and tailors. So you can go get whatever you want tailor made with whatever fabric you want. Also the shop keepers sit on little stools outside their stores and talk to you (shout and touch you) to try to get you to come in and shop. While they smoke cigarettes and simultaneously eat noodle bowls with chop sticks. It's a smoking mall.

When you go to shop for the handbags and shoes they have all these illegal knock offs on the shelves. They can only display these knock offs because they are the "obvious" copies. My untrained eye has no idea what these obvious signs are... If you want the really good knock offs you have to weasel yourself an invitation to the "warehouse". Which is either in a totally different location (like a 10 minute walk down the street up in an apartment building) or behind a secret hidden door at the back of the store (that appears to sell bedding).

Some of the things purchased by the other people I went with:
custom throw pillows and matching throw blanket
entire set of custom made curtains and custom bedding (including sheets and the whole deal)
barstools re-upholstered (she brought the seats)
a huge framed print
many many pairs of shoes and even more handbags
clothing was brought up to be altered
a few pieces of custom clothing were commissioned

Most of the custom stuff will be ready in a week or two so this is the type of stuff that necessitates repeated trips up there.

For my first trip I just wanted to observe this interaction and learn the ropes of how to get things made. I stuck to shopping at the tiny little stores full of ready made clothing. Where everything has designer labels. It's like being at a really high end TJ Maxx or Nordstrom Rack. But NOTHING has prices. You have to bargain for everything. And you have to try things on over your clothes in the middle of the store.

I think living over here is totally going to warp me as a shopper.