Bad shopping experience in pink city

solesouljoy

Beware of shops in the city palace and hawamahal area! They charge super high prices. I had a really bad experience with a shoe shop - 48 Maharani Nagra Palace. It is along the same street as Hawamahal, near the entrance of city palace.

Initially the shopkeeper told us that one pair of shoes cost 200 rupees. Later when he realised we liked several shoes very much, he charged us 500, 600 rupees! End price was 330 rupees per pair. When we went down several shops, we found the same pair of shoes for 150 rupees! In addition, we discovered that the shopkeeper gave us 1 wrong pair of shoes (we bought 3)

When we confronted the owner, he insisted that it's of a different kind of leather. He collaborated with the shopkeeper who was selling the same shoe for 150 rupees. The latter retracted his words and lied that different sizes were of different prices. When we first entered his shop, he said that different sizes cost the same price. When we took down the name of the shop, the owner tried to give us 100 rupees to appease us but we didnt accept it.

Just be discerning when they tell you that shoes are made of different leathers. I guess there's not much difference except those that are handmade. The handmade ones cost a little more. You can tell them apart from the machine made shoes by the additional piece of "decoration" sewed on the shoe. Handmade shoes are one full piece with embroidery on the shoe itself. Machine made shoes should be about 200 rupees. By the way, you can find the same kind of shoes in Amritsar too.

Shopkeepers will defintely try to earn cos it's ultimately a business for them. Take your time to look around the many shops, check prices instead of rushing to buy. I hope that this will help some of you avoid bad experiences and overpaying. Be sure to bargain hard when shopping along that stretch of road.

oneheart

Ya, i agree.. i went to a shop opposite the Palace of the wind, just right beside a boy's school. When i asked the price of the shawl, the owner told me that it was 1200 rupee as it was made of pure pashmina.. I was doubtful as i went kashmir earlier and the houseboat worker taught us how to differentiate between a pashmina shawl and one which is not (though i hav not grasp the art of it).. So i told the shop owner that my budget was 200 rupee as i was getting a gift for my fren. He showed me a couple of shawls which weren't the color i wanted and they seem to be the same material as the rs 1200 shawl. In the end, he took the rs 1200 shawl and dumped it with the pile of rs 200 shawls. So i asked him again if that shawl is Rs 200, he said yes.. He was caught offguard when i questioned him why did he quote me rs 1200 earlier and told me that i am the first customer so he is selling me below cost price as it will bring them good luck.

Beware of this as many shop keepers can quote u 3-6 times the price and cook up these kind of excuses. I learn the bargaining skill after a few experiences of being overcharged. Usually once u step into a shop, it is difficult to leave the shop without buying anything, even when i told them i want to view other shops and come back later. They will compel u n convince u that u got the best deal if u buy it, only to realise that a few shops down the road, someone is selling at half the price.. so be sure to visit a few shops before you buy anything and dun be embarrassed to bargain..