Shopping in Mumbai – Bombay – Some Tips
Shopping in Mumbai – Bombay – Some Tips

1. Do the rounds of a few markets before you start buying. This will give you an idea of the best buys in India and the current price range.

2. The best part about Mumbai is that you’ll often find handicrafts being sold everywhere from plush designer stores to government-run emporia to smaller outfits to street stalls. Obviously enough you’ll find that the handicrafts differ in quality and price. Expensive things like jewellery, precious stones and carpets, to name a few, are better bought from reputed stores. Other interesting curios like beads, bangles, cotton wear, wickerwork, folk art and so on can easily be bought off the streets as well. Once you have spent time sauntering through some of Mumbai’s markets, you will get a pretty good idea of what should be bought from where. When in doubt, stick to the various state emporia and the Central Cottage Industries Emporia. The prices are standardized and you can be sure of the quality.

3. Tourism in Mumbai - as in India - comes armed with an insidious commission racket that spans most smalltime hotels and shops in the popular destinations. Beware of touts who want to take you to a ‘brother’s shop’, ‘friend’s shop’ or ‘really-good-deal shop’. Invariably you’ll end up coughing up much more for your purchase than you would otherwise. So, watch out!

4. Say no! It’s perfectly all right to say no if you are not interested in going to a particular shop or buying a particular item. Unfortunately, most touts and salespersons can be amazingly persuasive to the extent of imposing their opinions on you. Worse, they’ll sometimes make out that they need that one sale to buy food for their family and put you lay on a major guilt trip. Don’t give in to pressure - just ask them to buzz off.

5. Many visitors are duped while shopping with a credit card. Make sure the credit card is swiped right in front of your eyes. Be suspicious of anyone who takes your card and reappears with the slip for you to sign. Visitors are known to have been cheated by unscrupulous shopkeepers who will charge some more items to the card and forge your signature on the slips later.

6. Export of certain items such as ivory, fur and skins, antiques is banned and hence it is mandatory to obtain a certificate of legitimate sale and permission for export.