Why do retailers in Pakistan try to rip westerners off?

Lifestyle Bazaar Talk
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I have been looking to set up another clothing line in the UK so thought id advertise here for a new supplier and oh my god I am so shocked to see that so called designers and retailers in Pakistan are selling clothes to people in the UK for hundreds of pounds, that cost no more than 40pound maximum to make…

I have been in this business for many years, and have always done business with Indian’s even with their hyped up prices and the fact that their currency is much stronger than the Pakistani rupees im finding they are much cheaper… Unbelievable.

I am a Pakistani and wanted to use Pakistani suppliers as Pakistani designer fashion is becoming rather different from Indian which is good especially the casual and party wear. and their is a big demand for it in the UK and the Indians can not get the new designs in quick enough.

Is it because us Westerners are actually silly and are paying such ludicrous prices, or have we more money than sense? Or are we being taken for a ride… prime example i was sent details (wont mention any names) to some ones Facebook page, a simple chiffon suit, don’t get me wrong it was a nice design, nice material but a slight bit of beaded work was being sold for just under £200…WTF I mean the material is nice but wont cost you more than 2000rs in Pakistan, stitching wow would be max 500 in a factory if that, cost of beading again max 1000rs all in so overall the suit costs say £35 round it up and they selling it for £200, has the world gone mad.

No doubt they will say the cost of the material, labour blah blah im sorry but i have been in this business long enough. Material is either manufactured in Pakistan or shipped in from China and we all know in the west how expensive Chinese goods are… Labour well yeh we know how well those poor people in the factories are paid, and even those who work from home putting all those beads on by hand… Hey maybe its the stitching thread maybe its sowneh ka???

I was in Pakistan in August and bought a load of stock off the shelf in bulk for various clients etc and I paid no more than a thousand rupees for chiffon, gold stone kaftans… that was the retail price this was in Rawalpindi I swear i did not even haggle that was the retail price quoted to me, I knew it was good price and bought them, im all for our own people making money.

I am in contact with many people asking for wholesale rates and they are talking about knocking off a few hundred rupees off the selling price lol do they not know what wholesale is?

This whole thing has really vexed me… what are other peoples opinions on this? So are we paying the premium for the designs? Or is it the pleasure of these outfits being shipped in from Pakistan? what is the score here… im perplexed…

I would like to know other peoples views on this…

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Re: Why do retailers in Pakistan try to rip westerners off?

I LOVE EVERYTHING YOU WROTE!!! You know i have been shopping online for last couple of years and my senses are actually becoming dulled to these ridiculous prices. they say prices for fabric is sky rocketing.

im dying to see what responses you get. oh by the way, where were you shopping in rawalpindi? i am from there and i have never seen any stylish clothing come from there as compared to lahore and karachi....

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Re: Why do retailers in Pakistan try to rip westerners off?

Hi Nazzy

I know I will probably get slaughtered for this thread as so many people are doing this, but im sorry it had to be said..... Im a business woman and also want to earn a living but this is just day light robbery.

I was taken to a few places by some friends as I was only there for a week.... one of the shops that stuck out was a shoe shop that sold clothes i swear I bought some sandals from their that is being sold in a designer shoe shop in the UK called Pose in Birmingham, I paid 1600rs fixed retail price that were being sold her for £45 now you see the difference.......

This shop was called Metro i think, im not sure... the shop i bought the bulk of the kaftan's from was in shopping centre across the road, they had a mix of ready made clothes shops and loose material shops.

I thought it would be easy finding new suppliers online, I should of done it while i was there but only stopped a week.

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Re: Why do retailers in Pakistan try to rip westerners off?

You are right about the prices being so high. I guess we desis living abroad are OK to pay those prices because we don’t have too many choices. It’s the price for convenience I guess :bummer:.

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Re: Why do retailers in Pakistan try to rip westerners off?

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Re: Why do retailers in Pakistan try to rip westerners off?

After coming bak from pak its almost depressing to see the prices here cz u know how much things cost and always feel ripped off… :hinna:

of course everybody is in it for profit, but there has to be a reasonable profit u know? $80 for a 2200 Rs outfit is robbery…I’ve dealt iwth one home based designer whose prices are extremely high.

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Re: Why do retailers in Pakistan try to rip westerners off?

I am all for everyone making a living and you think companies here buy from Pakistan and mark them up to reflect UK prices as they pay tax, VAT etc but what i am struggling to get over is the people in Pakistan now charging over the odds of even UK prices. I feel as if people are being advantage of and ripped off. Lol think im in shock....

I know how much it costs to make these clothes, ok as a business your aim is to make money but a profit of £150 on a suit that cost £35 to make is sick...

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Re: Why do retailers in Pakistan try to rip westerners off?

Kayra .. me and my family have paid up to 400 Pounds for bleedin Pakistani designer suits- albeit theyre beautiful but theres obviously a market for it in the UK- as we never travel to Pakistan- we have to pay a huge price for wanting wedding suits and stuff.. naff it is!!! I know:bummer:

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Re: Why do retailers in Pakistan try to rip westerners off?

Dupe

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Re: Why do retailers in Pakistan try to rip westerners off?

Nice Thread !
Little do they realize in Pakistan (At least the small businesses who tend to grow bigger down the stream) as to how important and viable it is for fair trading domestically or Internationally.

Concept of retaining return business
Quality of products and price grading
And most importantly Time management

May be one can add premium to the list for handiwork, but fair should be fair and visible too.

Unfortunately with such practices they will not be able to sustain 'demand' for long as this down slide is visible in the ready-made garments or Leather industry as well.

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Re: Why do retailers in Pakistan try to rip westerners off?

Very good thread, and your right how some designers really think that we in the West have no idea of how much material/embroidery costs, its not just the designers that rip us off, its all the shopkeepers as well, as soon as they recognise your accent, they double the price

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Re: Why do retailers in Pakistan try to rip westerners off?

well exACTLY... ryt what u people are discussing over here....i can understand as i m working in this field doing the online business all over the world...I m from pakistan....well when i used to go to any fame brand over here in pak.....so u ppl won't imagine the disigners which are sitting also inside the Pakistan are still doing the great job...but the prices are SHoot sooooooo high....lyk their normal a casual wear starts from 12000Rs(PKR) 13000Rs.........its not like they are only cashing the people who used to live in abroad even they are still catering our market asswell......
as sum of my Workers(labour) used to do work with the fashion home and they only get the salaries as per u know 5000-6000Rs Only for the whole month......and see they may complete with the one fully embellished piece in A DAY........so u may divide their salary as per a day......

so i still don't know why they charged for so much high.....i also used to start my own business....but i m not capturing such a high prices.....as i also used to do the replicas of designer wear asswell.....but people may join me only for the lowest rates....as One person gets the same thing from the home based designer near by his/her home...then why he/she would go for such a high leveled boutiques....

As i have done ma Hons in Fashion Designing...i used to work with the designers and the manufacturing companies aswell......as an internship.....so i know whats the level of labour is working there.......i don't know What's been going so adorable thing in PAK......lol....

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Re: Why do retailers in Pakistan try to rip westerners off?

its bascially supply and demand. tehere is a lot of demand but not enough supply. so tehse retailers are free to charge any price they want because people abroad have no other choice when it comes to desi clothes. it's ridiculous and as one poster said, after a while you just get used to it. things that cost pennies to make is being sold for hundreds. sure you have labor and transport and stuff but to charge someone 150 for a simple lawn ka suit? really?

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Re: Why do retailers in Pakistan try to rip westerners off?

well, it;s a very nice thread and it's so true about designers charging too much, but one fact we cannot deny is the sky rocketing prices of the material here. In fact people living abroad also have no idea about how prices are going up for even a worthless piece of sh***.

I do online business, i don;t sell designer cloths, i try to get them from the wholesale market in order to keep the prices low, i did have some designer cloths in my formal wear, and they are no doubt too expensive, even no one will believe that i am selling them on my site with a 0% margin for myself as they are already too expensive back from the designer, and unfortunately that designer is a friend's divorced sister with two kids, and i can;t say no to her, so i decided to give up home based designer and get cloths from shoppers and vendors.

You can definitely get some cheaper stuff from some places but you can;t deny the quality difference. as for those branded shops, i have seen some people here in deference having so much money coming from God knows where that they don;t even bother taking a look at the price tag and buy, these are the people who are making life difficult for mediocres like us.

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Re: Why do retailers in Pakistan try to rip westerners off?

well.....i think u r as right to some extent..but yar people really didn't bother to buy such an expensive stuff from the biggest stores....as they proudly says that they did shopping from Chenone,Chinyere,Maria B,ammar belel,Kaarma and stuff......lol......but yar believe me sometimes it happens u saw a kind of same stuff in the biggest stores either the small shop retailers are also having teh same stuff at the cheaper rates.......but really things happen ....people do buy from the stores at the same rates.....

Really this thing should not be happened.....i mean when i came in my professional field so now i think that this is wrong...either u must keep the profit margin but donot make a USE of a needy person.....just keep as per required.......such typo people higher the market rate for the mediocre like us.......i really don't know where from the black money do they have??

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Re: Why do retailers in Pakistan try to rip westerners off?

You know what, i have been to all these big shops, and many times, i never bought a single piece from any of the shops but i have seen people buying like we buy green chillies in the supermarket :)

They sell a piece for 7k, people buy them, they make it 8k for the next customer, that customer is also willing to pay, so they make it 9-10 for the next one and so on, it;s those people, having too much black money and too desperate to spend it over night, these are the people making life difficult for us and unlivable for many.

You can;t blame those shops, who isn't in Pakistan desperate to fill their pockets???? There's too much insecurity here, and money is the only thing that gives them comfort. you can't simply blame one person or group of people, this whole country is going wrong, so wrong.

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Re: Why do retailers in Pakistan try to rip westerners off?

oooo thank god!! Kayra you are a breath of fresh air! i was starting to think it was just me or the fact that i was turning into a kunjoos muckkee choos because i am sooooooo not willing to pay the ridiculous prices that FB sellers are now charging. $150 for a gul ahmed suit???? they're having a flippin laugh but what really irritates me is when people are posting on their walls saying "ooo this is beautiful, can u reserve this for me!!" more money than sense!
Sometimes i feel i've got to name and shame these jokers, but when u do all that ends up happening is u either get a load of verbal abuse or u get kicked off the group.
There was someone who posted a picture of a suit and was charging nearly double the price of the original and when i asked them about i, i got this rubbish about "ooohh i'm using good quality material, different kaam etc", like seriously??? was the thread made out of gold and the kaam studded with diamonds?? dont think soo! it just makes so angry.

Kayra, there is a real need for good quality fashionable kapray here in the UK. it exists in small pockets but is way to expensive. I've got to go out today and look for stuff for my little girls and its going to kill me paying money for absolute fuzool bukwaas. I told em to wear their new dresses but ohhhh no they want shalwaar kamiz! wish me luck.

wHAT CAN WE DO about this issue GIRLS??? Consumer power must mean something? is there anything we can do? the GS community is a pretty strong one, come on get your thinking topees on!!!

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Re: Why do retailers in Pakistan try to rip westerners off?

the GS community is also made up of some of the sellers, how would we work it out? :wink: maybe it’s me, but i also feel the GS sellers also charge a lot. some more so than the others. not saying that there aren’t those that are reasonable but that’s just my observation.

waits for anday tamatar :what:

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Re: Why do retailers in Pakistan try to rip westerners off?

o ya this is way u r absolutely ryt...our country is going wrong and worng.........but yaar i am catering such people who used to have a cost on a single outfit is 1500Rs(PKR) and they r charging for 5000Rs(PKR).....from us......lyk i m xactly tawking about us..the ppl who used to be living in Pak........lyk they won't be leaving us...charging us so much high then y they would leave the persons used to earn in dollars and pounds????

so anywayu may be showing the ryt picture of the people who used to live in Abroad.....but i must say this is all done becuz of the suppliers....who used to selling with sch a higher prices...

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Re: Why do retailers in Pakistan try to rip westerners off?

lolzz…i just dont know about this GS community…cuz i just recently joined this a few days ago…so here we r not catering anyone…but i think u r saying ryt that sum charged a lot so that the others…but i think this is wrong…ain’t??

whats ur opinion..??