Milan Station in Hong Kong - So what's the deal?

[renferme]

Just got back from China and Hong Kong and I noticed this chain of designer bag stores called Milan Station. I'm a bit suspicious of this chain TBH.

First of all Hong Kong is supposedly in the middle of a campaign to stop people from buying fakes. There are posters in the MTR stations (Buy Real - or something like that). The rest of the city continues as normal, the markets are full of fake bags and also fake Juicy, Custo, Hollister and A & F clothing.

Then I come across this store Milan Station in Granville Road. It has a Hong Kong tourist board approved sticker on the door, but is full of new Vuitton (which is suspicious in itself coz we all know they only sell on eLuxury and from their own stores), also alot of Dior and Balenciaga - the new spring colours. The prices in this store were high - about the same or a bit less than you'd expect to pay in Europe for the bags, a bit cheaper than usual Hong Kong price for the real thing.

Can any Hong Kong residents confirm my suspicions that this store is selling very good fakes, coz it looked like it. Why so open? If they are genuine how come they have lots of stock of Balenciaga which seems to be impossible to get anywhere else?

How are they getting away with this?

 

[Miss Kittee]

Hi, I know of this store and have seen it written up in reputable magazines (can't remember the titles). I go to Hong Kong a lot but have never had time to check it out.... location is not particularly convenient for me. I thought the original concept was that the bags are "used" - but extremely gently- and in many cases are not used at all, but bought and sold because they were never carried and the owner decided to get some cash for their next bag.....

 

[chocsta]

I think Miss Kittee is right, the bags are gently used and because people in Hong Kong tend to follow "trends", they are always looking to trade in old bags for cash for new ones.

As far as I know, they will only take and sell real bags, and they are usually pretty experienced in telling the real from the fakes.

 

[couturefemme]

milan station is absolutely reputable and trustworthy. i am a part-time HK resident (between there and san francisco) and the best way to explain how they have new stuff is that it's a v.v.high end consignment shop. they only accept new or v.gently used items. the reason they are able to have so much merchandise is that HK has a very unlimited amount of socialites, they get on every waiting list available and pay ahead of time. they usually end up with more bags than they can carry in 10 years, let alone 1 season! so they sell the bags to those "less fortunate" and rake in the cash (which really means nothing to them)
my aunt sells tons of her things to milan station - she's already sold 2 authentic birkins - and they were brand new still in the dust bag and box! she just doesn't think it's worth the hassle to take them back to the store. most HK stores don't even accept exchanges or returns and it's considered v.crass and impolite to do so.
i hope this helps!

 

[PrincessImp.]

I have been to HK a few times and never quite made it to Milan Station.

This thread really makes me wanna go to check this place out....

 

[eunhe7]

I've checked out several of the Milan station stores throughout HK on my last visit there. I'm inclined to believe that some of the stuff they sell is real (like a sophia marc jacobs bag I saw there), but I have to tell you, alot of the LV looked fake. I bet that they sell authentic handbags with an interspersing of fake bags here and there. overall, I was tempted to buy a bag, but I didn't want to risk getting a fake. I'd rather go to a legitimate store and know what I'm buying. but that's just my opinion.

 

[renferme]

I've checked out several of the Milan station stores throughout HK on my last visit there. I'm inclined to believe that some of the stuff they sell is real (like a sophia marc jacobs bag I saw there), but I have to tell you, alot of the LV looked fake. I bet that they sell authentic handbags with an interspersing of fake bags here and there. overall, I was tempted to buy a bag, but I didn't want to risk getting a fake. I'd rather go to a legitimate store and know what I'm buying. but that's just my opinion.

Thats exactly my suspicion - I hear what everyone else is saying but in every branch of Milan station I went to (three in total) they carried the same style of Balenciaga in the same two colours - purple and prange metallic (with tags) - it just looked a bit too suspicious to be true. C'mon, surely not every HK resident bought the same bag, didn't use it and then resold it. These bags did not have the zip pulls that one of tfs members was saying to look for. I wonder if they are reselling in the main but slipping a few fakes in on the sly. Agree also that some of the LV looked fake, too.

 

[cloud9]

off the topic,
but did you end up going to space/joyce outlet?
any purchases?

 

[Meena]

Can anyone telll me the address of this Milan Station shop? I'll go to HK soon and really want to vist the shop.

 

[Meena]

off the topic,
but did you end up going to space/joyce outlet?
any purchases?

My sister went to space outlet and get a prada bag at half price! I've only been to Joyce stores in Pacific Place, Central and Harbor City....my friend even got her classique balenciaga in pink metalic from there during Christmas!

 

[renferme]

off the topic,
but did you end up going to space/joyce outlet?
any purchases?

I didn't - I avoided it delberately (big tax bill coming up) But I'm back next month, and the month after that so I'll have a look.

For the poster who asked, Milan Station is in the Tsim Tsha Tsui district of Kowloon, on the corner of Granville Road.

 

[cloud9]

My sister went to space outlet and get a prada bag at half price! I've only been to Joyce stores in Pacific Place, Central and Harbor City....my friend even got her classique balenciaga in pink metalic from there during Christmas!

gotta love space B)
there is a joyce outlet 5 min away from space. you should go check it out.. good discounts..

 

[Meena]

For the poster who asked, Milan Station is in the Tsim Tsha Tsui district of Kowloon, on the corner of Granville Road.

Thanks, will go there when I visit HK next time!

 

[ingenue]

) time to check that place!

 

[posterchild]

yes you sell your used bags there... I used to frequent the one near Hk's times square since I worked in the summer in a medical center at causeway bay... I was lucky enough to find a westwood there one time... they usually have ALOT of LVs/Chanel/Gucci... I sold a prada there

 

[Meena]

Just talk to a HK friend this week. She confirms that all of the bags sold at Milan Station are real. For those brand new bags which are difficult to get hold of (including Balenciaga motocycle bags), my friend tells me that their prices are higher than normal retail prices. This is because Milan Station gets the bags from the boutiques at retail prices and then resell those bags to people who want to get the bags right away without having to waitlist. Not sure if this info is accurate though...

 

[Swank]

Besides Milan Station, there are Paris and France Stations as well. I have once seen a green shoulder birkin (by JPG) displayed in Paris Station, Causeway Bay.

 

[Fiona B]

Hi All,

I just happened to find this web page while trying to find the web address for the shop in Hong Kong called Milan Station & that is how I stumbled upon this web page, so I had to register just to add my comments. I first stumbled upon Milan Station 2 years ago on my first visit to HK. When I saw what they had on their shelves I was a bit miffed at first as I knew looking at the prices they couldn't be new bags however many of them looked so new and so authentic that I thought they must be fake looking at the price. They had a YSL brown leather bag with the horn handle which I had admired for a long time but couldn't justify spending the retail price on it & I can't quite remember how much I paid but I think it worked out at about 160 GPB. When I started asking questions as to why it was so cheap the assistant explained that a lot of thier stock was in actual fact 2nd hand then on closer inspectoin of the bag I noticed that there where actually signs of it being used before all be it very difficult to notice. So I after looking on line & YSL outlets in HK I realised the bag was in fact a real YSL bag, so I went back to the shop and bought the bag which I love & have compared side by side with a YSL bag in a store and much to my delight I own a beautiful second authentic hand bag. After chatting to the assistant he told me to check out their Causeway Bay store as they sold clothes etc. It was a lot more difficult to find what I was looking for in there but I did find a beautiful second hand classic Chanel top & a pair of second hand Manolo Blanick's shoes which were in almost perfect condition. Both were a present from my very kind boyfriend so I can't remember what he paid but again I checked them out on my return to the UK & they are genuine.
I went back to HK in Nov 04 so of course I went back to both stores just to see what they had, I purchased a Gucci Bag & a beautiful Prada bag (sadly the Prada bag which I loved got stolen in Australia over Xmas), so that is why I was trying to find the Milan Stations web address to see if they can source me another bag the same. I can't comment on the Loui V bags as they are not to my taste so I didn't look at them in detail but if you are anything like me you should check it out for yourself, as you will love it. Happy shopping!

 

[Meena]

I just went to HK last 2 weeks and did visit 2 branches of Milan Station (one on Kowloon side and the other in Causeway Bay). I also visited Paris Station and France Station. To my surprise, they carried quite a selection of those brandname bags, shoes and clothes. I saw so many Balenciaga bags, both used and brand new ones (in apple green and turquoise) in almost every size! The prices are a bit high though. I also saw a brandnew Chole' Paddington bag in cholocate brown (the one you can't find in Chole' boutique or any authorized dealer) !! Unfortunately, I'm not so good in checking if the bags are authentic or not, so my BF didn't let me spend more than $1K on a Balenciaga bag I couldn't verify the authencity.

Anyway, if any one has a chance to visit HK and is interested, I recommend that you go and check them out. I'm sure you will be as lucky as Fiona B.!! Goodluck!!

By the way, I couldn't believe that I saw at least a HK woman carrying a Balenciaga bag every place I went. I'm sure it must be VERY POPULAR over there. Anyway, I'm quite surprised that Balenciaga bags are available for sale this much in HK!!

 

[Swank]

Milan Station pays a higher price to get "IT" bags from the reseller, and therefore, they have marked up the prices. Eg. Birkin, Balenciaga, Paddington etc.

Balenciaga bag are every where in HK, and many of them are fake. I wouldn't want to carry one.

Btw, I don't think they have a website but you can always call them.