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

[Dudette]

I've been to 3 Milan Stations last winter and at that time, based on my knowledge of LV, Gucci and Bottega, they were selling authentic stuff. After scrutinizing all 3 shops, you can really tell which bags are highly available in the second hand market. Like, I noticed the Bottega black and brown were present in every store. The Gucci and LV Sac Plat bags were also practically in every shop. For LV, it was mostly monogram.

But I don't like they way they display the bags. Everything is just cramped together on the shelves. I saw an LV Vernis Houston in lime which was squeezed between 2 monogram bags. I would worry about color transfers on the vernis! And shoppers come and they start pawing and grabbing - it just breaks my heart But they do have some select pieces they keep inside a glass case. I'm assuming these are the higher priced items.

I sold my Cherry Blossom pochette to them, and they inspected the bag for authenticity - they know where to look. They checked the date code, the screws, the strap. They know what they're doing. But even if it's a limited edition bag in mint condition, they insist on paying you below retail. I guess I should just sell it on ebay and get a premium next time

All in all, I still comb these shops, looking for a great buy, and just checking the market value of the bags I have in my closet B)

 

[Dudette]

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

where exactly is the joyce outlet? and space? these are outlet shops right? so everything is brand new?

Thanks!!

 

[Swank]

Joyce Warehouse,
21/F, Horizon Plaza, Lee Nam Road, Ap Lei Chau, Hong Kong Telephone : 2814 8313
Mon Closed
Tue - Sat 10:00 - 18:00 Public holiday 12:00 - 18:00

 

[fashioncents]

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?

Hi Lady Muck,

When Milan Station started 3-5 years ago - they advertised themselves as consignment used store. There are lots in HK but they are the more popular ones. They claim all bags are real.

Also, there was write up that the owner went to Europe (Paris) to buy the bags and bring it back to sell in his stores (I think it's what we would call "Black Market") as it does not go thru the proper channels. It's very popular in Asia and it's not really against the law. That is why LV puts up a sign in all their stores that they can refuse to sell to their customers as they know about this market. So when authrorized dealers and corporate stores are out of an "in" bag - HK people will go and buy it at Milan Station for a higher price.

My friends and I think that the bags are a mixture of fakes and real ones. Cuz the fakes from CHINA are really good - especially Grade AA stuff.

My friends in HK won't take the risk as it's hard to tell. They rather try to get it in Canada (less demand).

The only stores authorized to sell Balenciaga is:

Joyce - HK
On Pedder - Taiwan
I.T. - Shanghai

All other places are either fakes, black market goods or used - but it's up to you to decide if it's real or not.

Hope this helps.

 

[adn]

but lets say you're at the Milan Station and you find something but you're not sure if it's authentic. if you ask the salesperson, would they tell you the truth? because im going to HK this summer and im DEFINITELY stopping by this store but im not real good at telling the difference between and real and a fake. [i'm looking for a balenciaga hehe]
also, would it be possible to bargain the price? i know my mom is good at that...

 

[cloud9]

where exactly is the joyce outlet? and space? these are outlet shops right? so everything is brand new?

Thanks!!

its in south horizons, ap lei chau
take the bus to south horizons, and get off at the bus terminal.
its right there. you will see it right away.
and yes, everything is brand new
space cells prada, helmit, miu miu etc.

i posted their namecard(space) before in the outlet shopping thread

http://www.thefashionspot.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19533&page=2&pp=20&highlight=space

 

[Dudette]

its in south horizons, ap lei chau
take the bus to south horizons, and get off at the bus terminal.
its right there. you will see it right away.
and yes, everything is brand new
space cells prada, helmit, miu miu etc.

i posted their namecard(space) before in the outlet shopping thread

http://www.thefashionspot.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19533&page=2&pp=20&highlight=space

Thanks, cloud9!! Just what I needed I never thought we had designer outlets in Asia!! I this board!

 

[Dudette]

Joyce Warehouse,
21/F, Horizon Plaza, Lee Nam Road, Ap Lei Chau, Hong Kong Telephone : 2814 8313
Mon Closed
Tue - Sat 10:00 - 18:00 Public holiday 12:00 - 18:00

Thanks Swank! I have 2 items on my HongKong agenda now:
1. shop at Joyce Warehouse
2. shop at Space

 

[hugryhippo]

There is also a Lane Crawford outlet in the same building as the Joyce outlet...they stock good brands including Stella McCartney.
I would avoid Milan Station unless you are an expert, I heard they mix the super fakes with the real stuff. Why take the risk unless when there are so many legit options?

 

[alvinchik]

Those are not fakes, but second-hand, or used.
Those are guaranteed 100% real.

 

[alvinchik]

Those bags selling in Milan Station are not fake, but second-hand or used.
Guarantee you those are 100% real.

 

[morriseel]

I pop in and out of Milan Station quite frequently as I live in Hong Kong. The one I go to is right in Lan Kwai Fong, corner of Wellington Street and D'aigular Street. I have never seen any fakes in there.

I recently bought an olive Dior Gaucho there, brand new, before they were even launched in Hong Kong. It's all authentic!

It's actually great for second hand bags...they are all in great condition! I could kick myself that I passed up a large cognac spy for $11000hkd in perfect condition. Course, went back to get it and it was gone.

Paddy's are quite reasonable there...at the moment they have an oversupply, so you could get a good price if you're interested.

 

[gigi leung]

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)

I've been to the Paris Station & Milan Station in Causeway Bay & Tsim Sha Tsui when I visited HK in Dec 05. There were tons of LVs, Paddys, some Balenciaga & even Birkins. IMO their bags are the real deal.

I agree with couturefemme that many of their bags are in very good or like new condition because the rich socialites probably never use the bags or only used them once. In where I live there's a store somewhat like Paris/Milan which take in bags from the rich tai-tais. These women can let go like 10 bags at one go...season after season

 

[morriseel]

I've been to the Paris Station & Milan Station in Causeway Bay & Tsim Sha Tsui when I visited HK in Dec 05. There were tons of LVs, Paddys, some Balenciaga & even Birkins. IMO their bags are the real deal.

I agree with couturefemme that many of their bags are in very good or like new condition because the rich socialites probably never use the bags or only used them once. In where I live there's a store somewhat like Paris/Milan which take in bags from the rich tai-tais. These women can let go like 10 bags at one go...season after season

Gigi, where do you live..Singapore? If so, what is that store called and where is it? I'll check it out next time I go.

 

[Constance]

when i was in HK last year, i went into the Milan Station stores.
they were selling brand new birkins for HK$68000 (approx US$8800). i inquired further and was told that they can give the birkin for HK$64000 (approx US$8300) if i paid cash or bank transfer.
it's way cheaper than ebay resellers! but of course, if you can get it from the boutique...

also, there was a black croc birkin in Paris Station (near times square), but it looked suspicious to me. o well, i could be wrong...

 

[baghag21]

When I was in HK this Jan 06, I was in the Milan Station stores in Central and Time Square. Have a HK friend who buys and sells from/to MS.
Generally the prices of luxury brands in Asia, incl. HK are considerably higher than Europe. HK appears to be more expensive for certain items. For example, a Python Silverado from On Peddar in HK cost about USD500 more than those available here in KL, where they already cost about USD500-700 more than Europe's prices! Hence for those who are accustomed to European prices, they may find that MS's prices are significantly and possibly unreasonably higher. I found that their used Paddington cost the same as a brand new one from Europe. They were also selling a used Black Shoulder Birkin for more than a brand new one from the Hermes store! Based on my experience, they were quite stringent with their pricing. I tried to bargain on a used brown Doctor Silverado (which cost as much as a brand new one from LVR!) and they declined my offer price, which was not unreasonable.

However, as per explained in some of the earlier posts in this thread, there IS a high demand for luxury bags in HK, especially for the current "it" bags. With the high demand, limited supply and/or long waiting lists, customers are willing to pay the high prices for them even though they may be used. Also the arrogance of some of the luxury boutiques like Chloe, who have been quite notoriously known for only reserving/holding items for their regular customers and/or the HK movie stars, the more "regular" customers may have to seek alternative resources to obtain the highly popular items. Also, the general characteristic of HK customers to be obssessed with trends and with a specific item, like the Paddington despite the fact that there are tonnes of fakes and are commonly sighted, contributes to the flourishing business of stores like MS. In HK, the price of popular items can be played upon as per share prices in the stock market! The higher the demand, the higher the prices!

I have found that the employees of the stores, which curiously are predominantly men, are very knowledgeable and highly informed of the current bag trends and prices. They appeared more knowledgeable than some of the "authentic" boutique SAs.

 

[gigi leung]

Morriseel, I sent you a PM

 

[BagladyShoegirl]

Gigi, if it is ok, can you PM me the store name and location so I can go when I return to Singapore in Apr. Thanks!

 

[gigi leung]

Baglady, PMed!

 

[BagladyShoegirl]

Hi Gigi, thanks so very much for the adderess! I gave you Karma but I'm still not so good at the techy stuff so hopefully I did it correctly!

I've been to all 3 Milan stations and I agree that they look like they are interspersed with a mix of genuine and super AA grade fakes stuff. And the other worrying thing IMO is that they just get whomever staff on hand to judge the bags they take in based on their knowledge...human errors can occur right?

However, they will give you a full refund if you go to a LV/Chanel/Gucci boutique and the SA there tells you the bag is fake (within a certain time frame of course, e.g. same day or next day). They also buy the same bag from you at a 70% discount from your purchase price within 3 months, just keep the receipts. That kind of lowers your risk of loss as compared to a fake bag you paid genuine price for right?