Lately some colleague asked me this question.
He was not referring to the shmug gifts, or 1000 sorts of Green tea, but looking at the items which are simply interesting here to buy compared with European countries, or other Asian countries around.
Some thoughts (without considering import duties and taxes):
Reading glasses:
Inexpensive A-brand frames and high quality lenses for those who seek the “style”. I would estimate 30 % cheaper than the EU
Same counts for some top brand sunglasses. Not Rayban as they seem to be the same price.
Bicycle’s :Prime brands like Taiwan’s GIANT are much much less than overseas.
Some electronics like an IPOD. Around 15% cheaper (200-220 Euro for a 30 Gig )
others? please list! thanks !! 
“made in china” tea towels. available for 100 NT for ten.
boxes of binlang. with pictures of not-naked women in not-provocative poses (which I guess is better than pictures of not-women in provocative non-poses).
[quote=“urodacus”]“made in china” tea towels. available for 100 NT for ten.
boxes of binlang. with pictures of not-naked women in not-provocative poses (which I guess is better than pictures of not-women in provocative non-poses).[/quote]
yeah, thanks… just what we did not needed leverage this thread to a valuable one 
And you’re wrong about the binlang. It does not last a 24 hr trip. Lime quality decreases. Tried it.
Buy a book about the bin lang girls. better , healthier 
well, apart from a flippant suggestion, what else is there? most things made here are cheaper, especially ex factory in TaiChung. most things sold here are also at least 20% cheaper than europe too as the retail overheads are much lower.
apologies for the thread hijack…
anyway, disregard the bin lang option: most countries would slap you in jail for drug smuggling.
GaoLiang. Some of the top quality stuff and some in those nice looking ceramic pots & bottles.
Maybe they’ll actually be able to stomach the stuff. That’d be good for a laugh.
Not an exciting gift, but batteries are much cheaper in Taiwan than in many EU countries (environmental concerns) – or so I’ve heard.
Cigarettes and batteries. Those are indeed concrete identified and cheaper !
We’re getting somewhere.
urodacus, no hard feelings about your joke mate.
As for the statement that most products are 20% cheaper ex-factory, We should not aim at b-brands like Taitun etc.
What about LCD screens?
I buy those electric mosquito racquet killers.
A novelty gift that actually is useful for killing bugs, and great when you’re drunk at parties, too.
[quote=“ceevee369”]As for the statement that most products are 20% cheaper ex-factory, We should not aim at b-brands like Taitun etc.[/quote]The Tatung plain-jane round rice cooker is regarded as the best in the world for making all kinds of dishes from drunken chicken to Hakka-style fatty pork to congee. It’s built like a tank, lasts forever and holds a stable temperature far better than any modern computerized Japanese one. I think they recently started making them in stainless or something, just in case you don’t like the standard Taiwanese Refrigerator Green. 
Another great product from Tatung is the old-fashioned metal fan they make from the original tooling. Weighs a ton, is quiet and will last forever. They now make them in black, as well as Refrigerator Green.
Most consumer electronics are now cheaper in Taiwan than they are in Europe. Digital cameras, mp3 players etc. Notebook computers don’t seem to be such a great deal cheaper, though peripherals like routers and hubs are a good deal. Clothes and shoes are way cheaper, so are bedclothes, even European brands.
Other Taiwanese goodies you can’t seem to get in Europe: Bull’s head sauce for hotpot. Glass noodles for same. Green beans for desserts, dried cuttlefish, fermented dofu… :drool:
[quote=“redwagon”][quote=“ceevee369”]As for the statement that most products are 20% cheaper ex-factory, We should not aim at b-brands like Taitun etc.[/quote][/quote]The Tatung plain-jane round rice cooker is regarded as the best in the world for making all kinds of dishes from drunken chicken to Hakka-style fatty pork to congee. It’s built like a tank, lasts forever and holds a stable temperature far better than any modern computerized Japanese one. I think they recently started making them in stainless or something, just in case you don’t like the standard Taiwanese Refrigerator Green.
Another great product from Tatung is the old-fashioned metal fan they make from the original tooling. Weighs a ton, is quiet and will last forever. quote]
But do they work on 220V ? Guess not. When people need to buy a converter in EU, price mght become equal.
Besides, how many of our foreign Western visititors would carry a rice cooker in their lugage? mmm? :s
Clothes are the main thing my wife finds that is cheaper (at least compared to the States), just beware of name brand items being sold in certain places.
Other than that, household items generally, especially those that are more common in Asia (rice cookers, Chinese dishes, etc.). With electronics I think we found that the gizmo itself might not be cheaper but the accessories would be. For instance, the camera would be slightly more expensive, but the memory chips would be a little bit cheaper.
[quote=“ceevee369”]
But do they work on 220V ? Guess not. When people need to buy a converter in EU, price mght become equal.
Besides, how many of our foreign Western visititors would carry a rice cooker in their lugage? mmm? :s[/quote]Dunno about 220V, you’d have to check. Worth carrying back? I dunno, depends how much you’re gonna miss your drunken chicken or pork belly I guess.
Have you ever tried cooking rice in a regular saucepan on an electric stove? It’s a nightmare trying to get it right, and getting the pan clean afterwards. If I were moving to Europe for an extended stay, one of those rice cookers would be in the stuff I sent there, no question about it.
yup, a rice cooker is the go for a 110v country.
clothes can be cheaper here, but then they often fall apart after washing three or four times.
cigarettes and booze are definitely cheaper, but there’s an import limit…
I’d have to go for jack’s mosquito racquet as the best idea so far.
This is going to sound lame, but you can get those really good “tiger” brand muscle relaxant patches; they’re better than anything I’ve seen anywhere else, and nice and thin, too (not like having a patch of stinky felt glued to your back/knee).
As far as I know, prescription medications are cheaper and birth control pills are MUCH cheaper. (I’m not sure about prices in the EU, but they’re cheaper than in Canada or the States.)
You can also get really cool pens/notebooks/stationary here (cheaply, too) that may not be available in the EU.
A friend told me it’s also the place to buy replacement printer ink injections. But that’s secondhand information.
Electronics … if no global guaranty I would keep my hands off …
npmeshop.com/en_index.aspx
Something from The National Palace Museum
Ceramics from Ying-ge.
Gifts from the various museum gift shops
Gifts from the Chinese Handicraft Mart (aka Taiwan Handicraft Promotion Center – 徐州路 Xu2 Zhou1 (Hsu Chow) Road #1, open 7 days a week, 9am-5:30pm, except Oct 10 and both New Years).
It depends whether you are looking for gifts or useful things to take with you.
Gifts; jade (although I suspect they just wear the stuff I give them when I’m around…), Hello Kitty stuff; I got a bunch of this junk for the little girls in my family and now I am number one strange auntie from abroad.
Useful stuff; tea, my family loves the WuLong tea. Cheap electronics. Better stationery.