Kez

1st time visit to NYC. Have read that we can buy Tiffany bracelets, necklaces, bags & boxes(??), bags etc in Canal Street. What else do these Vendors sell - do they sell knock off clothes??

J

You can buy lots of knock-off crap that has fake designer labels on it, but doesn't hold up well. If the label is all that matters, go for it. The prices are right, and it's fun to sift through the piles.

You'll find: sunglasses, hats, scarves, purses, watches, etc. Mainly just accesories. Never seen knock off clothes. Check out Century 21, Daffy's, Nice Price, and Loehman's for designer clothes at a discount.

JustaGirl

I have never seen anything Tiffany! or knock off clothes, would only buy bags or sunglasses there, myself. J is right, go to Century 21 for clothes.
They are just "stalls" along the sidewalks, cannot imagine buying anything to wear from these vendors.

nyer

The majority of stuff to buy on Canal street is knockoff (or just cheap) hats, scarves, handbags, sunglasses, etc. I was just there on Sunday and didn't see any clothing other than some knockoff Nike fleece shirts and some $2 cotton sweaters. Some of the stalls/stores have shoes--more like sneaker styles with the same knockoff fabric as the handbags--like the Coach signature fabric that has been big this past year (but mostly in order to avoid having the goods confiscated, the letters on the bags are actually "O"s or "G"s rather than "C"s.)
I assume that as far as jewelry is concerned, you're probably talking about the dozens of legitimate stores, mostly on the opposite side of Canal Street--I suppose they might have copies of Tiffany designs, but mostly what I've seen there are lots and lots of basic gold chains. Never seen any Tiffany knockoffs of any kind on the street itself.

me

I have seen tiffany 'knock-off' heart toggle bracelets and necklaces on Canal St., some of them actually look quite good as compared to the real thing. They even have the "tiffany's" stamp on the heart. Not much in the way of knock off clothes though, mostly jewelry, handbags and accessories. Also some shoes.

Owen O'Neill

Quality varies widely.... the Gucci knock-off sunglasses I saw were a decent replica but the Oakleys were a very poor imitation. There are now Tiffany knock-offs as well. My GF has the Tiffany necklace (the real one - heavy silver with the oval Tiffany logo). The necklace they had on Canal looked almost identical and was real silver - much cheaper than the real thing at only $80 but lighter in weight. Ditto on the matching bracelet. Don't know about other "Tiffany" items but I think I saw some small boxes as well.

tracey

Hello,I am from NYC ang going to Canal street is not highly recommened. I have been was I was younger. It is VERY crowed and the area is dirty and seedy. The knockoffs can be spotted a mile a way. Some of the knockoffs are great for teenagers and some of the higher end pocketbooks can be $150-$200 but my personal philosophy is if you can not afford the real thing , than wait til you can. There are so other many great areas to see in NYC besides knockoff central!!! Sorry!!!!

topper

as far as knock off I have actually seen gucci shoes and lv shoes being sold on the stalls of canal street. if it's popular they willl have a knock off of it. it's best to go tuesday-thursday as the prices go up on the weekends, always bargaina nd don;t be afraid to walk awy . they will chase you down the street and give you the price. You will also find boot legged cd's and dvd's stay away from the dvd's as thye are not very good. also be aware that there is good and bad quality in these bootlegs and knock offs so beware check to see how labels are attached, and the like and also remmeber you are participating in a criminal activity and could be caught in one of the various FBI/NYPD raids that take place in china town on a daily basis.
As far as these items being sold in legitimate stores the answer is no, they are illegal. It is called copyright infringement and is a major crime.

rj

Oh please, I don't know why so many posters on here try to deter people from Canal St. If someone wants to check it out for themself, or heaven forbid, buy something, let them. What's it to you if someone wants to buy a knock off? As for illegal activity, I'm sure the same people who get their knickers in a knot over it on here aren't perfect law-abiding citizens either. Either that or they're the super-anal types who leave the "Do not remove" tag on mattresses.

xxx

Lol rj you are SO Right!

tracey-I cannot believe you are from NY. Or even the US!

xxx

You can tell they are tacky knock offs. Why bother if everyone knows?

Beary

Sorry but Canal street is dirty and nasty.

xxx

And smelly and filled with rude pushy people. Sorry- I am born and bred NY and would not shop on Canal Street. I would go to Target and buy a well made, no name brand product that will last rather than waste the equivalent amount of money on a piece of crap from Canal St that won't last until I get home simply because it has some designer's name on it (which wouldn't fool a 10 year old into thinking it's the real thing). Go ahead - waste your limited time in NY shopping for garbage - less crowds for me to have to deal with at the more important places to visit in NYC.

xx

Topper

Here's a interesting and TRUE story for you. I live near Albany NY. There was a kiosk in the mall (Crossgates) selling knockoff Kate Spade, Prada, Gucci etc bags. Prices started at $40.

Some school kid who had done a report on copyright infringements reported it to police. People running kiosk were arrested and released AND allowed to continue running stand for several more weeks. I think it just closed up.

rj

Right, and I bet you anything the people who stick their noses up in the air at Canal St. have been there AND BOUGHT something at some point in their lives. Oh, but wait, if they're too good for Canal St., imagine what they'd have to say about people who shop in Target? I mean, how come we all can't afford $1,000 items at Bloomies?

xxx

Perhaps because you don't work hard enough, rj.

xxx

LOL!

You see, when you buy something on Canal Street, everyone knows it is fake. Everyone who buys something there (fake handbag) carries around town immediately. Busted! Tacky fake bag!

xxx

rj, you miss my point. It doesn't bother me if you can afford a reall kate spade purse or not. Everybody knows a school teacher or firefighter can't afford such an overpriced luxury item. What does bother me is a person who obviously can't afford such an item, but thinks they are going to impress me by carrying around an obviously fake one at that.

Top that off with the idea that 1) they are wasting their money on a piece of crap and 2) they are ripping off the original designer that worked extremely hard at to get to the position they are in, and I am REALLY unimpressed.

Cheap

Well, since someone on these boards was very interested in buying fake diamonds to wear to Europe and someone wanted to know if she was wearing faux fur with them, Canal Street sounds like a perfect spot for some people to save dollars and still get some thrills.
What is wrong with that????

rj

It amazes me the extent to which certain sad people on here take the issue of fakes and Canal St. Again, I reiterate: what's it to you if someone wants to buy a knock off version of something they couldn't otherwise afford? In the big scheme of things, what does it matter? And some people on here are obviously no better then the knock-off buyers they despise. The way you look down on people who buy these items is no different from your claims that these people are trying to look like they have more money than they do. Personally I'd rather be friends with someone who was the owner of a knock-off than a snob who looked down at them.