Where to Find the Best Handbags & Purses at the Lowest Prices in Bangkok, Thailand
Platinum Mall Bangkok
Before I begin, I just want to come clean and say that I have a bag problem. Whereas most women collect shoes, I am more interested in handbags, wallets, and purses.
Since I arrived in Bangkok, Thailand, some years ago, I’m ashamed to confess that I’ve purchased over 200 bags, some of which I’ve never ever opened. Some of these bags are still in their original packaging. On the other hand, they were inexpensive.
My research has led me to feel that Bangkok is the most affordable shopping destination in the world for handbags, purses, and wallets. After all, what other city in the world can boast that the price of the typical handbag is less than five dollars?
If you are a woman who enjoys collecting bags, as I do, and you are thinking about where to go on your next vacation, you would be foolish not to come to Bangkok. In a city like Bangkok, where there are hundreds of stores and marketplaces offering bags at ridiculously low prices, you want to know where to start shopping. However, I can reassure you that this is not the case.
Mbk Mall at Night
Mahboonkrong (MBK) Mall – The Mahboonkrong Mall is recognised as being among the top locations to shop for inexpensive handbags, purses, and wallets. The mall, which is referred to by the locals as MBK, is one of the most affordable places to buy in Bangkok. There are at least one hundred stalls or stores inside the mall that sell handbags, purses, and wallets; if you can’t get it here, they don’t make it.
You may locate the so-called “199 stalls” at MBK. At these booths in the market, each bag costs 199 baht, which is equivalent to $6.50, and they offer everything. Backpacks, imitation crocodile bags, fake leather bags, giant canvas bags, shopping bags covered with Asian cartoon characters, little demure evening bags, and enormous cotton bags that could contain a kitchen sink of a decent size are all available at these kiosks for the same price of 199 baht each.
Market booths and businesses specialising in Thai handicrafts may be found in several different parts of the shopping centre. These are fantastic sites to shop for Thai silk bags, hand-embroidered hill-tribe bags, petite evening purses, and other types of bags.
The kiosks selling leather bags may be found on the lower levels of MBK. These kiosks offer leather products of better quality, such as bags, wallets, purses, carry-on bags, and whole sets of luggage. Some of them are imitations of high-end designer handbags, while others are genuine leather handbags crafted by neighbourhood artisans. You may get anything from a modest leather clutch bag made of crocodile skin for the low price of twenty dollars to a gorgeous leather wallet made of crocodile skin that costs several hundred dollars. If you go to MBK and don’t locate a bag, something is definitely wrong with you. There are bags everywhere.
The world-famous weekly weekend market known as Chatuchak is one of my favourite locations to shop for bags. Chatuchak is also known as the Chatuchak Weekend Market. You did read that properly; the market has over 15,000 booths, and if I had to estimate, I’d say that at least 500 of them offer bags, wallets, backpacks, or purses.
How to Endure the Chatuchak Weekend Market, Which is Very Hot, Extremely Crowded, and Extremely Large
It is an amazing place to buy bags, wallets, and purses made by independent Thai designers as well as Thai university students. Chatuchak is a wonderful place to purchase handmade leather bags (I purchased a gorgeous black hand-tooled leather bag, which was entirely handmade and sewn for only $90), but it is also an amazing place to purchase handmade leather bags. You’ll discover the unique bags in all of Bangkok at the Chatuchak weekend market.
A word of advice, though: if you discover a bag that you like, you should definitely get it. Because of the size of the market, if you fail to do so, the likelihood of you ever being able to locate the stall again is almost nonexistent.
Even while the nighttime street market in the Sukhumvit neighbourhood is mostly organised with visitors in mind, you may still get some fantastic prices on leather purses and wallets there. The knowledge that the majority of the bags really on exhibit at the market booths on Sukhumvit are of low quality is the key to successful purchasing on this street. The high-quality leather goods, which are often imitations of designs by famous fashion designers, are kept in a van that is parked off the main roadway.
If you are interested in purchasing replicas of designer handbags, the vendor will provide you with a catalogue to peruse that details each and every bag that is currently in stock. I will not pass judgement on your decision in any manner. You are welcome to examine two to three bags at a time, and he will delegate one of his assistants to bring them to you. If you are interested in purchasing one of the bags, you should first find out how much it costs, then offer the seller a discount of at least 20% off the original price.
If you aren’t interested in replica handbags, the Sukhumvit street market also sells gorgeous silk and leather handbags that are either handcrafted or created by Thai artisans. Even here, strike a deal.
Platinum Mall is a colossal shopping centre located in the heart of Bangkok that is entirely devoted to the retail of apparel, footwear, handbags, and jewellery. It is known as a haven for those who are obsessed with shopping for purses and other accessories. Again, everything and everything related to bags, including but not limited to fashion bags, high-end leather bags, handcrafted bags with embroidered designs, and ethnic wallets and purses, may be purchased here.
Platinum Mall is a Fantastic Place to Go if You’re Looking for Low-cost Apparel, Footwear, and Accessories.
Platinum is an inexpensive mall to begin with, but the more you spend, the more affordable the subsequent purchases get. That is to say, the cost of a single handbag, wallet, or purse purchased from a stand is the same predetermined amount. When you purchase two or more of anything, the price that you pay for each individual item drops. The more you purchase, the cheaper each individual item will be.
I’ve picked up purses for as little as three dollars and as much as twenty dollars each. Platinum, on the other hand, has every shape and style imaginable, making it the ideal destination for a person who is obsessed with bags. Just be sure to avoid going there on the weekends since every Thai female in Bangkok will be there.
The last location on my list is the Bon Marche market in northern Bangkok. There, there is a little bag store that is one of my best-kept secrets. Every bag in the store costs 199 baht, making the establishment a “199 baht store.” However, the fact that many of their bags include unique patterns, the store itself is so small that it is crammed full with bags, and the inventory rotates every day is what sets this store apart from others.
It is a wonderful experience to have lunch or supper at Bon Marché.
This establishment is also usually packed with some of the wealthiest matrons in Bangkok, who don’t seem to mind purchasing a $6 purse to go along with their $2,000 Thai silk suit. It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to me since I’ve heard that one of Thailand’s princesses owns the market, and it truly is a great location to visit.
The store may be found just behind the artificially created lake. If you are in the vicinity of the food court, you may get a good view of it by looking out over the lake.