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![]() In previous years, bargain shopping was only popular during the Christmas season. But nowadays, bargain shopping has become a trend throughout the country all year round. Establishments such as Greenhills, Divisoria, and Tutuban are known for offering good bargains to customers. This enables Filipinos to buy products for a very cheap price; most of these items even have signature brands. There is an increasing demand for cheap products in the Philippines because of the country�s declining economic status. Filipinos, particularly women, prefer to always look good and keep up with the latest fashion despite the fact that money is scarce. This is why they like to accessorize themselves with jewelry and other accessories, but a piece of jewelry costs so much that they are left with no more money to buy other goods. This resulted to the emergence of imitated products, such as watches, belts, jewelry, wallets and other personal accessories that can easily be bought in bargain shops. It may even be observed that Class A imitations (items which have been fabricated but are still of very good quality and look exactly like the original ones) are still relatively low, compared to other imitation products.
The question some people might ask is whether Rolex and other companies lose profit because of these imitations. It is not actually legal to sell imitated goods but technically, it isn�t illegal either. This is the case with pirated VCDs, DVDs, and CDs. If someone gets caught selling pirated CDs, their goods will then be confiscated. But why is it that accessories of imitated goods are not confiscated as well? Not all items sold at bargain shops are imitations, however. Some products are also originals, but aren�t as popular as other brands but they also have good quality and are still very affordable. On the average, prices of accessories being sold maybe cheaper than other products because these items may have been personally made or the cost may just lower than other branded accessories. Even if this is the case and even if most people know that these items are mere imitations, there is a still a big market that patronizes these products because of their affordability. Also, some of the items being sold here are locally made and may only be found in bargain shops. In conclusion, most Filipinos find it practical to buy at bargain stores because they get items cheaper especially for those people who always want to be on top of the fashion bandwagon. To date, more and more stores and stalls that offer bargain shopping are opening. This method of selling products has been successful in the Philippine setting because people find that with haggling at bargain shops, they get to buy the things that they want and still get their money�s worth.
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