A cruise down fifth avenue, with little to show for it

First, it takes a lot of time and energy to compare the prices. If you are not careful, you will be duped by some store owners who jack up their prices before offering so-called discount. Some even brazenly raise prices after you have put products in a shopping bag.

Second, you tend to buy a lot of stuff you would not buy if it was being sold at regular prices. Of course, very often you do not really need these things. Third, you may buy some expensive items that turn out to be fake. If you want your money back, you are going to have to go to the trouble of finding a product expert who can prove conclusively that you have been cheated.

I once got a rip-off brand-name foundation from a well-known website in China. Suffice to say that the real thing gave off a light fragrance that was worlds apart from this fake product and its acrid stench. But could I prove that I had a fake product on my hands - if not my face? Having no knowledge of the secret formula of this stuff, all I could do was throw the bottle, together with my trust in the website, into the dustbin.

Don't get me wrong; like many Chinese, I shop online all-year around, and am generally happy with what I get.

But it is bad experiences like the one I have just recounted that make people turn to overseas department stores to shop. You know they sell the genuine thing, and at real discounts. If what they sell is used or second-hand, they are upfront about it. On the other hand, these disclaimers are in English, and they may sail straight past Chinese customers.