Taipei Twn, where to buy authentic equipment?

This is one I usually deal with. However it is in Taichung. Anyway, call those 3 stores and ask if they will match the price with YoYo. #1 is good but might not give you too much discount.
good luck
http://www.twsport.com.tw/main_index.php

 

Bluesaint,

The second one in your list is my favourite, it's located near Tse Lin, which is a popular night market and eating place for tourists and locals in Taipei city, so if you are there might as well kill 2 birds with 1 stone!

If the store still operates the way they used to, they also carry quite a wide range of Fleet and Victor rackets, so besides Yonex, you can also view the other brands.

 

When I went to TW 2 yrs ago, I went to #1 and #3. Both offers quite a bit discount as I bought a lot of stuff from each one of them. Personally, I like #1 better, as it's the "flagship" store, which offers more varieties.

 

Agree with LB. However, may be LB was a valume buyer. I could not bargain too much on the string in #1. I bought 5 packs of BG85 lav only. The kid smile and I think he is wondering what the hell was I doing there. In Taiwan, the shop usually does the stringing for you.

 

I ordered in bulk and had a nice chat with the stringer (the boss?). I think I got about 30 packs of BG65 and 20 packs of BG80 from them, as well as some shirts, shoes and bags, etc. Therefore, they gave me quite a bit discount on my net purchase. It's funny in a way, to see the staff (owner couple?) running around and treat you like a king. At the end, they barely fit all into 3 giant bags for me.

 

As I said, they were nice. It was about 3 yr ago and I spoke to a young kids. I did see an old guy at the reg. I was there only one time before. As you know, I got my source now...

 

Yeah. 30% is very common. If you order in bulk, you might be able to squeeze a bit more, or get some nice freebies.

 

Those 3 stores are classified as the Yonex's Flagship stores in Taipei. Personally, I go to the third one the most, and sometimes the first one. I normally will skip the second store at any cost as I don't like the way they do business. Especially if you are to string a racket, do not send them to the second store (I have plenty of bad stories on the second store)

The first store and the third store as running by brothers & sisters. The big sister is at the third store while the younger brother is the first store. Both are very reputable in stringing though.

 

If you have time, you might like to check out these shops:

[FONT=細明體]上展體育用品行[/FONT]
[FONT=細明體]台北市民生東路5段248號[/FONT]
[FONT=細明體]02-27460677[/FONT]
One of my favourite shops besides 松山 and 龍騰虎躍.

[FONT=細明體]文瑞體育用品公司[/FONT]
[FONT=細明體]台北市重慶南路一段114號[/FONT]
[FONT=細明體]02-23711800[/FONT]
http://www.wr-99-sports.58168.net/e-new88/www/myPage/p/cgi-bin/view.cgi?id=MP040424000001
There is also a basement outlet at Gong Guan area located at the junction of Roosevelt Road and Xin Sheng South Road.

[FONT=細明體]耀馬[/FONT]
台北市新生南路3段62號
02-23622365
Located near Macdonalds at Gong Guan area. You may wish to drop by if you are going to 龍騰虎躍 and [FONT=細明體]文瑞Gong Guan outlet. There are also factory outlets nearby - New Balance, Nike, Adidas etc.[/FONT]

[FONT=細明體]南海[/FONT]
台北市八德路2段23號2樓
02-23931060
You might like to drop by if you are going to Guang Hua Bazaar. Need to pre-order if you are looking for Yonex rackets/clothing.

MMOA showroom
http://www.mmoa.com.tw/all.htm

 

Hmm, these are street adresses right? Could u show them to a taxi driver in Taipei and have them drive you there?

Edit: Btw, do they speak good english?

 

Is it cheaper in Taiwan thank Hong Kong for Yonex gear (eg. racquet, shoes, bags)? And what if you don't speak mandarin, can the owners speak cantonese or english?

 

If you can print them in chinese, I think most taxi driver should be able to bring you there. Location vise speaking, I think the 1st one is fairly easy to get to, consider the traffic is not too bad over there. The other 2's locations, are in fairly busy street, which can cost u a bit during peak time. Of course, it also depends on where you stay. You can ask the hotel ppl for suggestions.

However, I don't think most of taxi drivers speak english, though. If you prefer english speaking ones, contact the hotel to arrange some higher level limo pickup. Of course, it will be more expensive.

 

Not sure if the owners can speak cantonese or english. However, if you can write something simple in chinese, I am sure you can communicate.

 

uh.....in taiwan....theres a yonex dealer in guang hua sang chang...i think they are reputable...they sold me a racket

 

i go to the 捷利 store a lot, friendly people and big store

 

Is it possible to write a list of what u want?

Like this.

1x Yonex NanoSpeed 9000
1x Yonex Armortec 900 Technique
1x SHB 99 LTD

Two more questions,
- is the stuff they sell at the first store authentic?
- how much does these two racquets normally cost in Taiwan?

(it's my mum whos going there and she wont be able to tell fake one apart from a real one and she doesnt know what the prices normally are.)

 

Your shopping list is good enough, if you can add on details such as U/G and string type/tension (for racket, also whether you want to get strung there), also shoes sizes (Euro sizes?).

The 3 stores listed all sell authentic stuff, I believe. The 1st and 3rd I personally went there before during my own visits, and they are real with competitive prices.

If your mom does not speak chinese, she might have a hard time to communicate regarding "bargin". Usually, they will give u a "discount" price (compare to the price tag) with at least 10-20% off or so. Of course, you can ask for more, if your order is large enough.

However, I have no idea about how much the things you want actually cost in TW. You can give your mom an idea of your own "bottom line" with your local price. If she convert the TW racket price into your currency, and believe you did save a lot, she should purchase. If she thinks the price is not much difference, or actually higher than your local price, don't buy it.