Gem shop locations involved in scams...

[BAM]

I came across this site and thought it was interesting....
Things to watch out for if you're looking to buy gems in BKK.

http://www.angkor.com/2bangkok/2bang...s/stores.shtml

[Snick]

I only have one word of advice for buying gems in Thailand
Don't

Even the residents here have to find a friend in the business if they want to avoid being ripped off.

[BAM]

A few years ago I went on the Grand Palace tour. World Travel Service, I think that€™s who it was, has a desk within the Marriott Hotel. So I book the Grand Palace tour with them and I wanted a private guide and car. So the tour guide and car come and pick me up. She€™s a nice women and a professional at what she€™s doing€¦ she knows everything possible about the Palace and its history. It was a very enchanting and enriching tour. The car comes to pick us up out front and I €œThink€ I€™m going back to the hotel now€¦€¦ but no€¦.

We arrive in some parking lot, there are many large tour buses parked here. She looks at me and says €œNow we will go buy some souvenirs€ I said €œwhere are we? what is this place?€ It€™s called Gem something I can remember. She tells me this is €œPart of the Palace tour€¦ we are not done yet€¦ please let€™s go inside€¦€
I reluctantly get out of the car and go in this Gem place with her. The place is a tourist trap€¦ once we walk in my tour guide from the Palace says she will €œwait here€ and I€™m greeted by 5 other people that are very nice and offer me a drink€¦ yeah sure a drink€¦ the ONLY reason I came in here! Hahahaha
They take me on a tour of their manufacturing area€¦ now I€™m finding this a bit interesting€¦ we enter this huge area with about 100 guys all crammed in working on small little tables welding and whatever making jewelry of all sorts. It€™s an unbelievable site€¦ They then take me into a room with a movie is playing about how they mine Gems, etc€¦ it€™s boring as hell and I sit there for 2 minutes and say €œwhat the fuck is this shit? €œ I walk out of the movie room.. Their waiting for me and take me to some other area with Gems and keep asking me €œWhat I€™m interested in?€ I tell them up front €œhey man€¦ I didn€™t come here for anything€¦ I was brought here without asking€¦ sorry€ They looked at me all disappointed. I then bought a 500baht silk scarf for my mother€¦ and left. Found my tour guide waiting in the front. I said €œnow we go my hotel€¦ ok?€ hahahah

[katoeylover]

The problem with this is that it is aimed directly at the tourists, in taxis and hotel lobbies. They all get good commissions for any sale. Same goes for mediocre restaurant recommendations too.

[post-op lover]

All of this is true in China, too.

[Looker]

All of this is true in China, too.

This is everywhere, Europe/US/Australia. In Asia it's just more rampant!
I had chance to meet several tour guides from many countries and more or less thay all admitted to recieve a 'cut' from the shop/s where they direct to customers to.
I had a friend in HKG who really made a lot of money back in the very early 90's when still hordes of foreign tourists where coming to Hong Kong. Now the mainlanders have replaced almost totally the foreigners, so the tour agents can made up for what they loss in the late 90's when crisis almost killed the business.

[limpdick]

I dont see how this could happen in China, no one hear can speak english, it took me 20 cabs before I could get someone to drive me to the US embassy..

[stogie bear]

Had great fun with this once a while back... I didn't have a penny to my name but went around looking interested as hell and asking all kinds of questions. I thought they'd kill me when I told them I didn't have a bean and I was a teacher working in PakNam!