# shopping



## LarsH (Mar 26, 2014)

My family and I will be arriving mid August in Mexico city and will have to set up house and get to school in one week. We already have an apartment as of Aug. 1 in Condesa, but we need to buy lots of stuff quickly, so any suggestions/tips would be appreciated. 

Firstly we need school supplies for our kids. Can anyone recommend a store for one-stop shop for school stuff?

We need lights for the apartment. I'm assuming our European lights won't work (though I wonder, if the current goes straight through (i.e. doesn't pass through resistors, compacitors, or ballasts) to the bulb socket wouldn't we just need 120v bulbs?). Can anyone recommend a store with variety and good prices? (Alas no IKEA)

Appliances (we'll be there only two years so we don't want to spend a lot) Used would be great. 

Beds. We have been looking at futons. Does anyone know of a good futon place and how much do they go for in DF. What about regular beds?

Kitchen things. Does anyone know of a restaurant/catering supply store in town?

I'm sure there's lots more we will need, so please feel free to propose other places to buy things that I haven't mentioned as well. 

Thank you for your help. 

cheers,
Lars


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## Anonimo (Apr 8, 2012)

School supplies: start with Wal-Mart.

Kitchen things: There is a cluster of restaurant equipment places along the north side of Avenida Chapultepec, Colonia Júarez. (I haven't been in any of them, just saw them in passing.)

Lighting: along Calle Victoria and neighboring streets, Colonia Centro are store after store offering "laiting" fixtures.

Appliances: Sears. If you want used, try near Calle Victoria, mentioned above. East of Avenida Balderas and west of Eje 3 Central (Av. Lázaro Cárdenas). 
http://goo.gl/maps/gWuAr

IMO,it would be far more efficient to go to a department store to buy these appliances and lights, than squandering time on the barrio streets looking for a bargain.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

LarsH said:


> My family and I will be arriving mid August in Mexico city and will have to set up house and get to school in one week. We already have an apartment as of Aug. 1 in Condesa, but we need to buy lots of stuff quickly, so any suggestions/tips would be appreciated.
> 
> Firstly we need school supplies for our kids. Can anyone recommend a store for one-stop shop for school stuff?
> 
> ...


Any papeleria, and there are thousands, will have most of the stuff kids need for school. Costco might be good choice for a lot of the other stuff. It costs $400-$500 (about 30 euros) to join, but it would be worth it you end up buying much there. They have appliances, mattresses, bedding, cooking utensils. I bought a fairly nice complete set of pots and pans there. The plugs in Mexico are US style, not northern European style, so your lamps will need adaptors. Then the bulbs probably will work. Most electronics these days are designed to work with both 120 and 240, phone chargers, computers, TVs?, etc. Again you will need adaptors. There are restaurant/catering supply stores. I can't direct you to one in DF.


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## LarsH (Mar 26, 2014)

Just did a quick google street view stroll of Calle Victoria and it looks like lamp land! Thanks for the tip.

I've read that bargaining is common in DF, but is this the case in shops that sell lighting fixtures for example?
Obviously bargaining is done in markets stalls, but where in general is there no bargaining (eg, I assume no bargaining in dept stores).


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

No bargaining in stores as a rule although some people try and sometimes get a small discount.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

LarsH said:


> Just did a quick google street view stroll of Calle Victoria and it looks like lamp land! Thanks for the tip.
> 
> I've read that bargaining is common in DF, but is this the case in shops that sell lighting fixtures for example?
> Obviously bargaining is done in markets stalls, but where in general is there no bargaining (eg, I assume no bargaining in dept stores).



I went shopping the other day on Victoria to get a ceiling fixture for my bedroom. It's chock-full of stores, both hole-in-the-wall and somewhat bigger than that. You'll need to speak at least some Spanish to go shopping there, and I can't imagine bargaining is something you can do there.


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## Isla Verde (Oct 19, 2011)

citlali said:


> No bargaining in stores as a rule although some people try and sometimes get a small discount.


Of course, you'd have to try in Spanish.


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## TundraGreen (Jul 15, 2010)

Isla Verde said:


> Of course, you'd have to try in Spanish.


My experiences with bargaining:

Taxis: I always discuss the rate and never pay what they first ask.

Mercado for weekly fruits and vegetables: Pay what they ask, life is too short to spend time trying to nickel and dime them. Occasionally, they knock off a few pesos when one of the other of us doesn't have the right change.

Tianguis and mercados for clothes, and other items: bargaining is always in order. The first price quoted can be 3 times what they expect to get. In touristy areas the first quote may be high by more than that.

Supermarkets, papelerias, other stores with marked prices and a cash register: Just pay the amount on the cash register.

Custom made furniture: Price is negotiable

Factory made furniture and appliances: Price is probably fixed but it wouldn't hurt to ask about a discount.

And you don't need perfect Spanish to discuss prices but some ability doesn't hurt. I was with a friend once looking for a hat in Mercado San Juan de Dios, a huge indoor market in Guadalajara filled with stalls. He selected a hat that he liked and was told in English it was $400 pesos. Meanwhile a nearby customer was quoted a price of $300 pesos in Spanish for a similar hat. When I pointed out the difference, the vendor tried to tell us the difference was quality. My friend ended up paying $250 pesos, probably still overpriced by maybe $100 pesos.


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