Shopping & Retail
Find out what to buy where with our selection of recommended shops. Are you looking for a gift for a friend? A leather jacket? A souvenir?
Buying jewels has money advantages
It is well worth buying gold in Alanya. The price of gold is the same all over the world but there is a big difference when it comes to the cost of manufacture.
Therefore the jewellery shops in Alanya always offer gold at better prices than those at home.
The gold sold in Alanya is from the gold market in Istanbul and mainly originates from South Africa.
The different gold alloys are:
22 carat: 91.6% gold and stamped 916: A soft alloy which is used for chains and rings but never together with gems.
18 carat: 75% gold with the stamp 750: A harder alloy that is used together with gems.
14 carat: 58.5% gold and stamped 585: A hard alloy that is often used for chains and earrings.
8 carat: 33.3 % gold and stamped 333: An extremely hard alloy.
The followings materials are used for alloy:
Platinum: Is used for normal gold.
Silver: Is used for white gold.
Copper: Is used for red gold.
Brass: Is used for normal gold.
Nickel: Should be avoided because of allergies.
In Turkey diamonds are not normally used - instead brilliants are very popular.
The brilliants come from Europe and their quality can be measured by the four Cs:
Cut: up to 56 cuts on the round and 64 cuts on the square.
Carat: 1 carat is the same as 0.2 gram of brilliant.
Clarity: the clearness of the brilliant.
Colour: white is best.
The quality of the stone, judged by the four C's, combined with the craftmanship is reflected in the price.
Other gems worth mentioning are:
Sapphire: Coming from Kashmir and blue in colour.
Ruby: Reddish stone from Burma.
Emerald: Coming from Colombia and green in colour.
Everything you need to know about skin and leather
When travelling to Turkey it is highly recommended that you buy leather goods.
Skin and leather have become desirable goods due to excellent prices.
The raw material, preparation and workmanship are all cheaper in Turkey.
Leather shops in Turkey are in abundance and thus provide a large unlimited selection.
When buying skin and leather you have to make sure that the stitching and lining are of a good quality. However, you do not need to worry about the quality of the leather itself as it is always the genuine article.
Here is a list of the most common types of leather:
Nubuck Calf skin once the outer skin layer has been removed
Suede Originates from many different animals and is the underside of the skin.
Noplin Surface prepared skin that is sparkling - originally made for the Russian market.
Merino Very soft Australian lamb skin which is available at a reasonable price
Napa Smooth leather which comes from a wide variety of animals - usually good quality
Silk is the best quality and should come from lamb
Washed leather Easy to work with and machine washable
A Souvenir goes for everyone: Accessories
Over the years Jewels and accessories have become one of womens favourite needs..
In the beginning women used to wear only jewels made from silver and gold but nowadays they use almost every kind of material to complete their beauty. For this reason it is making a huge accessory market before our eyes. Alanyas visitors always remember to add accessories to their shopping lists. The development in gold and jewellery markets between 1985 to 2000 started to decrease depending on the change of the customers profile. Tourists began to prefer cheaper presents rather than expensive ones. .
It has become more popular to buy or give as a gift these natural, smart and cheap accessories. Visitors adopted this accessory market which enables them to buy little presents for all of their friends for the same price as a golden necklace..
There were not more than ten shops in the early 2000s now it has reached more than 100 accessory shops in Alanya. Sait Yenial, the owner of the Giz Accessories on Atatürk Street since 2003 made these explanations about the accessory market: The accessory market with unlimited choices started to extend especially after year 2000. Main styles are in front in this business which enables to transfer any kind of materials into accessories. We can mention Indian, natural stones, night accessories and traditional Turkish accessories as the main styles. There are different designs for the different age groups. Mostly it is adressing women but also it is possible to find various accessories for men. We present different choices for the city men who cares for his appearance. .
Accessory market seems to become more popular adressing different kind of customer tastes with a wide range of products .
24.09.08
Tips for shopping
If you like shopping and you are any good at bargaining, lots of good deals can be made in the small shops of Alanya.
Here are a few tips to bear in mind when going shopping in town.
Avoid shopping for the first couple of days of your holiday. It is important that you get to know the currency before you start bargaining and buying.
You should do your shopping in the morning when the salesmen are able to give you all the time that you need.
In Turkey many salesmen think that it is their god who brings the first customer of the day and that this will bring luck for the whole day.
You may therefore receive special treatment at this time of day.
Do not enter a shop where the salesmen are practically grabbing you from the street. In these shops the salesmen are likely to push you to buy and, if you should choose not to buy, they can become very aggressive.
Always make the salesman tell you a price before you start getting more information about the goods. Salesmen become upset if they have spent a lot of time trying to sell you items which you refuse to buy in the end because they are too expensive for you.
Bargain on all prices except food. If you are any good at bargaining, you could get the price down by as much as 50 percent in some places. With jewellery it is possible to get the price reduced by up to 30 percent.
Also, you should never be satisfied with getting the best price at an early point in the process have patience and you will be rewarded!
It is quite normal to accept something to drink such as water, soda, coffee or tea, without a sale. If, however, the salesman offers you alcohol, he is likely to have an expectation of a sale.
In general the salesmen are honest and you therefore do not have to worry that you are being tricked into buying a copy at the price of an original. Usually the price will reflect the authenticity of the goods. You will often find that even if the item is a copy it is of very good quality nevertheless.
When you are going to pay you should know which rate of exchange is valid. You can then borrow a calculator and figure out exactly how much you are paying in your own currency.
If you are buying something expensive such as jewellery or carpets, be sure to ask for a certificate of guarantee with the name of the store on it.