Ron McGregor's web site - Welcome to South Africa - shopping.htm
SHOPPING (OR GO DIRECTLY TO TAX REFUNDS)
| General Shopping | Major Shopping Malls | Photography |
| Curios | Electrical and plugs | Clothing |
| Cassettes and CD's | Diamonds and Jewellery | Kruger Rands |
| Leather | Navigation flag O |
When Mr or Mrs Average South African goes shopping, there are certain stores that are household names. These will be found in all cities, and many of the smaller towns, too. Branches may also be found in the main centres of our neighbouring countries.
These are names to remember:
Pick 'n Pay - giant supermarket group - food and general goods for the average family
CNA - newspapers, books, stationery, postcards, photography, CD's and cassettes
Clicks - non food items, cosmetics, small electrical goods, including plugs, and photographic requirements.
Woolworths - quality clothing - not cheap, but good value.
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When the going gets tough, the tough go shopping! Some South Africans work very hard, make lots of money, and like to spend it on fine things. These are some of the places where they go shopping. Here you will find attractive shops of every description, including branches of some of the major stores, as well as specialists, particularly in fashion, leather, jewellery, silver and glassware. You will also be able to get your hair done, enjoy a meal, or buy a bottle or two of fine wine.
| Johannesburg | Pretoria | Durban | Cape Town |
| Rosebank | Brooklyn | Musgrave Centre | The Waterfront |
| Sandton City | Centurion Lake | The Pavilion | Cavendish Square |
| Village Walk | Constantia Village | ||
| Hyde Park. | O | Canal Walk |
Clicks, CNA and Audiolens have many branches, and will supply most needs. They also offer 1 hour developing services, so you won't have to wait till you get home to see how your shots are turning out..
If you are close to them, Durban has Whysall's, and Cape Town has Tothill's. These are top notch photographic specialists. They sell cameras, film, binoculars, batteries, they offer 1 hour development services, but, most importantly, they can advise you if your camera gives problems, they can fix it, or tell you who the agents are, and they can provide all manner of accessories. They also deal in second-hand photographic equipment, and you can pick up some great good-quality bargains in cameras and lenses.
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Need a plug or adaptor to enable that battery charger or hair dryer to work? Need an electric razor. A ballpoint pen or some cosmetics, shampoo, or after shave lotion? Clicks is the non-food general store.
We have very few specialist electric stores, and if Clicks is not handy, then you will look for what we call a hardware store. Pick 'n Pay also stocks general electrical goods.
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CNA
Musica
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Woolworths - good value and quality general clothing.
Cape Union Mart - outdoor, safari and camping
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Leather (and luggage, if you need it)
In Cape Town, Frasers is the place. They have a branch in the Waterfront. A briefcase or purse of buffalo, ostrich or crocodile is a fine thing to take home. Buffalo is good value, and lasts forever. Ostrich and crocodile are expensive, but lovely.
In Johannesburg there are many fine leather goods stores in the Sandton City complex, and they have frequent sales, so you can pick up the odd bargain.
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A most appropriate souvenir (which may prove a good investment, too) is a Kruger Rand. The regular Kruger Rand contains one fine ounce of gold, and costs just over the ruling gold price on the day. You also get half-Krugers, quarters and tenths. The tenths are often worked into jewellery, such as pendants and cuff-links.
The mint-condition Kruger Rands are specially sealed and packed, and they command a premium. These are a numismatic investment, whereas ordinary Kruger Rands are simply a way of investing in gold for the worth of the metal itself.
Kruger Rands are obtainable from various outlets, but the easiest way to find them is to contact the SA Gold Coin Exchange, which has branches in Sandton and Cape Town.
Kruger Rands are just another form of money, so they are not subject to tax when sold here, or to duty if you take them back to your home country.
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Diamonds, Jewellery, and Semi-precious stones
Unfortunately the fact that we have all these diamond and gold mines doesn't mean that you can pick up diamonds and gold at half the price! These precious commodities have a world price. However, our labour costs are Rand based, and currently it would appear that you do enjoy a good saving if you buy such things in South Africa.
We have some very talented craftsmen, who work our gold and precious stones into some lovely pieces, and there is always something special about being able to say that you got your gold or diamonds right here in South Africa where they were mined.
In the major shopping malls you will find any number of shops dealing in gold and diamonds. Some of them are branches of big chains operating nationwide - names like Schwarz and Tanur. Others are independents, and I personally prefer them for the personal service they offer.
Buying jewellery is a very personal thing, and it is impossible for me to say that one shop or another will have that special piece that you are looking for. The best advice I can give you is to shop around. However, at the end of this section, I do give a couple of names of Cape Town dealers that I know and trust. ("Trust" in this case means that my tourists have written to me after they got home and expressed satisfaction with what they got and the price they paid.) O
When it comes to buying diamonds, I have some very good advice, not so much about where to buy them, but about how to decide what to buy.
First of all, why do you want a diamond?
Are you thinking of it as an investment, or would you simply like to have it as a beautiful item of jewellery, to admire and to wear?
If you are wanting an item of jewellery
- you will probably never resell it, so it really doesn't matter whether its a good investment. If that is the case, you need not go overboard and insist on an investment quality flawless stone, for which you will pay an appropriate price.
It takes a knowledgeable person with a special viewing glass to pick out the flaws in a diamond. No one at a dinner party is going to insist that you remove your ring, brooch or pendant so that they can check out the quality of your diamond. So if the diamond is solely for your personal enjoyment, buy good, but don't buy tops. You'll be able to get something really nice without breaking the bank.
Diamonds are a lot cheaper if you buy a lot of little ones instead of a single one of equivalent carat weight. But don't buy anything under ten points - below that they become almost invisible.
A very nice ring can be made up of five ten-pointers - that's half a carat, but it won't cost you nearly as much as a single half carat stone.
If you are buying smaller stones, go for good clarity and colour. However, If you are in the market for larger stones, don't be wedded to the idea that you have to stick to white. Diamonds come in many colour variations, and the Cape Yellows are very attractive. So be adventurous, and dare to be different.
You may find your diamonds already set in jewellery items, or you may purchase them loose and have something made to order, or you may have something made up by a jeweller once you get home.O
If you are buying for investment
- go for the very best you can afford. The higher the quality, and the bigger the stone, the greater the appreciation in value over the years. Such stones will always be purchased loose, so that you can inspect them without any settings getting in the way. Chances are that you may never have them set, but will keep them safely locked up until you decide that the time has come to sell them. On the other hand, if you move in circles where others also wear big rocks on their fingers and around their necks, then by all means have your diamond set, and wear it. But preferably not on the streets of our cities.
We have diamond merchants in all our cities, but Cape Town and Johannesburg are the main centres of the trade.
If you are buying an item of jewellery, the price is generally not negotiable. However, if it is an expensive investment diamond that you are considering, the price IS negotiable, within reason.
If you are a serious prospective buyer of investment quality diamonds, the merchant will be prepared to host you at his premises after hours. He will even send a car to collect you. This is useful, because you don't have telephones or other customers interrupting you.
Some merchants will also bring a selection of stones to your hotel or guest house. This is convenient, but I do not recommend it. If you go to the merchant, then his entire stock is available for you to view.
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Semi-precious stones
Southern Africa produces some lovely semi-precious stones, and, of course, they are a lot cheaper than diamonds.
A unique souvenir of your visit is Tiger's Eye, which is attractive, different, and very reasonably priced. We have amethysts, serpentine, verdite (another uniquely South African stone) quartzes, emeralds (from Zimbabwe) and many more.
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Cape Town merchants selling diamonds, jewellery and/or semi-precious stones
Murdock's Jewellers, Waterfront - gold and diamond jewellery
Pinn's, city centre - serious quality diamonds
Prins and Prins, city centre - serious quality diamonds
Afrogem, just outside city centre - wide variety of semi-precious stones and jewellery
Jewel Africa, just off the city centre.
Diamond World, St George's Mall. Doesn't have a "big name" like some of the others, and doesn't have to pay the exorbitant rents that the Waterfront outlets pay. I include them because I have had good reports from people, both as to value and the personal service offered.
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Curios (there is a list of good curio places at the end of this section)
Carvings of stone or wood, masks, woven mats and baskets, hides and feathers, copperwork, lamps and lampshades, T-shirts, wall-hangings - there is nothing that cannot be sold to tourists of one kind or another. Some of it is truly "tourist-trash", some things are valid (and even valuable) works of real craftsmen and artists, and much is just plain kitsch.
This is an area where it is almost impossible to give advice, but the following notes may help.
African arts and crafts are on sale everywhere in the sub-continent. Much of what is available does not even come from this part of Africa. Malachite, for example, is from the Congo region. Verdite and Tiger's Eye, on the other hand, are uniquely South African. Soapstone and Emeralds are from Zimbabwe. Crystal is from Namibia.
The Zimbabweans are the masters of stone carving, and if you are going to Zimbabwe, that is where you will get the best prices. Indeed, thanks to the collapse of the Zimdollar, Zimbabwe is a curio shopper's paradise. The Zimbabweans, however, don't have verdite. It is unique to South Africa.
Wood carving occurs all over the eastern part of Southern Africa, and in the northern parts of Namibia. However, the black tribes who do this work are not indigenous to the Northern or Western Cape, or to the southern parts of Namibia, so although you will find this kind of work on sale, it has been brought in from elsewhere.
Hides are available almost everywhere, but you should exercise care. If you buy informally, you may have difficulty in taking your purchase into your home country. Make sure that you purchase from a dealer who can provide you with what we call a "vet certificate" - a warrant that the hide has been treated in such a way that it is not carrying any potentially dangerous biological material. Customs officers in First World countries are very strict about the importation of unprocessed animal and vegetable matter.
Other prohibitions apply to anything to do with endangered species. Ivory may not be exported. In theory, elephant hair and leather should also not be exported, but you can always tell the customs officer that it's buffalo - he won't know the difference. Leopard skins are a no-no, and I should hope that you wouldn't want one, even if you could find one. The other spotted cats, like cheetah and genets, are not endangered, so you could get a skin, but the customs guys will probably confiscate it because they think that everything with spots is a leopard.
Metal work is interesting - pity it's so heavy. Our artists work in both copper and iron.
There is a big difference between an artist and a copier. Artists produce originals, which will command a price. Copiers are employed to mass produce popular items like carvings and masks; these have no cultural or artistic value at all, but as long as you accept that they are just souvenirs of your visit, they are worthwhile mementos to buy. Take the attitude that if YOU like it then it doesn't matter if it isn't a unique artefact of a dying African culture. The souvenir industry doesn't die! O
Curio sellers are everywhere, and you can buy from informal traders on the street. These are cheaper, provided that you already have an idea of what prices are elsewhere. The street traders are prepared to take whatever you might be naive enough to pay them!
In Zimbabwe, designer goods are much in demand, and the street traders will often be prepared to part with something in exchange for your Nike shoes, Levi jeans, or famous name T-shirt.
Curio stores charge more, but offer better quality. They also offer the facility of packing and posting to your home, which saves you from having to carry heavy goods along with you. You have the assurance that the goods are "legal" and will be provided with certificates if these are required.
The list below details some of the places that are "on the beaten track" and have a good selection:
Good quality, fair prices, they offer much of the run of the mill stuff, but also have some really interesting and beautiful pieces that are not found in the regular curio stores.
A veritable Aladdin's Cave. Excellent quality, quite pricey. I guess you get what you pay for. Toilets and refreshments and an Ndebele Village. A real tourist centre. Worth visiting, even if just to look.
Another Aladdin's Cave. Huge showroom of quality curios from all over Southern Africa and beyond. Phone for appointment and get a taxi, or better still, a tour guide, to take you, as it's in an industrial area (Cambanos is actually a wholesaler, not a retailer), and you will never find it yourself. Refreshments and toilets available.
Interesting project where the locals produce interesting stuff from recycled bottles. Refreshments and toilets available.
The guide books will tell you that the market is at Mbabane. It is. But the curio sellers have abandoned it because there's no parking, and moved down to the entrance to the Ezulwini Sun in the valley below Mbabane. Beware of the traffic, and have fun browsing.
Not actually at Big Bend, but at Riverside, just south of Big Bend on the main road to the border. Delightful little shop with some different things, including the Ngwenya Glass and Swazi Candles. Refreshments and toilets available.
A famous place, although not what it used to be. Joe's Curios and Naran & Son are my favourites here. They have some excellent stuff, but here bargaining is the name of the game, so don't be shy.
Just off the main road, this is a very pleasant store, with good prices, and offers that great traveller's essential, toilets.
Probably South Africa's most popular shopping area. Browse it and see what you can find.
High quality curios. One might say that Uwe Koetter sells art, where others just sell curious. Not entirely fair, because other places also have very fine stuff, but there's no denying that Uwe Koetter is something special. Not cheap, of course.
Specialists in precious and semi-precious stones. Factory on site, so you can see the processing too. Good for picking up those presents for the family when you haven't got much space left in your suitcase.
Another Aladdin's Cave, with sections for both jewellery and curios. Processing of stones and manufacturing on gold chains done on site, well worth seeing.
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TAX REFUNDS FOR TOURISTS
At present, only South Africa has a system whereby visitors may reclaim tax on purchases. Goods purchased in the neighbouring territories do not qualify for refund.
TAX INVOICES
To qualify for refund, an invoice must:
Recommendation:
Usually the ordinary till slip is adequate, provided that it has the above details. However, for larger purchases, it is recommended that you ask the merchant to give you a handwritten tax invoice, which is made out to you, the purchaser, at your home address overseas.
Warning #1
In South Africa, tax is INCLUDED in the price of all general goods and services. In other words, the price you see is the price you pay. This means that, under all normal circumstances, you have paid tax, and can reclaim it on any goods you are taking out of the country.
However, there are some merchants who deal specifically with tourists, who do not charge tax. This applies particularly to the Indian Market in Durban. Many of them sell "tax-free" for cash, in which case you will not be able to reclaim anything when you leave the country.
There is nothing underhand about this, but you should be aware of it. Some visitors purchase things on the assumption that they will be getting a tax refund, and are then disappointed when their invoice is rejected at the airport. Check beforehand to ascertain whether the tax is included.
Warning #2
The tax refund system is geared to those who leave South Africa by air. If you are travelling by road or rail, you will probably have to forego your tax refund because it is simply not possible for the South African authorities to have refund offices at our many border posts.
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