Shopping in the Philippines

Ok, folks, so there's a lot to know about shopping here in the Philippines. There are the back alley DVDs and markets where you can negotiate a price, but this post will talk about shopping at the malls. Which are everywhere. Everything is in a mall. Kind of like California, where everything is in a strip mall. Only here, malls are all indoor because it's so hot all the time.

Some things you should know:

• Getting your money back for any purchase just isn't going to happen, even with a receipt. For clothes, some places will exchange a garment for the same in a different size, but don't count on it.
• The process of purchasing something isn't as quick and easy as it is other places around the world, particularly with a credit card. Credit card purchases usually require 2 signatures, sometimes 3. Credit cards are still not accepted at many places in the Philippines, particularly outside of Manila.
• The cashier will always tell you how much they received, or that they received your card - "I receive 100 pesos, mam" or "I receive American Express, mam." The same way they will announce that they are repeating your order at a restaurant - "Mam, I repeat your order.."
• If you by some sort of electronic, they will open the box and plug it in right there before they take payment. This is of course to see/show you that it works - since there are no returns.
• Every store has twice or maybe three times the employees a store would have anywhere else I've visited. For example, I was just at the True Value and there were probably 8 employees just around the batteries/light bulbs area. The batteries are in a locked cabinet, and I had to wait for someone with a key to get me a pack of 4 AAs. It's the same at checkout - there are usually 2 people, one who does the money exchange and the other who bags your purchase. 
• You'll find some familiar brand names here - Colgate, Tide, Lysol, Pampers, Glade, Kotex and Dove are a few. I did find Meyers brand at True Value, but because it's an import, it was really, really overpriced.

They do have some of their own unique brands, some of which I find pretty amusing. Check it out!

Toilet paper, known here as tissue.

Also tissue. Of course!

Yep, it's magically whitening. Sure it is.

Feminine napkins. If my eyes rolled any harder they would fly out of my head.

Remember: if you ask for a napkin at the dinner table, you may get one of these!

This makes me giggle.

BAHAHAHAHA, because nothing says luxury like "Merica"

If you're reading this and planning a trip - please feel free to ask questions in the comments!