Tailors Ruining Koh Samui?

[HankChinasky]

All just trying to plough thier trade but its the amount of them that I cant understand. I dont know the suit trade but how can there be so many tailors here? Am I being nieve but how do they get by? I know some tourists might plan to buy a cheap suit on holiday but surely not this many

I was asking myself the same thing a while back. Somebody who's "in the know" told me that most of them don't get by with selling suits. It's just money laundering...

Do you have any idea how many suits they would need to sell to pay for the rent in Chaweng?

The same goes for the opticians...

[samui04]

The same goes for the opticians...

The absurd number of optics shop in lamai is a real mistery, they are allways empty and they sell branded stuff at european price.

[LolaSamui]

Are you all aware also that all the tailors simply take your measurements and then get the same Thai people to make the clothes up.

If you drive around some of the back streets you can see many small lock-ups and lean to's full of Thai's frantically sewing up clothes, so whatever the salesman tells you, you can be sure the clothes are coming from just around the corner somewhere.

My wife used to be friends with one of these workshop owners and when we had a visitor staying with us we used to take them there if they wanted anything, cutting out the middleman in the shop. You would be amazed just how cheap the stuff is made for.

HL

very true, i know a few taliors and the shops that make the suits, and the tailors are on an average 80 % mark up!

Gosh - is it that much? I just had a couple of things made at a shop that was kindly recommended to me by another TV poster - the prices seemed very reasonable and I didn't get the impression there was much room for haggling. Maybe this shop is the exception - who knows. Or maybe they didn't charge me what they would've done a tourist.

What kind of prices were the Thais charging when you cut out the middleman? That would be interesting to know.

[smallprawn]

The same goes for the opticians...

The absurd number of optics shop in lamai is a real mistery, they are allways empty and they sell branded stuff at european price.

Very true, its the same in Chaweng. Totally baffled as to why there are so many opticians here. They also seem to have quite a few staff in each shop. Are there really enough visualy impared people in Samui to support these places. I think not.

At least they look nice and dont hastle the hel_l out of passers by to purchase a pair of specs they dont need.

[MSingh]

The same goes for the opticians...

The absurd number of optics shop in lamai is a real mistery, they are allways empty and they sell branded stuff at european price.

Very true, its the same in Chaweng. Totally baffled as to why there are so many opticians here. They also seem to have quite a few staff in each shop. Are there really enough visualy impared people in Samui to support these places. I think not.

At least they look nice and dont hastle the hel_l out of passers by to purchase a pair of specs they dont need.

Money Laundering can be the only answer for these Opticians...

[IanForbes]

Money Laundering can be the only answer for these Opticians...

There must be a lot of people with dirty eyes if they need an optician to launder them.

You get hardened to the constant stream of touts pushing their wares and eventually ignore them all. I hate being impolite, but eventually it gets to you. But, I'll bet the touts are pretty bored by the end of the day as well. I sure wouldn't want to try selling stuff the way they do in Thailand. Too many people trying to sell EXACTLY the same product. There doesn't seem to be any originality at all. Why do you need the same 10 flower kids coming around every 5 minutes you are in a bar? The children should be home in bed so they can attend school the next day. I can't recall EVER seeing anyone getting measured for a suit in the thousands of shops competing with each other. But, SOMEBODY must be buying or there wouldn't be those shops in the first place.

[longtom]

Many I know buy a few suits and shirts here, usually guys working in lower and middle managment at home, for banks,insurances, in marketing and the like. They go to a good tailor and are more than happy with price and quality, compared to Europe. These taylors won't hassle anybody on the street either.

[Stormgirl]

mm those tailors are annoying, they pestered me and my better half for every day of the 3 months that we stayed on Samui.

I used to walk the beach way into town to avoid them... I'd love to make a shirt that says "MAI OW SUIT! NOW PISS OFF" before I venture back in August.

[Geppis72]

i just visited your lovely island but i must say i was taken back by the incessant annoyingness of tailors on the island. walking around the shops each day i was bombarded by approx 50 tailers each time we went outside the hotel for a few hours. in fact so much so that it put a dampener on our holiday to the point we dont think we would return. surely these people can see that hounding tourists is not the way to get business.

HELLO OP !

Did you ever have a look a map of the island ?

Do you realize that our beautiful island is not only Chaweng ? Which buy the way is the most horrible

place where to spend your holiday in Samui ?

I know people coming here since few years and they only know from Bophut to Chaweng,

the most adventurous reach the far away Lamai !! Ok Ok this is the kind of Green Mango holidays makers....

So please, if for you Chaweng is Samui, you absolutely right, better you do not come back !

Sorry to the others, but I can not keep quiet when I see such limited people....

[smallprawn]

i just visited your lovely island but i must say i was taken back by the incessant annoyingness of tailors on the island. walking around the shops each day i was bombarded by approx 50 tailers each time we went outside the hotel for a few hours. in fact so much so that it put a dampener on our holiday to the point we dont think we would return. surely these people can see that hounding tourists is not the way to get business.

HELLO OP !

Did you ever have a look a map of the island ?

Do you realize that our beautiful island is not only Chaweng ? Which buy the way is the most horrible

place where to spend your holiday in Samui ?

I know people coming here since few years and they only know from Bophut to Chaweng,

the most adventurous reach the far away Lamai !! Ok Ok this is the kind of Green Mango holidays makers....

So please, if for you Chaweng is Samui, you absolutely right, better you do not come back !

Sorry to the others, but I can not keep quiet when I see such limited people....

Where dose the OP say they were in Chaweng? Maybe they toured around a bit but still found the Tailors irritating? wouldnt call them limited people. Bit harsh maybe?

[japandan]

i just visited your lovely island but i must say i was taken back by the incessant annoyingness of tailors on the island. walking around the shops each day i was bombarded by approx 50 tailers each time we went outside the hotel for a few hours. in fact so much so that it put a dampener on our holiday to the point we dont think we would return. surely these people can see that hounding tourists is not the way to get business.

HELLO OP !

Did you ever have a look a map of the island ?

Do you realize that our beautiful island is not only Chaweng ? Which buy the way is the most horrible

place where to spend your holiday in Samui ?

I know people coming here since few years and they only know from Bophut to Chaweng,

the most adventurous reach the far away Lamai !! Ok Ok this is the kind of Green Mango holidays makers....

So please, if for you Chaweng is Samui, you absolutely right, better you do not come back !

Sorry to the others, but I can not keep quiet when I see such limited people....

true...and the time share louts are only there too...unfortunately

[Kan Win]

No way that 'Tailors Ruining Koh Samui'

They are only making it more beautiful with their colourful shops and wonkers working in them.

Koh Samui was ruined some years ago I believe

Yours truly,

Win from Kan that still a look lovely as ever

[SamuiJens]

No way that 'Tailors Ruining Koh Samui'

They are only making it more beautiful with their colourful shops and wonkers working in them.

Koh Samui was ruined some years ago I believe

Yours truly,

Win from Kan that still a look lovely as ever

Absolutely right Mr. Win, I'd add a few years thou. SAD but True!

[samui04]

mm those tailors are annoying, they pestered me and my better half for every day of the 3 months that we stayed on Samui.

I used to walk the beach way into town to avoid them... I'd love to make a shirt that says "MAI OW SUIT! NOW PISS OFF" before I venture back in August.

For 3 month? That is really strange. After annoying me for the first week in Lami I started to never look at them and they stopped bothering.. Maybe in othe rpart of Samui they have short term memory of the faces...

[mangostays]

Don't even make eye contact, don't even mutter a word, don't listen to a thing they say, trust me on that...

I find the best thing to do is flob a big fat greeny at the most oily one, preferably right in the middle of his greasy middle parting. If he retaliates in any way, don't hesitate to tear your shirt off, and run up and down in front of his shop squawking like a comedy chicken and doing the 'arse out, arms bent' chicken dance.

Believe me when I say that this really freaks them little fellas right out.