6 ms·

Shopping is probably the least interesting thing to do when in New York. There's virtually nothing in stores in New York that you cannot find elsewhere. The exp

by sfifs 9y ago

Shopping is probably the least interesting thing to do when in New York. There's virtually nothing in stores in New York that you cannot find elsewhere. The experiences though - the Metropolitan, Broadway etc are without peer

bogomipz 9y ago
>"There's virtually nothing in stores in New York that you cannot find elsewhere" This is patently untrue. Walk down 9th Street between 1st Ave and 2nd Ave where small designers have their own retail shops and ateliers. You can't buy that stuff anywhere else. Go up to B and H Camera in midtown that has 5 floors of camera equipment and incredibly knowledgeable staff. Step in to the Gem Spa on 2nd avenue, a news stand in the East Village where the man behind the counters will hand make you an egg cream for a dollar. Go to the Strand, a book store that has 15 miles of books and some great bargains on new hard cover books. Walk into the Sunshine Mart where you feel like you've been magically transported into a grocery store in Tokyo. Visit Old Good Things in Union Square which is basically an architectural salvage store. Many of the pieces are sourced locally. Venture over to The Market on Mulberry where artists and designers sell their hand-made wares directly. Step into Lobels Prime Meats on the Upper East Side and tell me its like any other butcher shop. Visit Rough Trade in Williamsburg that is perhaps one of the best records stores anywhere, specializing in new and special release vinyl. And the list goes on. There so many of these places. But you won't discover them spending time on Amazon.com. That was point.
- sfifs 9y ago
  Interesting that none of these except maybe the Market on Mulberry would interest me sufficiently for a visit. Different strokes for different folks I guess.
  - krschultz 9y ago
    Hacker News, a place where someone puts together a comment that has more info than your average blog post, and the only reply is a hater. bogomipz thanks for the recommendations. I've lived in NYC for 5 years a few of those were new to me.
    - gt2 9y ago
      You read a 'hater', I read a counter viewpoint.
      - bogomipz 9y ago
        Except there was no actual viewpoint expressed.
- nojvek 9y ago
  Holy shit. This is amazing.
- thaumasiotes 9y ago
  You know, books, records, imported Japanese food, and camera equipment are all mass-market products. There is no argument to be made that New York City offers a unique, irreplaceable "shopping for Japanese products" experience.
  - bogomipz 9y ago
    You know each of the places I listed was because it is a unique shopping "experience" beyond the goods sold. From the layouts, history, locations and the people that work there. I'm sorry you are not impressed. I'm sure nobody will mind if you don't visit.
    - thaumasiotes 9y ago
      > each of the places I listed was because it is a unique shopping "experience" beyond the goods sold. >>> Walk into the Sunshine Mart where you feel like you've been magically transported into a grocery store in Tokyo. These two ideas are not compatible. "It feels just like a store in Tokyo" is the opposite of a "unique experience".
      - gt2 9y ago
        To be fair, that is only applicable to 1 of the items on his list. The rest seem pretty unique. And even that one which is similar to Tokyo is a different experience than amazon which is really where his list was aiming to provide contrast.
      - bogomipz 9y ago
        I find it really sad that someone has not actually been to or experienced a particular place feels compelled to discredit it solely on semantics. Out of a list of nine suggestions that's what was important to you?

by sfifs 9y ago

bogomipz 9y ago

>"There's virtually nothing in stores in New York that you cannot find elsewhere" This is patently untrue. Walk down 9th Street between 1st Ave and 2nd Ave where small designers have their own retail shops and ateliers. You can't buy that stuff anywhere else. Go up to B and H Camera in midtown that has 5 floors of camera equipment and incredibly knowledgeable staff. Step in to the Gem Spa on 2nd avenue, a news stand in the East Village where the man behind the counters will hand make you an egg cream for a dollar. Go to the Strand, a book store that has 15 miles of books and some great bargains on new hard cover books. Walk into the Sunshine Mart where you feel like you've been magically transported into a grocery store in Tokyo. Visit Old Good Things in Union Square which is basically an architectural salvage store. Many of the pieces are sourced locally. Venture over to The Market on Mulberry where artists and designers sell their hand-made wares directly. Step into Lobels Prime Meats on the Upper East Side and tell me its like any other butcher shop. Visit Rough Trade in Williamsburg that is perhaps one of the best records stores anywhere, specializing in new and special release vinyl. And the list goes on. There so many of these places. But you won't discover them spending time on Amazon.com. That was point.

sfifs 9y ago
Interesting that none of these except maybe the Market on Mulberry would interest me sufficiently for a visit. Different strokes for different folks I guess.
- krschultz 9y ago
  Hacker News, a place where someone puts together a comment that has more info than your average blog post, and the only reply is a hater. bogomipz thanks for the recommendations. I've lived in NYC for 5 years a few of those were new to me.
  - gt2 9y ago
    You read a 'hater', I read a counter viewpoint.
    - bogomipz 9y ago
      Except there was no actual viewpoint expressed.
nojvek 9y ago
Holy shit. This is amazing.
thaumasiotes 9y ago
You know, books, records, imported Japanese food, and camera equipment are all mass-market products. There is no argument to be made that New York City offers a unique, irreplaceable "shopping for Japanese products" experience.
- bogomipz 9y ago
  You know each of the places I listed was because it is a unique shopping "experience" beyond the goods sold. From the layouts, history, locations and the people that work there. I'm sorry you are not impressed. I'm sure nobody will mind if you don't visit.
  - thaumasiotes 9y ago
    > each of the places I listed was because it is a unique shopping "experience" beyond the goods sold. >>> Walk into the Sunshine Mart where you feel like you've been magically transported into a grocery store in Tokyo. These two ideas are not compatible. "It feels just like a store in Tokyo" is the opposite of a "unique experience".
    - gt2 9y ago
      To be fair, that is only applicable to 1 of the items on his list. The rest seem pretty unique. And even that one which is similar to Tokyo is a different experience than amazon which is really where his list was aiming to provide contrast.
    - bogomipz 9y ago
      I find it really sad that someone has not actually been to or experienced a particular place feels compelled to discredit it solely on semantics. Out of a list of nine suggestions that's what was important to you?