So you wanna know about Canal Street shopping New York? Mecca of knock off handbags, a dangerous den of haggling and strange fruits & veggies? Chaos, pure unadulterated chaos. Unless of course you come here for the Chinatown New York shopping, which I suggest everyone does at least once in their lives.
Quick history lesson, Canal Street used to separate cannoli from chop suey – Little Italy from Chinatown. With the exception of Mulberry Street, the Italians moved out to the suburbs a long time ago. Now it’s mostly Asian shop keepers that use every square inch they can, heck, even a few they shouldn’t to sell you something. At these NYC Canal Street shops – they’ll sell you just about anything you can buy.
I’ve never heard of them selling an old Russian submarine Canal Street Shopping New York, but everything else is fair game, from fish to antiques, watches and bags of a bazillion different types – more than a few will be rip-offs – excuse me ‘imitations’ - but for the determined shoppers, it’s the place to go, especially if you like to haggle. Some of the stuff is practical, electronics, film, other stuff is just off the walls crazy. Mementos of from the World Trade Center? got ‘em. Fish? Live birds? Disco-balls? Yes, yes and in spades.
Of course the po-lice aren’t to happy about these imitation goods, so you gotta be calm, patient and claim to not be interested in cheap plastic knock offs Canal Street Shopping New York,of Vuitton, Chanel or Prada, they might come looking for you. You’ll get your very own adventure to go with your new ‘imitation’ bag, skulking through the city. I’m told it’s quite a thrill and gets the blood racing, but if you ask me: my day job driving a taxi on the overnight shift holds more than its fair share of adventures.
No, but you ain’t me. So I’m tellin’ ya what I know, what I hear. Anyways, the police started cracking down, so they started becoming more sophisticated in keeping them away from what they’re doing. I guess they don’t got nothin’ better to do than sleuth around making shopping a bit more complicated for normal folk. You’d think this stuff was outta a spy movie, but no, it happens everyday Canal Street Shopping New York.
I’m not the voice or morality and I won’t tell you what to do or not to do with these ‘imitations.’ But a lot of these people don’t have very much to loose, so they can be a bit dangerous. It’s big business, so don’t go lookin’ for trouble. Going for the genuine article is a lot less stressful – me, I have enough stress in my life that I’m trying to keep my hair – and you can still find anything and everything you can imagine, and a bit more, save for that Russian submarine. Guess eBay has one thing up on shopping Canal Street, eh? But the atmosphere, the vitality? Nothing comes close.
So you’re looking for the best deals? Action? Adventure? Wide selection of real and imitation goods? Then let me take you to the NYC Canal Street shops, a bazaar among bazaars, where the ordinary and the extraordinary – not to mention extra-legal – stand side by side. So hold on to your pocketbooks, keep arms, legs, heads inside the vehicle until we come to a complete stop and enjoy the city that never sleeps.
Canal Street Shopping New York Tips
Begin your Chinatown New York Shopping adventure by taking the subway downtown to Canal Street. Of course this assumes you are staying North or uptown.
To experience most of the whole crazy full monty NYC Canal Street shops and stores its best to take the ‘A’, ‘C’, or ‘E’ trains to Canal Street & Avenue of the Americas (aka 6th Ave) and walk East toward Chinatown or the Manhattan Bridge.
Here are a couple of spots for you to check out:
Canal Plastics Center 345 Canal St at Greene St T: 212-925-1666 Look for Wall Paper, plastic wear, mini disco balls
Shop On Canal Inc. 369 Canal St between West Broadway & Wooster St T: 212-925-3288 costume jewelry, cell phone charms, etc
Ann’s Jewerly 361 Canal Street at Wooster T: 917-916-6558 jewerly, etc
Mini Mall 363 Canal St between West Broadway & Wooster St T: 917-286-7602 Custom Made Electronic Belt Buckles, etc.