I Spent $600 in Jakarta’s Fake Market 🇮🇩

A shopping video, and the most useful thing in it is the negotiating. Harry works a multi-storey counterfeit mall in Jakarta with a list decided in advance — watch, t-shirt, wallet, shoes — which he says is a lesson from previous markets where he bought at random.

The sellers are entirely open about what they are selling: asked directly, they say the goods are fake and made in China, and the pitch they make is about build quality instead. Harry haggles every item, wins some and loses others, and is honest that he has no idea what fake clothing should cost.

The video ends at a real shop — the DJI store — where he buys a Mini 2, and the contrast makes the point: there is no discount at all there, and no tourist discount either.

Key moments

• [00:00] The list: shoes, a t-shirt, maybe a Richard Mille watch.
• [01:36] His method, learned from mistakes — walk in knowing what you want.
• [02:43] A shop of fake Armani, Kenzo, Louis Vuitton, Dior, Gucci and Givenchy.
• [03:54] He tries on a Dior shirt. The seller confirms it’s from China.
• [04:24] The haggle: 320 asked, 280, 250, 220 — and 200 agreed in the middle.
• [05:39] He asks for the watches and is given the time.
• [06:47] Men’s aftershave, found in the middle of the sunglasses section.
• [07:57] The move that matters: he looks the real price up online — about £110, roughly 1.7 million rupiah — and negotiates against that number.
• [08:28] Settled at 1,750,000.
• [09:32] Card payment adds 3%, stated up front.
• [10:35] A streetwear shop. Yeezys at 2,200,000.
• [11:11] Essentials, made in Vietnam, is the most popular brand with Indonesian buyers.
• [11:45] 600 asked. Harry’s argument is explicitly that it’s fake and shouldn’t be priced like the real thing.
• [13:30] 500 agreed, and it comes with tags and an official-looking bag from a stockroom upstairs.
• [15:59] His own honest assessment: he’s out of his depth on clothing value and bad at negotiating, and the point is having fun.
• [16:29] He admits he has spent far more than the one or two items he came for.
• [17:34] Richard Mille watches. Battery movement or automatic.
• [18:41] The automatic at 4 million; the battery ones far cheaper.
• [18:41] He asks whether the police are a problem. They aren’t.
• [19:11] “Swiss made” on the dial of a watch that is not.
• [19:42] 500 asked, 350 agreed.
• [20:56] His warning about the ground floor: that’s where the sellers come to get you.
• [21:27] The DJI store, and a real purchase — the Mini 2 at 7 million.
• [22:33] The Mini 3 Pro for comparison: 14.7 million for the FC combo, 20.1 million with the remote.
• [23:07] No discounts, and no tourist discount. You can’t bargain in these shops.
• [23:49] A demo of the drone’s subject tracking, which he calls the future.
• [24:28] 7 million converted: around £400–450, slightly more than at home, and he buys it anyway.
• [25:30] He turns down the fly-more combo — 2.2 million more for two extra batteries, when a battery alone is 1.7 million.

Extracted pages

• Place: Jakarta
• Country: Indonesia
• Tips: Haggle with a reference price