Shanghai Glasses Market

Shanghai, China

Shanghai is a shopaholics paradise and it should come as no surprise that there is a market devout solely to catering to eyewear, both prescription and fashionwear. It is a two-story glasses galore, with every price range, face shape and optical need provided for. A little off the beaten tourist track, the Shanghai International Glasses Market is well worth the time spent there if you’re looking for a decently priced, stylish set of shades.

The glasses market occupies 2 floors in a mall close to the Shanghai Railway station. Visitors can get there by subway, taking line 1 all the way to the Railway Station stop and then making a small trek to the mall at #1688 Zhongxing road in the Zhabei district. The shops inside open by 10:00, bringing the market to full swing. They close, one by one, in the evening so there is no fixed time for the whole market.

The greatest lure of the optical market is the prices it offers on quality glasses. Prescription glasses and branded frames have astronomical price tags in the West and at branded retailers. But since this is a wholesale market that sources the goods from manufacturers (Zhabei is where the Shanghai eyewear production is concentrated), the competition is high and so rates are good. Shoppers can even get away with discounts if they dare to ask for it. There is no requirement for a prescription either. In fact, the sellers there are equipped with the technology and opticians to administer eye tests on the spot to determine shoppers lens need. Surprisingly these sometimes prove more accurate then the buyers own prescribed lens needs!

Besides the lure of bargains, the shopkeepers really are masters of their trade and can have less complex orders prepared within 15 minutes, from vision test to unique lens ready to wear. Lens requiring more technicality are done within a day minimum to a week at maximum.

But prescription glasses are not all the eyewear themed mall has to offer. Visitors can find a wide spectrum of lens of all kinds, sunglasses with design similar to those sold by international brands with the newest features as well (blue light filter, foldable glasses, light sensitive, to name a few), to frames going from flimsy plastic to high-end materials. The shopkeepers are most helpful to overwhelmed customers in navigating the sea of glasses that they have on display.

Though the market is a wholesale specialty niche for the city of Shanghai, yet it caters to tourists as well and there are English speakers present onsite to facilitate foreigners who often find themselves in need of it.

Additional services like worldwide delivery, reservation of certain spectacles for a period till customer comes to pick them up or having new and upcoming designs pre-booked are also offered by certain vendors. And silver-tongued customers or those who’ve made large value purchases may also end up with freebies ranging from an extra set of sunglasses to smart holding cases, wipes and cleaners.

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