Whats a good buy and whats a waste?

[steen15]

I've looked around and havn't seen anything really on this topic so I'm gonna ask all you who have come before me.  I am currently at the KPRT and am looking for gifts to send home but don't want to waste a lot of money on crap thats going to break in shipment or is just very low quality.  I know that most of the scarfs and rugs, etc. are a safe bet.  But what about the marble plateware, chess sets?  Anything else thats available at the market here that has made a good gift?? Please let me know your thoughts and even what you managed to price them down to on them.  I have bought 1 chess set for $25.00 so far but don't want to go crazy on anything else until I get some feedback.

Cheers

 

[Armymedic]

I have never shooped at the market at the KPRT (never been there, period) but as for gift from Afghanistan:

Carpets- hand made, from Herat or Iran. Be wary of comercial copies. A buying price of less than $500 for a 8x6 ft is not bad...they will ask much more but barter down.

Lapis Lazuli- Afghan Blue stone- the dark blue the better. Unique stone that is only in Afghanistan. Beads and other jewelry sells on Ebay fro much more then you can get it there.

Metal work - vases and animal figurines- unique to the area

The chess set you bought - for $25 the board should be 12x12 inches or bigger. The board is good, the pieces as probably not that good, but you can get good chess pieces from any games store.

 

[Scoobie Newbie]

and if Canada Post won't send it back home us the US mail, they'll send anything home that is legal

 

[CdnArtyWife]

Hubby sent home some "marble" goblets.

Though they are beautiful and I love them, they are not marble as my wine ate into the inside and made it pourous and rough. So now I have four pristine Sandstone (I believe) water goblets and two beautiful on the outside not as nice on the inside ones.

Be carefull with the "marble" and the "Lapis" because a friend's hubby sent home "lapis" goblets, but I could tell with one glance that they were not lapis. They believed me when the blue color ran  and bled when they washed them in the sink.

Unless you are already familiar with stone yourself, be very wary and find someone to help you pick good quality pieces.

There were a couple things hubby sent home that were a waste of money (namely the knockoff watches) but I didn't have the heart to tell him how bad they were. Fortunately on each of those items he paid less than $15 so not much was wasted.

From a female perspective...I loved geting the Pashminas (scarfs), hubby got me 10 (the more you buy the less you pay) and I gave several to my Mother-In-Law and my mother, so now I am begging for more...I will store away what I don't want and use them for gifts at a later date. IMO you can't go wrong with Pashmina's or a beautifully hand carved jewelry box to hold all the pearls/diamonds you might buy in Dubai.  That's what I got...now I'm anxiously awaiting the jewelry to fill it.  ;D

 

[Yrys]

From a female perspective...I loved geting the Pashminas (scarfs),

Oh my! gimmy, give ME !

 

[armyvern]

Do they not still pass on to the troops during their in-briefs that the biggest saying over there in the markets is ...

"Number one copy for you my Canadian friend!!"  

It was the standard opener at any market I shopped over there in the various Muslim countries I have been to. Rolex? Check. Real CDs and DVDs? Check! And the list goes on.

What is really great is that I actually bought all my stuff (Jewelery boxes, chess sets, puzzle rings etc) in Syria where it's actually made at and then exported.

My soul, can those shop keepers in the XXXXX etc ever jack their prices up!! My jewelery and everything else shopping bill was dirt cheap.

Still cheap by Canadian standards, but 6 to 7 times the price tag they are actually paying to import it into their countries for re-sale.

 

[Armymedic]

Be carefull with the "marble" and the "Lapis" because a friend's hubby sent home "lapis" goblets, but I could tell with one glance that they were not lapis. They believed me when the blue color ran  and bled when they washed them in the sink.

Unless you are already familiar with stone yourself, be very wary and find someone to help you pick good quality pieces.
[/quote]

Lapis goblets?

Yes he was fooled good. I would love to know a) where they go chuncks big enough to make a goblet with, b) how they hide the stench from grinding the stone (it smells when ground) and c) how they made it not porus.

You or anyone else would be well advised not to drink anything from those stonewere cups and goblets bought in Afghanistan. Leave them on the shelf to look pretty.

ps- if the deal is too good, then it probably is...walk away. When you go to any of these markets, think of the money in your pocket as your virgin daughter....and each one of those merchants will say and do anything to have her.

 

[1feral1]

I found a number of things good souvenirs for gifts. Some below pertain to OIF, while others will be incountered in AFG, no doubt sourced from the same origin

1. Those brass 'genie lamps, the cast one with little scrolling on them, about $5-$7Us ea

2. Man dresses, and arab headwear, prices various

3. Leather bound quorans in english and/or arabic

4. Leather photo albums, etc

5. Old regime Iraqi army medals, rank, cap badges, and trade badges

6. Old regime money with Saddam's face plastered on them

7. Gold, but be careful, we had good connections, and its sold by the gram, with nice necklaces with your GF's name in english on one side, arabic the other. If we would have been ripped off, the culprits name would be forever tarnished, ha, so the gold geeks were always polite and we scrutinised everything. At the end of the day, they did not want to stuff up their business prospects.

8. Yes those carpets, but be warned if oversized, it stays. if it won't fit in your issue trunk, or the PX black gorilla trunks, dont buy it! We had prayer rugs with the Australian Army rising sun, our unit and our names embroidered on it for $20US. Yes, and they are nice, I have one on my wall in the bar room at home.

9. Iraqi flags, all hand made on silk, double sided, and embroidered in all sizes and shapes, prices vary from $20-$40US.

10. Genuine local antiques, such as lamps, daggers, trickets etc, but be careful what you buy.

11. Locally copied patches, insignia, of all allies, hats, packs, jackets, poncho liners you name it. Local T shirts too, real classics.

12. A variety of Iraqi army plaques, belts, holsters and related kit. Iraqi, and Iranian helmets, and various AKM, and Iranian G3 bayonets. The bayonets I obtained came from various sources, some confiscated, some traded, some scrounged, some given to me, and some bought at the local Mohammed's market. A good AKM bayonet ran about $12-17US, unless you buy at the BIAP Bazaar, then they were $35-45US, and thats a big rip off!!!l

13. Yes as Armyvern says, CDs DVDs etc. Whole good copies of box sets of everything. Cheap watches. Omega, rolex copies. Tonnes of stuff.

I sent over 20 boxes home alone, all free too, as we have a good system for that. All fully declared accurately for Customs, all got through.

Hope this expands your imagination a bit.


Cheers,

Wes

 

[steen15]

Thanks for the input everyone. I have lots of time here to pick thru for things that catch my eye. One thing I have to get is a custom tailored suit.  I haven't heard anything but good things about those yet and 120 bucks I have to get at least one.

 

[Armymedic]

Definately get a suit. Heck, get two.

If there is one thing the people of the region are good at...it is tailoring.

 

[bigcletus]

I guess with all the money thats being spent on such things in the market there..my question is:  where does the money eventually end up?  The Taliban/Al Queda, methinks gets a cut to pay for their "toys", to use against our guys.

 

[MG34]

I found most of the local vendors wares to be crap, and didn't purchase a single thing from them on either of my tours over there. Get something from the Canex or PX, at least you know the quality and know where the cash goes.

 

[Franko]

Rugs are a safe bet if you know what to look for. Don't get the machine made one's either, handmade are worth it.

Wood items be a bit leary of. I know of a few people who got them home and the wood had parasites in them.

Jewlery and Lapis...unless you know what to look for and know how to haggle, beware. Had a buddy that wanted rubies, he was about to buy red glass until I looked at them and told the vendor "Show us the good stuff or piss off". Told "Smiley" about it and he wasn't allowed to have a shop in there after that.

The scarfs and such are a deal.

DVDs are knock offs, along the line of Afghanistanimation re: camcorder recording of the movie with included laugh track.

Weapons such as flintlocks and breach loaders are there in scores, some in good condition, others not so much. Make sure that the stampings match as well adn you could have a treasure. You can ship home via Fed Ex however make sure that they are stamped prior to 1867. They can then be classified as antique and customs shouldn't have a problem with you importing them.

My 0.02 Duram worth

Regards

 

[Fusaki]

I got my mom a burkha. Its a good thing she has a sense of humor. ;D

 

[1feral1]

"I got my mom a burkha. Its a good thing she has a sense of humor".


A mate of mine did the same for his Missus, and from what I hear at a recent fancy-dress party, he wore the man-dress and towel-head with ray-bans, and had her following him with a rope attached, carting a slab of XXXX beer on her shoulder - ya the beer box was empty, but it went over well!

Was a real laugh, too bad I was not there.

Cheers,

Wes

 

[Dirt Digger]

Rugs are a safe bet if you know what to look for. Don't get the machine made one's either, handmade are worth it.

Are there any issues with the eventual repatriation of rugs?  I can't imagine trying to cram a 5x7 rug into a kit bag and was wondering what the shipping charges/size restrictions are.

Asking because a) moving, b) deploying soon, c) 9er needs new rugs, and d) 9er put a, b & c together.

 

[Franko]

As long as it fits in the largest package allowed by Canada Post they'll ship it.

Basically if it can fit in the big Canada Post bag and can be tied shut you're good to go.

Regards

 

[captjtq]

If I recall correctly, the biggest size the posties would ship was about the same size as a barrack box. The USPS on KAF may ship bigger, and if all else fails, go to Fed-Ex or DHL. I had something DHL'd in from Calgary to KAF - took less than a week.

 

[Danjanou]

You'd also be surprised at how compact those carpets can be when properly folded by the dealer. I bought a large one in Morocco a few years back and they folded it into a tight compact bundle I could carry and easily shove into my luggage.

 

[Thompson_JM]

If i Could go back, for one more Bazaar......

Id buy alot more Pashminas... (those were a big hit with my mom, and excellent Gif ideas..)

more of the Vases... (very cheap, Very nice looking[be picky though....] just be carefull shipping them... the ones made up of smaller pices of stone break easy..)

More of the Flags... (i Never did get an Afghan Flag.... oh well...)

I avoided the DVDs too Hit and Miss as far as reliability, and I worked outside the wire too much to know when the heck Id be back in to exchange em... I jsut got mine from the PX usually....At least i knew they worked....

Id probabbly get a few more of the Bayonets... not so much to sell, but theyre just nice collectors items...

thats my .02...