How to Survive the Straw Market

Whether you’re visiting the Bahamas during a cruise or enjoying your stay at one of their fine resorts, sooner or later you’ll feel the urge to visit the Straw Market in downtown Nassau, provided you’re in Nassau or on Paradise Island.  Even before I set foot in the Bahamas, I was hearing about the Straw Market from fellow airline passengers.  They raved about the cheap prices of designer handbags and sunglasses and went on and on about how everything was duty-free.  So naturally, like every other gullible Bahamas tourist, I took a little jaunt to the Straw Market.  (Pictured left is the section of Nassau very near the Straw Market.)

Now, this wasn’t my first trip to the Straw Market.  I’d been there three years previous to this visit, and it turned out to be the same mess it was before, only this time with more expensive – and dare I say, questionable – objects for sale.

Upon entering the Straw Market outskirts I encountered a table full of DVD’s for sale.  But these weren’t just any DVD’s, they were bootlegged.  Movies that had just hit theaters the day before were now displayed in enormous stockpiles of packaged CD-size cases.  Computer-generated inserts graced the front covers of these DVD’s if they had any covers at all.  Some merely displayed a torn, white note with its title scribbled on in blue ink and rubber banded to the case. 

The pirate in me went crazy.  I began sifting through the various stacks of DVD’s to find ones of interest.  “21”, the new casino flick, was among them.  I pondered purchasing it, as its price was “only” five dollars and easily negotiable.  Then the thought of TSA screenings popped into my head and I was overcome with the barks of search dogs, the steely chill of locking bars, and the clink of handcuffs.  I passed. 

Moving on, I entered the tented awning of the Straw Market.   Here’s where the real fun began.  Being of the Caucasian persuasion, I was instantly pestered by Bahamian vendors anxious to relieve me of some hard-earned cash.  As I glanced at various handbags by Gucci, Chanel, BVLGARI, Dolce & Gabbana, and Dior, vendors from three different booths tried to attract my attention.  As it happened, they were all selling the exact same bags.  Some of the bags, as one of my traveling companions pointed out to me, were fakes.  Some letters were apparently missing from the “Milano” mold on a handbag.  Others were either very convincing fakes or real bags, purchased from who knows where before being strung up on racks. 

There were multiple aisles within the Straw Market tent, but a quick glance at most of them gave the report that the same merchandise was being sold in each one.  I did stop by a sunglasses vendor and picked up a pair of Dolce& Gabbana sunglasses.  These were a mere six dollars.  Were they fakes?  Who knows.  I wasn’t willing to run the risk of bringing them home just to find out one of my fashionably knowledgeable friends could tell they were fake just by looking at them. 

I wandered about the other vendors’ tables for another five minutes or so.  I spotted some Bahamas hats, Bahamian-style clothing, hand-carved sea mammals, and other trinkets, but found nothing worth purchasing.  But I did bring home a few lessons, which I’d like to impart to you if you’re planning a trip to the Straw Market anytime soon. 

Lesson 1:  Try not to look the vendors in the eye.  They’re more apt to hassle you for an item if you look at them directly. 

Lesson 2: Don’t start negotiating a price for the fun of it.  If you’re truly interested in the item, inquire about their asking price, subtract a substantial amount of money, and ask from there.  If you’re not interested, don’t negotiate.  I did that for a Chanel bag, and the lady thought I was actually going to buy it even though I really didn’t have that intention.  She even started to follow me around the rest of the aisle, which the vendors have been known to do.  Kinda creepy. 

Lesson 3: Don’t buy the bootlegged DVD’s, for the reasons I gave above.  Even if you take the DVD out of its case and store it somewhere else in your luggage, TSA will likely know to keep an eye out for those things, and you don’t want to be stranded in some Bahamian prison until you’re proven innocent. 

Lesson 4: Don’t handle the merchandise for too long if you don’t want to purchase.  The vendor will become more aggressive about getting you to buy it.  Make them think you’re simply browsing by picking up a number of different items, or by not touching them at all.

Lesson 5: The vendors oftentimes use flattery to make you feel obligated to purchase.  Questions like, “Do you like that purse, pretty lady?” and “How do you like these sunglasses, Beautiful?”  will likely float in your direction.  Don’t fall for it.  Be polite, and say “No thank you”, as these are still people you’re dealing with, but you don’t need to feed their munitions pile. 

I think I spent a grand total of fifteen minutes in the Straw Market – yes, I despise shopping.  But I wanted to get a feel for what was available and for how much.  As I walked down the rest of downtown Nassau, I priced similar handbags at the fancy designer stores.  Most of them were five times the asking price at the Straw Market, at least.  So if you’re not worried about someone pointing out that your purse is fake (some of them were certainly real), I would suggest making a purchase at the Straw Market.  Just keep a tight grip on your wallet.

Just as a side note, downtown Nassau begins to look a little dangerous after 6:00 p.m., at least on the weekend.  If you're traveling with a group, make sure you stay together.  If you're traveling alone, you might want to start migrating to safer pastures, i.e. back to your hotel.