BKK Business Web Site defines China Town as Wholesale Market.  China Town in Bangkok has a lot to offer, but you have to get off of the main streets.  The main street has a lot of different gold shops.  The daily price of gold is posted in the window of each shop and they are all offering gold at the same price.  Some shops will vary slightly on the price of workmanship of the pieces especially to tourist.  A good rule of thumb is to go to the gold shops that are the most crowded.  Most workmanship on jewellery runs about 500 – 800 Baht per piece.  When going into the gold shop look at the window and you will see two very prominent prices usually written in white window paint.  The two prices will be exactly 100 baht different.  The higher price is the price that the shop is selling 1 Baht of gold.  1 Baht of gold is equal  to 1/2 ounce of gold.  So for example if the prices in the window are 24,000 with 23,900 below it, it means that the shop is selling 1 Baht of gold for 24,000.00 Baht.  If you buy jewellery and not a block of gold you would pay about 24,500 – 24,800 Baht for a necklace, braclette or ring.  This is for 96.5% pure gold.  The 23,900 in the window is what the shop is paying to the customers when they are buying gold back from them.

But if your not in the market for gold and want to get a good deal on just about everything else walk off of the main road and down some of the very small side soi’s (Soi = Street).  As you go down the main China Town road, Thanon Yaowarat, you will come to the China Princess Hotel, if you turn to the left here you find some great sub soi’s to the right that have wonderful deals on everything that you would find in the tourist stores at MBK for about half the price.  If you continue past the China Princess Hotel and go to the right you find a little markets on the streets that have a great deals, but on these street side markets that put up and taken down every night, let the buyer beware.