High end Clothes & IPhones & Jordan Sneakers in the Barrios

[rey]

So I’ve being surfing a lot of the instagram Dominican IG pages just to get a acquaintance with the Dominican system and culture and etc etc … and I have know it’s that there it’s a huge number of stores that sell high end retail clothes such as Gucci , LV , DG , Cartier , Rolex , etc etc etc and most of them stores are in BARRIOS ! … I also knows it’s that there are cellphone stores that have in their stocks hundreds of iPhones and again the stores are usually in BARRIOS ;

My question is how are this stores can afford to buy these high end items to then sell them and who is buying CARTIER and iPhones in the middle of GUACHUPITA ?

The clothes am sure are they must be replicas ( AM ASSUMING ) but there are NO fake iPhone , how can the store owner afford to buy the iPhones OVERSEA , pay air transportations , pay the ridiculous aduana TAXES and then sell them CHEAP ?

Can I get y’all opinions on how they doing this ?

 

[NALs]

Perhaps you haven't noticed, but even in barrios there are houses that indicate are not of the poor (even if the people that live there consider themselves "poor" when they have everything so to speak. The reason for this is that despite you can tell which areas in general have more money than others, DR isn't a cut-and-dry place. Zoning is weak and in many cases not adhered to, so not only will you find many homes next to a business ir even a factory, but you will also find more than a few homes that are obviously not the type of poor people in a "poor" neighborhood similar to how many times you are in a more middle class/rich area and suddely you pass by a poor area and then the area looks nice again. Many times you will see a luxurious home and literally next to it is a shack. This is very common in the outskirts of SD.

Along with that cones businesses catering to those people that live in the barrios but they aren't poor. A barrio could have 5,000 people and if 1,500 are not poor and may seem less in person because they are scattered in the neighborhood as oppose to concentrated, businesses catering to them will pop up.

Also, what many people consider a barrio more often is simply a neighborhood that started as an informal settlement. The features of a neighborhood that has been formalized but started informal is that there was almost non-existent zoning so homes are much closer to the road and to each other, and appear in a more haphazardly positions giving the area a cramped area. If you put attention of many of the homes there, poor is not what I consider someone living in them. Even barrioslije La Zurza which is seen from the 17 bridge and from there looks horrible, at ground level it looks like a typical barrio and actually better than from above. The oxidized corrugated iron on most roof gives the area a poorer look from above. If they were painted red or were of tile roofs the area woukd look much better from above.

Most Dominicans today don't even fall in the poor segment unlike a few years ago, but the largest segment is the lower middle class and a large chunk of them live in those barrios. Also, many of them were poir families and simply rose up to lower middle class status, but psychologically they are still marked by their poor origins. Hence many will call themselves "poor" but... It's similar to how a few decades ago the DR was a rural society, but quickly became urban. Still today, after a few decades where urbanity dominates (a drop in a bucket considering DR society has been msinly rural at least since tge 1500's in colonial times), rural sayings are still quite popular and people don't think about them, particularly sayings that denote a rural origin.

 

[johne]

So I’ve being surfing a lot of the instagram Dominican IG pages just to get a acquaintance with the Dominican system and culture and etc etc … and I have know it’s that there it’s a huge number of stores that sell high end retail clothes such as Gucci , LV , DG , Cartier , Rolex , etc etc etc and most of them stores are in BARRIOS ! … I also knows it’s that there are cellphone stores that have in their stocks hundreds of iPhones and again the stores are usually in BARRIOS ;

My question is how are this stores can afford to buy these high end items to then sell them and who is buying CARTIER and iPhones in the middle of GUACHUPITA ?

The clothes am sure are they must be replicas ( AM ASSUMING ) but there are NO fake iPhone , how can the store owner afford to buy the iPhones OVERSEA , pay air transportations , pay the ridiculous aduana TAXES and then sell them CHEAP ?

Can I get y’all opinions on how they doing this ?

You can "surf" until the oceans run dry but until you move away from that electronic devise that you are now using you will NOT understand the culture, lifestyle, dynamics of the Dominican people or the country you plan on moving back to.To rid yourself of what I see is fustration with your own postion in life I don't think you will find nirvana by getting "the opinions (of expats)" on a public forum board. That look at life can only go so far.
My opinion, since you asked... start the new year by shuffling on down to the DR. Move somewhere. Put your feet in the water. Move to a barrio.
Most of the questions you ask on all of your posts are mearly looking for a short-cut as to how to better your life. You want to know why should these po folk have a better life than you? Your research methods are flawed.
Nike says "JUST DO IT".

Best of luck to you in '23.

 

[johne]

Perhaps you haven't noticed, but even in barrios there are houses that indicate are not of the poor (even if the people that live there consider themselves "poor" when they have everything so to speak. The reason for this is that despite you can tell which areas in general have more money than others, DR isn't a cut-and-dry place. Zoning is weak and in many cases not adhered to, so not only will you find many homes next to a business ir even a factory, but you will also find more than a few homes that are obviously not the type of poor people in a "poor" neighborhood similar to how many times you are in a more middle class/rich area and suddely you pass by a poor area and then the area looks nice again. Many times you will see a luxurious home and literally next to it is a shack. This is very common in the outskirts of SD.

Along with that cones businesses catering to those people that live in the barrios but they aren't poor. A barrio could have 5,000 people and if 1,500 are not poor and may seem less in person because they are scattered in the neighborhood as oppose to concentrated, businesses catering to them will pop up.

Also, what many people consider a barrio more often is simply a neighborhood that started as an informal settlement. The features of a neighborhood that has been formalized but started informal is that there was almost non-existent zoning so homes are much closer to the road and to each other, and appear in a more haphazardly positions giving the area a cramped area. If you put attention of many of the homes there, poor is not what I consider someone living in them. Even barrioslije La Zurza which is seen from the 17 bridge and from there looks horrible, at ground level it looks like a typical barrio and actually better than from above. The oxidized corrugated iron on most roof gives the area a poorer look from above. If they were painted red or were of tile roofs the area woukd look much better from above.

Most Dominicans today don't even fall in the poor segment unlike a few years ago, but the largest segment is the lower middle class and a large chunk of them live in those barrios. Also, many of them were poir families and simply rose up to lower middle class status, but psychologically they are still marked by their poor origins. Hence many will call themselves "poor" but... It's similar to how a few decades ago the DR was a rural society, but quickly became urban. Still today, after a few decades where urbanity dominates (a drop in a bucket considering DR society has been msinly rural at least since tge 1500's in colonial times), rural sayings are still quite popular and people don't think about them, particularly sayings that denote a rural origin.

Excellent post. And don't forget how the family and extended families contribute to the whole.

 

[Big]

as far as Rolex and Cartier go, they are counterfeits! The only place to get a genuine Rolex (new) is an authorized dealer. They have serial numbers. As far as I know the only one is in Blue mall in Santo Domingo. Many other so-called, high-end brands are knock offs. You name the product, and it is counterfeited. It is impossible to judge wealth or net worth buy looking at a person's clothing and accessories. Bank accounts and holdings can't be displayed via accoutrements

 

[chico bill]

So I’ve being surfing a lot of the instagram Dominican IG pages just to get a acquaintance with the Dominican system and culture and etc etc … and I have know it’s that there it’s a huge number of stores that sell high end retail clothes such as Gucci , LV , DG , Cartier , Rolex , etc etc etc and most of them stores are in BARRIOS ! … I also knows it’s that there are cellphone stores that have in their stocks hundreds of iPhones and again the stores are usually in BARRIOS ;

My question is how are this stores can afford to buy these high end items to then sell them and who is buying CARTIER and iPhones in the middle of GUACHUPITA ?

The clothes am sure are they must be replicas ( AM ASSUMING ) but there are NO fake iPhone , how can the store owner afford to buy the iPhones OVERSEA , pay air transportations , pay the ridiculous aduana TAXES and then sell them CHEAP ?

Can I get y’all opinions on how they doing this ?

Instagram and TikTok is where you need to post these endless "How will I survive in DR" questions.
You seem obsessed with wanting to do cultural studies through your iPhone.

One thing you might have in common with Dominicans 25 years and under is they live on Instagram and TikTok too and love to pretend to be wealthy with fake purses, watches and shoes.

iPhones are here by the boatloads and they are real - just many are reconditioned or were stolen then unlocked here.

 

[JD Jones]

iPhones are here by the boatloads and they are real - just many are reconditioned or were stolen then unlocked here.

Never underestimate the power of a scantily clad young lady on social media. I know one girl who frequently has the latest Iphones for sale. She is very cute and shapely. Guess how she gets them.

 

[william webster]

She's got 3 from me so far !!!!

hahaha

 

[chico bill]

Never underestimate the power of a scantily clad young lady on social media. I know one girl who frequently has the latest Iphones for sale. She is very cute and shapely. Guess how she gets them.

scrubbing floors and dusting ?

 

[chico bill]

She's got 3 from me so far !!!!

hahaha

Your wife must not be on DR1 right ?

 

[chico bill]

Never underestimate the power of a scantily clad young lady on social media. I know one girl who frequently has the latest Iphones for sale. She is very cute and shapely. Guess how she gets them.

Can I have her number ? I am in the market for an iPhone...

 

[CristoRey]

Three words for ya...
Cheap Chinese Garbage.

 

[keepcoming]

Rey, what you're seeing in these stores (barrio) are "fakes" as far as designer clothing. This is nothing new in DR or elsewhere in the world. As far as phones, it is fairly easy to get an iPhone, whether new or refurbished. Just because it may be a "barrio" in your eyes doesn't mean they do without certain "luxuries" such as iPhones. The only way to get acquainted to the Dominican culture/system as you say is to live in DR. You will never know/understand until then.

 

[Facepalm Supreme]

Money and phones come in from remittances from Dominicans who work in the USA, packets of money that come in from drug sales made in the US and other places, lots of money comes from remittances that snowbirds send their chicas when they are up north busting their butts to make green. Dominicans in my experience are especially entrepreneurial and lots of people are involved in legitimate trades and keep busy with multiple jobs, or one job and 1-2 side hustles, or their own business. Lots of people working as bioanalists or professors or military officers but still driving uber and indriver and maybe helping out their aunt or mom or brother with their small farmacia or tienda de electrodomesticas or whatever.

Stealing phones is big business here. Phones are stolen in the USA and other countries and sent here, and TONS of phones are stolen every day here in the capital and other cities, from Dominicans by Dominicans. Sometimes it's a snatch and grab/motor away type of situation, other occasions they roll up and flash the pistola and let you know what time it is. For that reason there is a very active buy/sell market in phones.

Most importantly, poor people spend money. By the boatloads. They may not have a lot of it at any given time but they like to flex, and they spend what they earn. Lots of times the people that you see outside dressed to the 9s (more so the women, the men from poorer areas tend to dress grubbier, or hoodier) go back home to unpolished concrete or even dirt floors, walls with holes in them, chipping paint on the ceilings, leaky roofs, lavamanos y inodoros that don't work or require you to fill a cut open large bottle of soap with water from the ducha to flush them, no hot water, walk through areas where even Dominicans would NEVER pull their phones out and walk with a purpose, tons of flies flying around, etc.