On Váci, sometimes a bargain basement is just a basement

On Váci utca 39 near Erzsébet híd, even on a cold winter's morning, someone boldly hands out fliers to passing pedestrians. The advertisements, for Roger's Italian Leather store, boast big sales for men and women's leather goods: everything is 90% off! Coats regularly Ft 110,000 are Ft 5,000! Handbags that are Ft 39,000 are only Ft 9,000!

Monika Jones

(Top) A flier from Roger's Italian Leather store, the store boasts 90%-off sale, every day of the year: hardly a bargain. (Center) A woman passes out fliers advertising the shop on Váci utca. (Bottom) A David Jones handbag, Ft 9,900.

Though flier advertisements can be dodgy, they're worth considering since bargain basements in Budapest could mean a real steal. Clothing, particularly Italian-made clothing, is all too often outrageously expensive in Hungary.

Down the stairs at Roger's, the basement room smells of leather and must. There's a modest selection of men's and women's leather coats hanging on central racks, with handbags and shoes piled along the walls.

However the "Italian" part of the story ends at the three Gucci posters decorating the otherwise dimly lit basement enclave.

Brands include Lux Nick, Jump & Fish, and Dengre, which not only are not Italian sounding, they can't even be googled. Handbags, however, are tagged David Jones, the Australian department store brand.

Going beyond the sketchy names, the button-up leather jacket by Dengre (for both men and women, sizes S-XXL, Ft 5,000, €25) won't pass for an Armani knockoff, let alone the real thing. Neither black nor brown but a spotted rusty color, the black jacket more closely resembles imitation animal fur than leather.

More expensive jackets starting at Ft 13,000 come with the added bonus of consistency in color.

Handbags start at Ft 9,900, comparable to most midrange handbags sold at Orsay, Zara or Mono Fashion, the latter of which is über funky and sells the Japanese Miju handbags for Ft 14,000, renowned for their earth-friendliness products and also for being super cute.

At worst, Roger's is a case of false advertising. In fact, allegedly the store has already been fined for its sales, since having a 90% sale every day of the year isn't really a sale, now is it. Though deceptive advertisements are nothing new in Hungary, as there have been reports of false toothpaste advertisements and Tesco advertisements misleading customers.

On the other hand, perhaps Rodger's is just as cheap as it promotes itself to be, not only in prices but in quality as well.

While some advertising deals are worth trying, these fliers are simply too good to be true. Only the Italian cows saved from being made into coats, and not the people unfortunate enough to be buying them, can have the last laugh (or moo) here.

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