Manila Or Cebu For Shopping?

[Dave Hounddriver]

I am new to province life and I am finding the reason some say it is cheaper is that it is hard to find all the things you can get in the large cities.So I shall plan quarterly shopping trips and I want to know if people find shopping cheaper, more convenient, or generally better in Cebu or in Manila. Then I want to ask how people ship their goods back to the province. The locals here in Biliran will take a bus to Manila if they need a hard to find item and then ship it back on the bus. I was thinking more of flying or Supercat but shipping on the bus is a reasonable option. Anyone able to give first hand experiences?

[Mr Lee]

I am new to province life and I am finding the reason some say it is cheaper is that it is hard to find all the things you can get in the large cities.So I shall plan quarterly shopping trips and I want to know if people find shopping cheaper, more convenient, or generally better in Cebu or in Manila. Then I want to ask how people ship their goods back to the province. The locals here in Biliran will take a bus to Manila if they need a hard to find item and then ship it back on the bus. I was thinking more of flying or Supercat but shipping on the bus is a reasonable option. Anyone able to give first hand experiences?

I do not know how to ship items back but my wife and I went shopping in Glorietta near Makati and in all the attached malls and found that prices on appliance and most clothing items in major department stores such as SM etc. were lower than in Cebu, and I think that is because those major companies must have them all come in to the port in Manila in bulk and are then later shipped to Cebu and other places. We also found a much better selection of items in those malls. We did not shop for everyday needs but I am going to guess that the results might have been the same in those major chain stores, so a scouting trip might be a good idea, but would the savings be worth the trouble, I guess if you buy enough items. Please be sure to check back and let us know, and I hope to see others opinions on this subject as well.