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young man was bargaining with an employee of a clothing stall for a polo shirt with a '€œTommy Hilfiger'€ logo on its chest, saying that he would not pay more than Rp 50,000 (US$3.71) for the shirt.

Sulaiman, a university student, said he would not mind if the seller did not want to lower the price, tagged at Rp 75,000. '€œThere are a lot of other vendors in this market, I'€™ll look around,'€ he said.

Located in Plumpang, North Jakarta, Pasar Ular has been a favorite spot for Jakartans to hunt for branded clothing at very cheap prices as most of the products are counterfeit items, while some others, according to the sellers, are low-quality original products.

Beni Lian, who runs a clothing shop at the market, said he sold his shirts for Rp 70,000 and jeans for Rp 125,000. He emphasized that the prices were negotiable.

He said he could set a very low price because, despite their logos and brand tags, none of the items were original.

'€œI bought all of the shirts and jeans from people who brought them from China,'€ he said pointing at a pair of jeans with a '€œ501'€ brand tag on its pocket.

At first glance Pasar Ular does not seem like a place where people can find branded clothing as it is an alley that is only 100 meters long and located right across from the polluted Sunter River.

However, the colorful sneakers, bags and shirts that are put up on display have changed the market'€™s unappealing surroundings.

According to the Jakarta administration'€™s official website, jakarta.go.id, Pasar Ular was a market for traders that lived nearby Tanjung Priok Port in 1959. The area was then transformed into a container terminal, which drove the sellers away to Plumpang.

In the narrow alley, people will find hundreds of branded shoes displayed on shelves, while the latest edition can be found in a glass display. Customers who know what they are looking for can be in and out in 10 minutes, otherwise they could spend an hour just looking around.

Rio Mandala, 24, said he came all the way from Manado, North Sulawesi, to find cheap branded goods in Jakarta and resell them at his local store. Carrying two bags in each of his hands, he said that he chose a number of places to buy branded clothing during his visit to the capital, and Pasar Ular was one of his main destinations.

'€œI have spent almost Rp 2 million [US$148] on shoes and shirts and I am sure that I can sell them for 4 or 5 million in Manado. It is easy money,'€ he told The Jakarta Post, adding that a number of people who had opened clothing stores in Manado also bought their collections from Pasar Ular.

However, some sellers denied that Pasar Ular only offered knockoff goods.

Bayu, 35, said his shoe stores were stacked with originals products that previously would be shipped overseas but got rejected as their quality did not meet the standard set by the buyer. The quality of the rejected shoes, he said, was very similar with the imported ones and would not be noticed except if the buyer looked at the small details of the product.

Furthermore, Bayu said he always let his customer know if the product he offered them was an original or imitation. '€œYou must tell your customers about the product, it is like an unwritten rule here,'€ he said.