A British woman named Shirley Bekker decided to travel all the way to Foshan in China in order to buy all the furniture she’d need for her future home after hearing it was cheaper than the UK
As the USA issued new trade tariffs on products from across the world at the start of 2025, with China being hit with a 20% tariff, which was an increase from the 10% tariff it had been before, Chinese wholesale sellers took to social media to urge people to shop with them directly.
While these tariffs didn’t directly affect the UK, it didn’t stop British social media users to see the videos that Chinese sellers were making about being able to by luxury products to a fraction of brands’ prices directly from the factories and wholesalers. This includes everything from designer clothes to furniture and home goods.
Doctor Shirley Bekker was one of many viewers who saw these videos on TikTok, and decided to book a spontaneous shopping trip to China in May 2025 in order to buy all the furniture she’d need for her future flat.
As she arrived in Foshan in China, a city known for its high manufacturing output to the world, having 30 towns specialised in particular industries, including furniture, machinery, and beverages, Shirley decided to document her shopping trip on TikTok to show people the big savings she was making.
While Shirley herself hadn’t been convinced that travelling all the way to Foshan to buy furniture would be worth it, she quickly changed her mind when she found her ‘dream’ coffee table.
“It’s built on a solid wood platform, real glass on top, it’s really heavy, really durable, and just looks so luxe,” she said as she showed off the table, which also included wooded geometric details under the glass.
While it looked luxurious and expensive, she revealed that she’d only paid £150 for it, saying it cost her less than her HD frontal weave.
In her next video, she shared that she’d gotten a wooden dining table for £80, as well as customised chairs to go with it that matched the luxurious sofa she’d gotten for £340. She also made sure to get lamps and art to decorate her future how with as well.
While all of these sums do add up quickly, as she got home, Shirley decided to make a presentation to share how much money she’d saved after finding similar items sold in shops around the UK.
Starting off with the £80 wooden dining table she’d bought in China, she’d found an almost identical table being sold in B&Q for £349.99. While the import costs aren’t included in this comparison, Shirley saved £269.99 just from the table alone. Meanwhile, the two chairs she’d gotten for £65 each cost a whopping £990 each if she’d bought them in the UK.
Shirley continued to go through the comparisons for all the different items she’d bought, only to come to the conclusion to how much she’d save.
“So in conclusion, you flew to all the way to China with nothing but a Monzo, Google Translate, and praised hands. You ran around for six days and bought enough stuff to furnish a bedroom, balcony, renovate a bathroom, and have enough dinnerware to host the royal family,” the voiceover said.
It continued: “Had you stayed in the UK and bought all the same things, this little venture would have cost you a grand total of £21,800. But all because you took the plunge and bought it all in China instead, you spent a grand total of £3,690.56.”
While these calculations did not include the shipping costs to get her furniture from China to the UK, Shirley still saved herself a whopping £18,109.04, which will most likely be more than enough to cover the shipping costs.