Santee Alley, Los Angeles

Ok, So i drove from northern California to look for deals at this so call "Alley." I went there for the sole purpose of finding quality knock off mens apparal (mainly ed hardy). I had high hope as i read all of the people reviews. However it was a different stoty once i got to the alley. Out of all of the stores only ONE had Ed Hardy. The people there claimed that their merchandise was authentic. Come-on now, if it was authentic they wouldnt be selling it in an alley, theyd be out on the main st. Ande as for bargining, there wasnt any... They wanted $49 per Ed Hardy t-shirt and we not willing to budge even when i offered to buy 3. Other than that all i saw was cheap quality stuff that wasnt even worth buying. I didnt get anything positive out of my first visit to the famed "Santee Alley."

I love it!!! everytime that I go I find great stuff, once I purshased some pants for like $20.00, if I would have gotten them anywhere else, they would have for sure costed me about $50.00

It is a fascinating place to go and check stuff. They have cheap and expensive and stores like Forever 21 buy frrom those stores. I know because i worked there. The Forever 21 stores are Koreans owned and most of the clothing store on Santee and that area supply Wet Seal. Forever 21. So don't go bashing them to much!

I like it alot but you have to go early before it gets to crowded, but its alot of fun and great hot dogs along the way

Yes, it feels and looks cheap. And YES - I FOUND everything I wanted for my very classy taste... If you have a good eye for GOOD STUFF - you will find it all. Most of things really look they are designed for a cheap streetwalker, but YOU JUST HAVE TO GO THROUGH a lot of such stuff and - you will find anythinig to please anybody's taste. Or very close to it. I did have a blast. IF YOU FROM NYC - no it's NOT better than RACETRACK/Howard beach fare, for most of otheres - it is wonderful!!!

I love Santee Alley I never waist time or money in dept stores, anything you want they have and for less a lot less, if you ask they will get it for you if you don't look like a okley or lv cop. every sat between 7 am and 11 off the alley the clothing stores have killer deals no tax.. lots of cool knock offs..i love it so much! just watch out lots of pick pockets..

From what I had been told, I thought Santee Ally would be a place for new designers and fabric manufacturers to sell their wares. At best it was a clothing swapmeet. The clothes being sold were all more approporate for the club scene or the corner of Hollywood & Vine than for day to day. Everything was very trendy, which can be a good thing, except none of the items were constructed well enough to last until the end of the trend. I don't think I would call anything I saw today a bargain. The clothes were priced from $2-60, but a $2 shirt looked like a $2 shirt. Nothing I saw was unique. Most of the women's clothes could be found at your local Forever 21 store and all of the other items were bad knockoffs. (aka: fake handbags with fake logos) While some of the shop keepers were nice (the parking lot attendant was great), most of the vendors seemed to think yelling at us was a good sales tactic. Offensive body odor was also an undesired trend. I have no interest in ever returning to Santee Ally.

I went to the Alley a couple of years ago with my best friend . We had a blast! We got a lot of really good bargins and met a lot of people from other places. I have been telling everyone I can about my experience. I can't wait to go back! Yes, I would say that the trip was absolutely worth the money. We received a lot of value in the items that we purchased. We missed quite a few stores because we ran out of time. I made notes of some of the places that I will return to in the future. I picked up several business cards of shops where I purchased items. Overall, a great experience.

Loved the atmosphere, the prices and bartering with the people. Great fun. I got great shoes, even though they are fake, I cant tell so Im sure most people wont either. It is hard to push a stroller and most stores wont allow you in with one, so if you can avoid it then thats nice, if not then oh well. There are a lot of kids there anyway.

want great deals? a wide variety of stuff for people of all ages? then santee alley is for you. its a bit crowded so keep your eyes open. dont just buy, make sure you try to negotiate first. i bought diamonds worth 100 dollars for 60. a hat worth 14 bucks for 5bucks.good luck and enjoy.