Hot answers tagged shopping
41
I have haggled over the scarfs on the Jemaa el-Fnaa square in Marrakesh. The starting price was usually around 200DH and I was able to buy for 65DH. I was totally unexperienced back then but I made some observations:
Wait to be invited by the shopkeeper. Pretend you are just passing by and stopping for a moment to look at the wares.
Do not express interest ...
17
The only real way to be successful at this is to start knowing the value you place on the item and never pay more than this. Start your haggling below this price - a good rule of thumb is for your starting price to be around the same amount below your final as the asking price is above.
Some countries like to bargain harder, but at the end of the day, you ...
15
I was a flight attendant before and I had this problem. I just kept losing them. Then I came up with an idea--An empty cigarette pack. Just put the sim cards inside the plastic that covers the pack and its tight enough to hold it. But then I saw a good thing that really helped me a lot. Its a sim card holder that can hold up to 4 sim cards, Its exactly the ...
12
You need two things: 1) a good feeling for the local prices and 2) experience.
Haggling is more than just quoting low prices. It about your complete presentation and attitude.
When they quote me their first price (I will never be the one to call the first price), I usually just smile at them, maybe tell them it is a ridiculous amount etc. So, while not ...
12
From spending a year or so in Ireland as a student:
Not much is "must buy" - it depends on who you are. I found my greatest "buys" in Ireland were experiences, rather than things. So here's my list:
A ticket to see the Book of Kells at Trinity College in Dublin. For that matter, just wandering Dublin.
A ticket to the Guinness Factory Tour. You said no ...
10
Obviously, the best book for you depends a lot on what you are looking for.
Many criteria are to be taken into account :
the place(s) you'll go to : some books will cover only the capital, other will cover the main cities and other will cover the countryside as well.
the duration of your trip (many books are explicitely for trips of a couple of days)
the ...
10
You need to have a real understanding of what the local currency is worth in your home currency. It's very easy to get blinded by large numbers.
I was in Indonesia, haggling over a set of wicker place mats. The exchange was about 9000 Rupiah to the USD. Starting price was 250,000 Rupiah for a set, about $27.00. We ended up paying 100,000, The price ...
9
It depends on the item. Alcoholic spirits (whiskey etc) and tobacco are the usual items to get, since they typically are the most heavily taxed items, so can be considerably cheaper at Duty Free than in either country. Usually you'll be able to get all of the major name-brand items, and sometimes some regional items (eg. Jenevers - Dutch gins - if in ...
8
To the best of my knowledge, New York State does not offer a refund of sales tax on purchases that are later taken outside the state or country. Except for the North Dakota and Louisiana programs mentioned in the link you give, I have never heard of such refunds existing anywhere in the U.S.
I think you just have to pay it.
8
A place where you most definitely have Canon products is Anigota which is a Canon dealer for Croatia. You can find their store in Gundulićeva 26 in Split.
The store is called "Kodak centar d.o.o." and it's near "Panasonic centar".
According to their website, they're open Mondays - Fridays 08:00 - 20:00 and Saturdays 08:00 - 13:00.
8
I have faced this countless times while travelling in Asia because sellers can be incredibly aggressive in their selling tactics there. The best way to handle this is the same as the answer about how to handle "string people" in Paris: appear local and don't engage them.
Appear local: Okay, there are times when this is not possible. There will be places ...
7
I would have advised you to buy your outdoor clothes in Delhi but your trip timing could be crucial to whether you get a good deal or not. Branded sports / outdoor clothing stores have sales of autumn clothes in autumn and spring, i.e., when they are about to bring in fresh stock and when demand drops off, respectively. Right now, by Indian standards, Delhi ...
7
Shops normally cannot sell to tourists VAT/Duty free just because you have a plane ticket. The maximum a shop can do is sell you VAT-Free since that is a separate charge. Duties on Liquor and Cigarettes are not known to the personnel since they are applied at the manufacturer/wholeseller level so the shop cannot sell you those without charging the duty. It's ...
6
Technically you could claim a Sales Tax Refund from New York State. To do that you need to fill out AU-11 form in which you can claim refund for goods you are taking out of state. And mail it to the state. Problem is that under NY law you likely won't qualify for a refund and on top of this they can only return NY State Portion which is 4%. So if you ...
6
This rather more than a "shopping answer", hopefully.
How to determine if Jade is genuine:
This webpage provides an excellent discussion of types of genuine jade and of non genuine alternatives.
This page is also very useful
Excellent characteristics table for Jade and other materials.
A pocket spectrometer is possibly a really good tool. These are ...
6
The region has a very long tradition of international trade, and it's a cornerstone of the economy. Taxes and tariffs are low, so many things are indeed cheaper. Additionally, the sheer number of shopping opportunities is an attraction in itself. Dubai has one of the world's largest shopping malls (among 50 others), one of the largest duty free stores, and ...
5
I got pretty good at this when i was in Thailand, you just have to remember the basic rules
if you say "Ok" you can't take your word back
The seller will never sell in loss so don't have fear
The greatest lesson is learned while hagging is NEVER think that the starting price is somehow related to the value of the object. At first i thought "Well, they ...
5
Holi supplies is a seasonal industry, similar to how fireworks are a seasonal industry based around Diwali. Most commercially available Holi dyes will be hard to find outside the festival season, although you should also be aware that most of them are unsafe due to presence of heavy metals such as lead and mercury! Yes it looks fun, but many of them can ...
5
The page 'Malls and Shopping Centers - LAX Area' has various place close to LAX, the same site also has lists for other areas of LA.
I haven't been to any of the ones around LAX, I guess they are pretty generic but maybe good enough for your needs. If you want to escape the malls, Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica is a nice enough pedestrian area, but ...
5
Looks like the restricted area is restricted for the passengers only, so you will be in this area basically.
The non-restricted are is where anyone can come from the city, and which is before border control and security checks (from the perspective of people arriving from the city). You can assume that you will not get to this area (unless you want to go ...
5
The Joker Centre is a good possibility - it was the first major mall to open in Split, back in 2007, and has over 50 outlets of major global brands.
Odds are good that an electronics store exists, and that they could help you. At the very least they could direct you to somewhere else who does.
The address is:
Put Brodarice 6
near the Diocletian Palace ...
5
The nearest thing I know of to what you're asking about is the ability for visitors to some countries to another country to either buy an item and avoid tax provided the item is shipped directly abroad; or to pay full price, but apply for a refund of the taxed amount after returning home. Details vary country to country (if offered at all), and usually ...
5
When I was in Beijing in 2012 Sunday was not really a big deal. Maybe some shops open a little later, but generally they're all open.
I would advice against buying gadgets in general markets like the Silk Market as they're either fake or faulty. If you absolutely need to buy electronic gadgets go to an electronics store. General markets are good for ...
4
In my opinion the best way is to search for online reviews. Personally I like Amazon. First there are the readers reviews, secondly Amazon has this section called "What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?". You can get some decent impressions with these to features of amazon.
Another possibility is to go to the local Library. Here in ...
4
Right, I've not been there, but I'll try and say what I would do, as your food methodology seems to echo mine :)
The Aruba Ostrich Farm would be my first stop if you've not tried Ostrich meat. Dried, sliced, or in a burger, it's a delicious meat.
Snorkelling sounds pretty great there, and for once you're not left out with wrecks that only scuba divers ...
4
Irish lace is pretty famous, and some curtains or doilies or the like would make a nice conversation piece. If you are a "world music" kind of person, there will undoubtedly be CDs you can get of music that you really can't get any other way. Irish cheese is quite famous, but you may or may not be able to import it to where you're headed (check in advance.)
...
4
If you want to visit mountainous region in Nepal and like to buy some warmer clothes and boots then you'll get it in Kathmandu. Normally but I suggest you to visit Thamel in Kathmandu. There you will get as you prefer for the really region.
4
From Wikitravel's great piece on Rome:
Rome has excellent shopping opportunites of all kinds - clothing and jewellery (it has been nominated as a top fashion capital) to art and antiques. You also get some big department stores, outlets and shopping centres, notably in the suburbs and outskirts.
Main shopping areas include Via del Corso, Via Condotti, and ...
4
The single most difficult task in haggling is known the right price of the object you are trying to buy. It's not even the time spent haggling because you could have been quoted such an outrageously high price that even when you drive it down, the price is too high. What I do is strike up a rapport with hostel staff and ask them for ballpark figures for ...
4
The easiest way to haggle, especially if you're inexperienced and feel awkward doing it, is to get a "bulk discount". So if you're interested in buying multiple items, always talk about only one item at first and then suggest you might buy e.g. two for 150% of the price of one. Of course this won't help much with real ripoff prices, but it's a way to get ...
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