Eurotravel Planner

Section: Shopping & Shipping

Next Section: Lodging

There is a passion to shopping, especially in far away places, that I've never entirely understood. Oh, sure, I've purchased a Mannekin Pis boy bottle opener and a smal mask in Venice (still can't figure where to hang it, I'll have to see where Mom & Sis hung theirs...), but that's about it. So, I have a few short thoughts, mostly on shipping, and will leave you to your various treasure hunting activities!

Shoppin' (Travel Pete's Philosophy)
1. Don't buy a lot of stuff.
2. If you do buy a lot of stuff AND plan on traveling around afterwards — definitely ship it.

There is a reason for this:
First, if you are traveling by train, you don't want to carry it around. At least, I sure don't. If you enjoy the extra workout, you'll be a welcome companion on any trip of mine.

Second, if you are traveling by car, you can't leave the stuff. In the car in Italia, it'll be gone by morning, in France by early afternoon — so you must drag everything to your hotel every night, and you have to have nicer hotels to be sure it's not taken from there.

So... a lot of people ask the same basic question, which is "how to avoid buying tourist trap stuff. So, I've got a few more tips to keep in mind when shopping.

1. Again, think experiences over stuff.

2. Based on #1. consider buying one small item that really strikes you as representing the trip, something to bring home and display and remember the trip thereby. You may even want to "shop ahead" before your trip and think about what might make an interesting item to go on a shopping treasure hunt for! www.ishoparoundtheworld.com has a few good thoughts on stuff to buy.

Some of the fun of past trips has been checking prices in various countries and cities for a particular item (my buddy Dan was interested in high-quality chef's knives and Cuban cigars).

3. The big touristy stuff is always next to the main attractions, and are usually grouped together. Find side streets (especially in Venice) and you'll find the out-of-the-way stores that profess to higher quality and more originality. Don't accept offers from taxi drivers or guides to show you a recommended shop...it's a kickback scheme and you're likely to pay more than you bargained for.

4. Tourist "traps" aren't that bad in the sense that if you didn't want the stuff, they wouldn't be there. Just consider whether you'll still want the item in an hour, after lugging it around with you. And sometimes (as with my "special" bottle openers) the story is probably just as good as the real thing.

5. Just be sure to bargain! Tourist traps are bad because they are usually higher priced. Bargaining is absolutely expected for almost everything, especially in Europe. I can't think of anything I haven't bargained for.

6. Have fun with it. For example, I always bring back one super-cheezy and not-classy item from each trip. This past trip it was a bottle opener shaped like the Mannekin Pis (Peeing Boy) of Brussels in Belgium. Very lame, and just the reminder of Europe I get a kick out of — and one I see every time I open the silverware drawer. (Note: you really don't have to follow my lead on this one... :-)

7. Speaking of shopping in Italia, you will ALWAYS get receipts for absolutely everything. Keep them, at least until you're well out of the store. Italian tax police have been cracking down on merchants, so new laws are in place, including receipts for everything.

Shipping
If it's REALLY expensive, consider not shipping it from Italy — ship it from Switzerland or Germany if you can get there.

Customs can be a bit slowwww from Italy sometimes, especially if it's an expensive, small item such as jewelry. I've never lost anything, but it has been slowed up for a month or two. Finally, Italian merchants thrive on tourism, and are very good at international shipping, so there's rarely any problem at all, even if it gets there a bit late sometimes. Who knows? Maybe I shouldn't have used super-saver shipping rates.

Oh, and you can often get the tax taken off immediately since they are shipping internationally right from the store! Merchants also can guide you as to how to pack it, and what type of shipping to use. Thus, the tax refund that you can get often offsets the expense of shipping from, say, Rome to the U.S.

As a pricing example, I've shipped a box of 3 books for about $7 to the U.S.

As for theft, don't write "Expensive Hand-made Silk Suit" on the line describing what you have (write papers, books, etc.) for customs. As for doing the shipping yourself, it's not a huge problem with smaller items, the post offices are okay. Anything large and in need of real wrapping will cause you headaches.

It seems to be relatively safe from my experiences and those of others. It's a bit slower from Italia than, say, Switzerland.

All this sounds a bit like a commercial for shipping, I realize, but I've seen the opposite, where people lug stuff around until it a) breaks or b) is stolen or c) finally gets shipped after a long time and a big hassle. As far as what you can bring home, there's very little in the way of restrictions. It should be legal in all countries you'll pass through or end up in. Primarily restrictions are placed on liquor, cigarettes/tobacco, and money. Don't bring more than a liter of alcohol or a carton of cigarettes, normally.

Remember, the trip is really about being comfortable, ease of movement, and seeing what's there. . .not necessarily bringing it all home with you!

Next Section: Lodging