Tips on Buying abroad
Do you buy things on your travels? We do, and we’ve got a couple of tips for shopping abroad. Sometimes whenever you travel, you will have an impulse to buy souvenirs… to… well… to do just what souvenir means… to recollect your trip.
We’re not talking t-shirts here… we’re talking articles which will bring back memories of that city or country. We’re talking about tips for shopping abroad for regular old tourists.
You are not likely to get the best “deals” or the top “stuff” unless you simply get really lucky, but you will get some fun things and fun memories of finding them.
Purchasing art while on vacation often is an ideal way to add some excitement to your trip. Imagine all the fun that can be had seeking out that special piece that should bring back the memory of blue seas, snow-capped mountains, a memorable ruin, or tropical birds.
Each travel destination you visit is certain to have a definite flavor that can be captured in artwork or crafts which can be unique to the area. Your souvenir might be a painting or it can be fabric, woven panels, embroidered work, or batik.
You can buy native artworks like wood sculptures and masks. We’ve brought home unique musical instruments… a balalaika, a Tibetan horn, a didgeridoo, and some drums.
It’s fun shopping for a little antique piece or some ethnic clothing, but no matter what you go searching for, there are some tips for shopping abroad that you ought to keep in mind.
If you’re going to look for something specific on a trip, do some research before you leave home so you know about how much you need to expect to pay for it.
Also do research so you understand how to evaluate the quality. There are many fakes and cheap knockoffs in existence, a little knowledge may assist you to avoid getting ripped off… though with many items, even experts can be fooled!
Assume what you’re getting isn’t old or authentic…. that’s it’s made new for tourists and made to seem old…. That’s not all bad, many countries won’t let you take antiques out of the country anyway.
For anything you buy, we think if you pay a price you can live with, assuming it is simply a souvenir and not a valuable treasure, you’ll be happy with it whether it’s new or old.
While it’s fun to mention you bought this in…. you name it… Europe, Africa, Asia… Give it some thought before you buy. Can you get the same thing at home…. and get it cheaper without the hassles of getting it home? Will you really use it? Display it? Or is this an impulse that’s a great idea when you’re in that small shop, but something which may end up collecting dust in a box or inside your closet?
Sometimes to “get over” that impulse to purchase, we just buy some little thing which may remind us of this trip… things that lay flat and pack easily… hand made cards and cloth items or little pieces of inexpensive jewelry. When all else fails, we buy what we call “tacky tourist curios”. Funny little pieces that we bring home and hang on our Christmas tree.
I assume that’s our best tip for shopping abroad… really give it some thought before you buy it.
David Henry is a travel industry expert and has been providing discount travel services for 25 years. The next time you are looking for any travel products take a look at online travel discounts. 1 easy search compares all the leading tour operators for package holidays, flights,hotels and car hire and then allows you to book direct with the operator to make great savings
Finding a discount hotel room in New York is far easier than you may think it is. All you have to do is use the New York Hotel Deals website because it simultaneously checks for the lowest rates available at every online hotel site. This approach saves you a ton of time and money.
The first thing you need to do when you get to the NewYorkHotelDeals.US site is to click on the calendar and put in your check-in and check-out dates (along with how many guests there will be and how many rooms you are reserving) you will then click the “Go” button which will bring up the hotel search results page.
If you want an inexpensive hotel then you should click on “Price” so that the search results are sorted so that the least expensive hotels are listed first. You will most likely also want to go to the “Property Type” tab on the lower left in order to uncheck “hostels” because otherwise the very low priced hostels will take up all of the slots.
If you are curious and you do not really know what a hostel is then let me describe it for you quickly. With a hostel you are reserving a bed instead of a room. If you stay at a hostel you will be in the same room as a bunch of other people.
If you want a low priced hotel near a NYC landmark like the Central Park Zoo then you can use this service to find it. How does it work? First you should arrange by price and then you need to use the “Distance Location” tab on the left. Set it to one mile and then find the landmark you want to be near in the scrolldown menu. Then the least expensive hotels within one mile of the landmark will show up in the search results.
What works for landmarks also works for finding NYC Discount Hotels in a particular neighborhood. Just select a neighborhood (like the Upper West Side) in place of a landmark.
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