Shop Hopping
Shopping is an irresistible activity when you travel to different destinations. You will obviously want to return with gifts and souvenirs from your trip. That’s what memories are made of. But it is so very easy to go over budget and get stuck with purchases that you regret later. Not to mention getting scammed. So do keep a few things in mind when you go shopping in a new place:
- Make your shopping list well before hand. List all the people you have to get gifts for and their likes and dislikes.
- Prepare a budget. Allocate budgets for all the recipients as well as for how much you want to spend on purchases for yourself.
- Try to do a recce of the local shops and compare prices before buying anything. Find out who gives a better deal.
- Avoid tourist traps. Their prices are usually inflated with huge margins for the shop keeper.
- Aim for the smaller shops in quieter areas. They usually have lower overheads and hence, lower margins.
- Try to get bulk discounts. Buy more of the same kind of articles in different colors and patterns and negotiate for a package deal.
- If you visit a flea market, check all articles for quality. Remember that you won’t be able to return them and will have to write them off if they are defective. And haggle. You are expected to in a flea market.
- Try to pay in cash when ever you can. Credit card transactions often have a commission for the dealer attached.
- Always try to buy locally manufactured products.