Traveling to another country to go shopping. If you live in a large country it may seem a little unrealistic. But even somewhere like the United States different parts of the US are cheaper than others. In Europe this act is common.
Flights to New York are very cheap from Dublin. The twenty something crowd loves to take a weekend shopping trip to New York. With the Euro being so much stronger than the US dollar and prices generally being lower its no wonder this is a growing fad!
An example: Recently in Dublin I saw a sign in Diesel advertising 2 t-shirts for €50, this is $69.50 USD. For these same two shirts in the US you would spend $62 (€44.60). This may not seem like a big difference. And you certainly wouldn't travel just to buy two t-shirts. But If you go ready to drop €400 things like this add up quickly.
This also means you'll be wearing something none of your other friends have. (Unless they went with you and bought the same things as you.)
Traveling to make purchases is done for more than just clothes. For minor aesthetic operations such as dental cleanings and tattoos travel to Eastern Europe. Get cheap lipo in Mexico. There are of course risks when you do things like this. Make sure that if your body is going to be worked on that they are reputable, clean and have a good history.
For many countries if you save your recepts you can get your tax back in the airport. So make sure you keep them! Even if you can't get your tax back it's a good idea to keep your recepts incase something happens to your items and you need to return them.
If you can't or don't want to leave the US you can still get some good deals just because of a lack of sales tax. Here are the states that have no sales tax or very very low sales tax:
Alaska (Though many local governments do have them. Fairbanks and Anchorage have none)
Colorado (2.9%)
Delaware
Hawaii
Montana (Some large tourist areas do have a small tax. Around 3%)
New Hampshire (No Sales Tax but they do tax meals, hotels and car rentals)
New Mexico
Oregon
Just to give you a comparison, California has a state sales tax rate of 8.25, this is the highest in the United States. Many states tax differently depending on what you're buying, be it food, clothes, or medications.
So here are my tips for shopping away from home:
- Look for cheap flights
- Take a lot of money
- Have a plan of what you want
- Go somewhere where your currency is stronger.
- Keep your eyes open for deals
- Know the local laws on taxes
- Make sure you have enough luggage to carry everything you're going to buy (or buy luggage while you're there.)
- Find out the airline's baggage rules, after all having to pay €50 just to get everything home defeats the purpose of the trip.
- Change your money in a local bank when possible. Airports charge you insane amounts to do currency exchange, simply because they can.
- Make sure you know the laws on bringing items back to your country. Generally fruits and meats are against the rules.
