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Simple Ways to Get Bargains
No trip to Paris is complete without some retail therapy in perhaps the most spectacular shopping wonderland in the world. French products are iconic; and, even in this time of the diminishing dollar, bringing home a treasure doesn't have to cost a king's ransom. Admittedly, if you want to save money, it means not designer shopping along the pricey rue Faubourg St. Honore or the Champs Elysees on your last afternoon there; but, even if you do, there is still an often misunderstood and misused customs process that can save you a bundle.
Get a discount, and GET MONEY BACK
At the very least, it is easy to get a 10%15% tourist discount card for use throughout your stay for perhaps the greatest shopping mecca in Paris, Galeries Lafayette. Go to its website and print it out prior to your trip. Its flagship store just behind the old opera is a mustsee marvel of architecture, and you can find most any of the large designers have boutiques within. Sometimes, especially in the case of Longchamp and others, you will find bargains not available in the boutiques, such as the Longchamp exclusive boutique on rue St. Honore.
Try to do all your heavyduty shopping in one day in each store, if possible
If your receipts (and those of your spouse) total around $500 (easy to do thereespecially if buying gifts or any luxury item), take the trouble to go to the "Detaxe" office on the ground floor (in Galeries Lafayette). Make sure you have a copy of your passport (I always make a color photocopy of my passport to carry with me, and NEVER my actual passport), stand in the sometimes long line at the detaxe office, where you will fill out a form with your passport and other information. You then wait to be taken to the desk of an employee, who will fill out a comprehensive detaxe customs form itemizing your purchases. They keep your receipts, and this form becomes your receipt. The form will be NCR with 3 copies, and they will include a postage paid envelope with the form. You should do this at any store where you make a large or multiple purchases, which add up to the detaxe minimum. This entitles you to get a refund of up to 18% when you leave the country, IF YOU FOLLOW THE CORRECT PROCEDURE PRECISELY! Most people don't, and they lose a great deal of money. It took me years to perfect it.
Most of the coveted Paris designer items (such as Louis Vuitton bags) are a bit less expensive in Paris, but, with the weak dollar, not actually a bargainUNLESS YOU GET ANOTHER 18% BACK IN A REFUND! Then, it really becomes a bargain. I have often bought such items in Paris, and then sold them after using them a short time for more than I paid in Paris with the refund!You MUST have the detaxe items with you and available for inspection at the airport BEFORE YOU CHECK YOUR LUGGAGE WITH THE AIRLINE. So, leave a LOT of extra time the day of your departure, and, when you pack, pack all your detaxe purchases in the same suitcase, and have it on top and unlocked. Definitely get a luggage cart as soon as you enter the airport. BEFORE CHECKING IN WITH THE AIRLINE (which often takes quite a long time), ask and locate the DOUANE office. There will likely be a line there, as well. Be prepared to show them your passport and return plane ticket, as well as having all your detaxe forms together, BUT REMEMBER TO KEEP EACH FORM WITH ITS SPECIFIC ENVELOPE, for them to review and stamp. Occasionally, they won't ask you to open your case and show them the articles; but, most of the time, they will just take a cursory glance inside, more to make certain that you do have all of the articles with you. They will ask you if you prefer a cash (Euros) refund or credit card credit. It is best to ask for a credit card credit, as your refund is not as large with cash, and you will have a conversion fee from Euros.
They will stamp the 3 copies of the 3part NCR form, keep one copy, and you must separate the remaining 2 copies. Take the CORRECT mailin copy (usually the pink one), put it into its CORRECT envelope, seal all the envelopes, and then find the correct mailbox within the airport. Make sure each of the envelopes is prepaid (occasionally a smaller store will require you to pay the postage). There are usually several mailboxes, but you must select the one that is for mail WITHIN France. You must then keep all your copies together (usually the green copies), and be prepared to show them at US Customs when you arrive in the US. I believe you still get $1600 dutyfree per couple.
If ANY part of this procedure is not followed, you will not receive a refund
If you send the wrong copy, keep the wrong copy, use the wrong envelope, don't put correct postage on if required, fail to mail it before checking in for your flight, or fail to go to the Douane BEFORE checking in with your airline, you will not receive any refund. I like to keep purchased items in a large soft bag, and then put it into my other suitcases to be checked, AFTER going through the above procedure. Since I often go for an extended period of time, and often before Christmas, I generally allocate an entire suitcase to my purchases, and have several forms and envelopes to keep track of and keep straight. I generally bring paperclips and large zip bags to keep them together. If done properly, refunds generally show up pretty quickly on your credit card; but, can take up to 3 months.
Avoid weight and dutymail nondetaxe purchases home
If you buy more than is convenient or within luggage weight limits and have many items not entitled to a detaxe refund, you may get smacked with duty owed from US Customs. In particular, they assess a higher fee on anything leather. I will provide a huge array of bargain shopping venues where you may not have access to detaxe, but which you won't want to miss. In these cases, I find that shipping the items back is a bargainbut only with the French postal service prepaid boxes. Do read the details on their website, but it, as well, took awhile for us to learn this and streamline the process. But NEVER ship UPS or FedExthey are horridly expensive and a nightmare. I used these twice, and twice items were missing, US Customs held them up, and they cost many hundreds of dollars to ship.
French postal service prepaid boxes are a great way to save money
In short, an XL world box ("colossal") costs about $30 to send, and is almost unlimited in weight (there is a weight limit, but hard to reach unless you mail all lead). It is the paperwork for the US Customs laws that you have to be familiar with. You can usually get the boxes at any French post officemake sure that it is the prepaid XL worldwide box. It isn't all that large, but you will be surprised how much you can cram into it.
US Customs rules state loosely (read the current ones on their sitebut it can be confusing) that each individual is allowed dutyfree 1 personal shipment and gift shipments to any address as long as each individually wrapped interior package does not exceed $100 per recipient per shipping day. The "wrapping" does not have to be more than the tapedup shopping or garbage bag, but must have the recipient's name on each. Once you get the hang of this,[url=http://www.holisteroutlet.cc]hollister femmes[/url], it is a huge convenience and money (duty) saver. You have to ask for the correct set of forms at the post office, one will be for French customs, the other for US Customs. The boxes are really sturdy and cleverly constructed, and they are selfsealing and easily assembled.
What I do is arbitrarily separate the purchases into groups of about $100 value each, and address each to a different family member or friend's name c/o my address. Many times these were to be Christmas gifts, and I didn't want the friend to see them early. On the forms, you have to itemize the contents in general terms by recipient, items per recipient, and composition (leather, fur, cotton, metal, etc.) and place a value on each item. It all seems terribly cumbersome at first, but becomes routine after the first time. I keep a template on my laptop or iPad, and just fill in the new information for each package each time. That gets taped onto the exterior of the box. Take the boxes to the French post office, where they will be weighed and stamped with their approval (they are already prepaid). The French postal service is incredibly efficient and quickin the hundreds (literally!) of boxes I have sent home over the years, they have never lost or disturbed a single one, and they tend to arrive quickly about 10 days after shipping (so make sure you don't ship them until you know you will be home to receive them). Or, ship them to friends or relatives, with the caveat that they return them to you unopened when you return.
Shipping via French mail is especially ideal for bargain, flea market, vintage or discount items for which you don't want to pay duty. There are bargains galore, if you know where to lookexamples will be in my next post. US Duty is relatively low; but you also have to keep in mind your suitcase weight. A pound overweight can cost you as much as $150 on some international airlines; and it will take longer at US Customs. If you do find your suitcase overweight at checkin, offload some clothing and go to a dutyfree shop, buy an inexpensive soft sack and carry it on.