SHOPPING in FL and VE - Haggling, Best buys, Stores, tips ,etc

When I went to Paris, I thought that the prices were really steep so I didn’t end up shopping but I heard Florence and Venice have good deals.

1. Can you haggle when shopping? Granted its not a real mall (aka Bloomingdales, Neiman Marcus etc.).
2. What are the best things to buy when in these places (eg. Cheaper, wont find in the US, great deal, etc). Some say leather goods are cheaper in FL but some say it ends up the same with US goods.
3. What are the normal shopping hours? My BF of course wants to just sight see and go to museums and I would like to do so too but I want to do some shopping for a few hours. Ill be in Florence for 2 nights and Venice for 2 nights. Milan for one night and Rome 3 nights. I know its tough but if I can juggle the times that would be good.
4. Are there areas where shopping is concentrated in VE and FL? What about Rome?

I know there are discussions for shopping in the message boards but I thought id get some responses based on these specifics.

Haggle...what an ugly word. Better skip the shops and go to the flea markets if you want to do this. With a copy of "Designer Bargains in Italy" www.scoprioccasioni.it you should be able to find prices lower than the main shopping areas in Firenze e Venezia.

You may be able to get a 10% discount for cash. Maybe...but I wouldn't count on it.

There are several open markets in Florence (I don't know about Venice) where you can discuss prices. Also when I bought my Florentine coin on the Ponte Vecchio THEY told ME that I would get 10% off if I paid cash. The Ponte Vecchio is the best place if your looking for jewelry. Otherwise I would use good manners in all the stores. You wouldn't want to bargin in Louis Vuitton or Roberto Cavalli would you?? I suppose you could ask if anything was on sale.

Ginger

I think it greatly depends on the type of shop and merchandise you are buying; i.e., if you are buying more than one item of gold jewelry on the Ponte Vecchio or Rialto where you may, in all likelihood, be dealing with a sole proprietor of the business, I don't think there is any harm in asking for a discount. It can certainly be accomplished with civility without the semblance of "haggling". Probably would be met with resistance at upscale stores where one rings a bell for entry, but I wouldn't consider it a tasteless tactic at less chic venues.

I guess I should have softened my term from haggling to compromising-on-a-price-that-is-aggreable-to-both-buyer-and-seller. I am a power shopper and here in the US, you can work out a discount even in haute couture stores and I know as much the etiquette in fancy stores as I mentioned in my original message (Bloomies, Neiman, etc). I was more interested in the protocol of smaller more informal merchants.

When I was buying leather in Florence, I paid cash and got a good discount.

The assistant was from Australia and told me that was the best way to bargain.

Elly

When shopping at European outdoor markets, I ask about a possible discount if I am buying several of the same item or a lot of stuff overall. Most of my experience doing this has been in France, and I always try to be extremely polite about doing this. ("If I buy six aprons, it is possible to have a lower price?") This usually does result in some form of discount. If you buy a lot of something at a small shop or stand (maybe similar to paying cash), this often does mean a discount or sometimes a bonus "gift."

Kathy

Looks like leather and jewelry are good deals in florence. Gotta watch out for those then.

What about MURANO GLASS/Hand blown glass in Venice? They can be very expensive here in the US. How does the grand total end up if you have to ship it? Any experiences?

Robin, this is lightly offtopic, but your mentioning Firenze as FL really got me disconcerted. I wondered "Why does this personask about shopping in Florida on the Italian board?" The point is that Florence (or firenze) does have an official two letter tag, and that's FI, not FL. yet, considering that here we have a pretty international group of people posting (mostly Americans, but also British and Italians and people from other countries as well), it would just be better not to use these conctractions, that can easily cause confusion to an non-US reader.
One little example is that many Americans refer to Cinque Terre as CT, pity that CT in Italian terms refers to the city and province of Catania in Sicily.

quote:

What about MURANO GLASS/Hand blown glass in Venice? They can be very expensive here in the US. How does the grand total end up if you have to ship it? Any experiences?

I don't know how large your suitcase is, or how much you plan on buying, but my trick for when I intend to purchase breakable stuff is to travel with a large plastic container (like tupperware) and bubble wrap. Wrap each item in the bubble wrap and then pack them in the container. I've done it with Venetian glass and Limoges boxes - the plastic container protects fragile things so well, I've been able to pack it in my checked luggage with no breakage.

And as someone who pretty much shops in Europe for a living, I have to agree with the previous comments. Don't try to negotiate in large stores or upscale boutiques, but if you're looking for leather or jewelry (I don't think there are bargains anymore on the Ponte Vecchio, though), you can try to negotiate. With many of the small leather stores, I almost get the feeling it's expected, they price things high to give themselves room for negotiation (I've bought lots of leather in Firenze and never paid what was on the pricetags). And cash will definitely help persuade them to give you a discount.

As for your question about leather goods being cheaper in the U.S., I think that to a certain extent, you get what you pay for. I have some beautiful leather jackets I bought in Firenze. They were more expensive than my friend's jacket from Macy's, but mine are better quality. They cost me more, but I think they're worth it, and whenever I wear them, I think of Italy.

Ahhhhhhhh, the pitfalls of abbreviation. Sorry if it caused any confusion...FL in the context of this discussion is FLORENCE, I will make sure I use FI from now on to mean Florence.

Good tips Shoparound and everyone else. My eyes will be open for venetian/murano glass, leather and jewelry while I am in Venice and Florence.

No problem, just a bit of head scratching on my side. ^_^ Yet, better to use full names, just for clarity.

DON'T buy jewelry on the Ponte Vecchio. I found a store many years ago and ahve bought alot of jewelry from there. It is called DeMatteis, Via Nazionale 40/r, very close to the Santa Maria Novella Train Station. I have looked and compared prices many time and you cannot buy any cheaper than this place.

Hi Robin-

I don't know that you will find "great" prices so much as great quality and beautiful unique things that are not readily available in the US. Especially with the current exchange rate, I really have not found many things to be lower priced than they are in the US. Shipping will add tremendously to the cost of anything you buy, if you are not prepared to carry it home, I think it would offset any potential savings.

There is a humourous essay on the Slow Trav site that points out some of the pitfalls of "bargaining":

http://www.slowtrav.com/rebecca/032003.htm

There is also this thread:
http://slowtalk.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/862600685/m/...10323221#39310323221

I have to say Katecoleman, this article made me smile.

the advise about NOT buying jewelry on the ponte vecchio is good advise.... especially with the rising cost of gold. BTW, does anyone know the current price of gold/ounce?

You could try the designer outlets in the Val D'Arno between Florence and Montevarchi. Theres the Mall which houses Gucci, Armani , Loro Piano,Sergio Rossi, YSL and others. A further 10 miles down the road there is Spaccio which is the Prada and subsidaries outlet( Prada Miu Miu, Jil Sander, Helmut Lang and Churches Shoes. In the area there are also further outlets for D & G, Lowe and Celine. I have not been for 2 years but have picked up fantastic bargains in Gucci and Spaccio. In Florence the high end shops On Via Tornabouni are the same as on Bond Street , Madison Avenue and Rodeo Drive with prices to match.