Shopping coverage from Daily News Voyage.
France and Italy still regulate when the summer sales begin — late June in France, the first weekend of July in much of Italy — while Spain and Germany are free-for-alls that start earlier and go longer.
Opening prices in the Grand Bazaar routinely start 30 to 50 percent above a realistic settlement, and the first number you say matters less than knowing when to walk — politely, and to the next stall.
The $800 personal exemption covers most shopping trips home, but the fine print — the 30-day rule, the one-liter limit, the gift carve-outs — is where travelers meet the duty bill.
Duty-free still earns its name on liquor, tobacco, and fragrance; on nearly everything else — chocolate, cosmetics baskets, electronics — you are paying airport rent with a discount sign on it.
Outlet malls in the US still deliver savings on last season's stock, but a large share of what hangs on the racks is manufactured for the outlets — knowing which is which is the whole game.
The exemption is applied at the register in most Japanese stores, but the consumables rules, the passport requirement, and the customs check at Narita are where travelers lose their savings.