Top tips for buying abroad

1. Do not assume that everything on sale in Continental Europe is necessarily cheaper.
An ASSLT survey looked at a mixed shopping basket of foods and durables and showed that roughly half the contents were slightly cheaper or the same price in the UK and only 25 per cent were significantly cheaper abroad.

Despite the euro (€) being the common currency in most EU countries, our Continental cousins still take a calculator shopping so they can see how much something costs in old fashioned money. Brits should do the same to do those exchange rate conversions.

Despite the intention that the euro would harmonise prices, prices do vary between countries. For example leather shoes are cheaper in Italy, wine and some spirits cheaper in France and beer and tobacco cheaper in Belgium. Fuel prices are slightly cheaper in Belgium but not sufficiently so to go out of your way to fill up.

2. EU Law says that you may buy as much goods as you like in any EU country and bring them home without paying import duty – providing they are for your own use.
So bringing cigarettes home for Uncle George is illegal. We advise getting a receipt at the time of purchase to prove that you paid any taxes. From the HM Customs and Revenue website (customs.hmrc.gov.uk) follow the links to ‘individuals and employees’ to ‘travelling in and out of the UK’ and download the document Travelling to the UK from the European Union (EU).

If you plan on returning home with significant quantities of tobacco, wines, beers and spirits our advice is to make a list of your imports and keep it with the receipts. Customs advise travellers to not hide items like tobacco in their cars because this could suggest that they are smuggling.

3. Although there are some exceptions assume it is illegal to import all fresh fruit, vegetables, flowers and plants. At the time of writing there are no known bans on bringing home cooked and raw meats. However there are frequent bans to prevent the spread of animal diseases so our advice is do not import raw meat and cooked meats unless they are factory sealed in a container.

4. The most trouble free way to shop for common food stuffs is in a hyper or supermarket because you have got time to use your dictionary to make sure you know what you are buying. Most common foods, including cereals and instant coffee, are available throughout the mainland, but sometimes the packaging may be different to that used in the UK.

5. Camping shops are few and far between on the mainland. However the bigger hypermarkets stock many frequently needed items like tent pegs, lanterns and Campingaz refills.

6. Picking up fruit and veg and sniffing and squeezing it is common practice is some countries, but frowned on in others. If in doubt do what the locals do.

7. Do not buy bread to bring home, particularly from France. With the exception of white, sliced bread all have a very short life – which is why the French buy their bread twice a day. With the exception of sliced bread, usually imported from Belgium, all traditional French breads should be made to a formula published by the French Government who also, annually, dictates the maximum price bakers can charge.

8. Particularly in France you will often be invited to taste wine or cheese before buying. In hypermarkets there is no obligation to buy but it is considered bad manners to not buy if the producer runs the tasting.

9. For everyday drinking wines the cheapest place to buy is usually a local cooperative followed by a local wine warehouse, hypermarkets and most expensive a high street wine retailer. If bringing wine home remember to leave it to settle for three to four weeks before drinking. Even cheap wines can have some sediment. Beers can usually be drunk after standing for about five days. Avoid ultra cheap wines, especially hypermarket brands at 99 centimes a bottle. The Europeans use this for cooking not drinking.

10. The cut price warehouses around Calais tend to concentrate on products familiar to their UK customers. If you are prepared to buy not so familiar brands you can often get a better deal from the hypermarkets.

11. If you are planning to buy clothes and shoes know your sizes in metric measure. The website simetric.co.uk has size comparison charts but note that some Continental products may be a different fit to UK products. For example men’s shoes tend to be narrower and women’s skirts cut for narrower hips than those made for the UK market. Try on before you buy.

12. In hypermarkets keep an eye open for local produced and cut price areas. For example Auchan identify these areas with orange signs. Many of the products, like butter, on sale here are identical in quality to the more expensive brand names sold elsewhere in the store. The cut price is possible because of lower transport costs and budget priced packaging.


13. If you are not sure where to shop look at the registration plates of the cars in the car park. If the majority are local registered that is where you will find the best bargains.

14. Most electronic products including computers, software, radios and cameras are more expensive on the Continent. Although the warranty on such products is apparently Europe wide camper’s experiences are that it is often difficult or impossible to get a UK importer to honour a warranty for a Continental bought product.