What shall I buy in America?

[PrettyCandles]

And what should I steer clear of?!

Are buggies cheaper, better range, over there? Our Maclaren is naff and I want a new umbrella-fold, but dh doesn't think the buggy is bad enough to replace...would it be worth 'helping it along' fairly drastically while we're over there?

What about perfume? I want a new one - or maybe even two - should I buy in USA or duty free?

Have a look on babiesrus.com or Target.com for buggies. I think they are pretty similar. Remember you will pay sales tax on top of the price in the store.

Macclarens are the only thing that are more expensive in the usa. All other buggies and everything else you can imagine is cheaper. Definitely go to Target. If you are in the market for a macbook or ipod, or a digital camera they are much cheaper in usa.

But obviously chargers for those things won't be right.

yes, the sales tax. came back to canada and had a hard time adjusting to tax on top of everything.

you can buy plugs for electronic devices like your computer. it's better than using a plug adapter.

some things are cheaper but the key is to shop around. it depends on where you are moving/visiting too. the west coast is more expensive.

Our buggy broke when we were in NY and we had to go to the buggy store to get a new one. Generally they are cheaper over there but Maclarens seemed quite expensive (even given the exchange rate). Definitely agree with doing your research in advance online.

platex screw top insulated sippy cups

Why don;t we have sensible screw top sippy cups here?

Definitely buy perfume and cosmetics/beauty stuff in the US. It's cheap as chips atm.

Learning curve (The first Years) do the semi-disposable cups/plates/sippy cups in the disney range. Children's clothes are alot cheaper and a better range IMO.
You can also see if there is a outlet centre near were you are staying. "Here www.premiumoutlets.com/centers/"

I have just given my sis a shopping list -

Dermalogica Skin care less than half price

Tweezerman tweezers £18 here, 15$ in US

Lacoste shirts for DH

Melatonin for future long haul jet lag

Benefit make up for DD

Ralph Lauren bed linen, plain white pillow cases £30 here, £ 6 a pair in the US outlet

Apple Mac stuff

Chanel sunglasses

and lots more!

Clothes: Gap, Banana Republic, Nine West, Abercrombie & Fitch, Kenneth Cole, Old Navy, Anthropologie all great

Luggage, Beauty products, esp Essie nail stuff, Sephora, Mac, Benefit, Bobbi Brown, Bumble and Bumble haircare etc

I found that Dermalogica from beautyflash on the internet was as cheap as getting it from the US.

oh cosmetics, bags, perfume, clothes

DH has been to US twice this year and has come back both times with:

Clothes for him and ds
Converse trainers all round
Lots of gorgeous benefit makeup for me

I've just got a new job that means I will have to work in Boston occassionally. Am sooooo excited about the shopping.

Chargers will be fine. Pretty much everything that is portable is dual voltage nowadays. All you have to do is buy something that lets you plug it in (costs a few quid).

We plan to buy a suitcase while we're over there

Am I going to get stiffed for duty when I return to the UK?

Remove all labels and lose any receipts, PC, so things don't look brand new. Not sure if that's being norty though?

It's £250.00 worth of goods, I believe, and then you have to pay duty. Of course Customs know what you took with you from the UK

Hand bags, got several when I went.

Make-up

We needed a cheap stroller to avoid having to take one on plane from NY to San Fran - it was almost identical to the one we had, and was $50!!!!!! that is like £25.00! Ours cost us almost £100 !

Electrical goods are great, we have a really good camera, just have a usa/uk adapter plug that deals with the difference in voltage (dont understand it exactly, but technical).

We got our Macbook memory upgraded there for $60!

a Mei tai if you knwo anyone that wants a sling1
I just bought one from America for £24 incl p&p.

Sad but true - I always buy ibuprofen - you can get a tub of 500 for about $5.

Oh yes, indigestion tablets, a zillion for 6 cents, I think. Excellent!

I always used to buy melatonin (for jetlag) as you can't get it over the counter in the UK

whats melatonin?

it's a pill version of the body's "sleep" hormone

womblingalong, thanks for the beautyflash tip, but the stuff i want to buy is £55 here, £21 in US - daily microfoliant