Buying US goods ( eg bobbi brown gap ) in teh USA

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is it always cheaper
is evrything cheaper
tlel of shoppage

If you compare equivalent pairs of jeans on gap.com and gap.eu, the price is $69.50 or £39.95. So at the current exchange rate the US ones are actually more expensive.

There will be things that are cheaper though. You might have to research specific items.

Oh and bras are astronomical in the US.

oh weird

thanks alarka

There are many more "Outlets" - malls full of factory shops of designer makes such as Polo Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, plus chains such as Gap. I never pay anything like the price alarkaspree quotes above for jeans. I like Levis, which I can get for about $25/pair. Supermarket brands, such as Mossimo, sold in Target are very cheap & well designed, but are made from skimpy fabrics - I've thought about using them as patterns!

Agree about bras - don't buy them there. In Victoia's Secret in Millenium Mall, Orlando, they had no idea how to measure properly & told me completely wrong bra size.

Also - really posh areas, such as Newport Beach, California, don't have outlets. People looked at us oddly when we asked where the nearest one was. Guess they take pride in being able to afford the full price for their designer wear!

Oh, Ive just been!! I can tell you what is cheaper. I never went to any outlets though as the sales are everywhere.

Where are you going? I shopped in Vegas and San Francisco.

Levi curve jeans, go into a proper Levi shop. Ive just looked at my bank statement and they came out at £41 a pair, they start from £80 here. I got skinny in denim and straight in black but I wish I had bought more.

Do not buy make up from the airport US duty free is rubbish.

Register for a Sephora loyalty card before you buy anything. I found them to be very generous with their samples, dont be afraid to ask. Nars is cheaper, Clinique is loads cheaper, especially their long lasting lipsticks £13.50 here $10 there. OPI is cheaper. Mac only by a couple of pounds, I didnt bother. Stila on offer, five fab lip glosses for $20, their sparkling masscara is lovely and they gave me one free.

Second underwear although I though 5 pairs of Victorias Secret Knickers for $25 was good value as they last for ages and the patterns are unusual.

Kenneth Cole had 40% off everything in the shop when I was there and their footless tights are gorgeous and thick.

Bannana Republic £60 for three lovely lambswool jumpers and now I wish I had bought their raincoat which was in this weeks Observer.

Oh, I could go on forever, what are you looking for?? I got back two days ago and the jetlag is killing me!!!

If have it shipped over you have to pay import duty and VAT on most items, tends to sharply increase cost, too.

"If you have it shipped over", even .

Also don't miss Century21 they are amazin shops! Kitted out Dd for summer last yr for £38 and we had a suitcase full!

Keep in mind that CGCA's suitcase full made her liable for import duty and VAT (net about 35% increase on what she thinks she paid). I don't know anybody who has been pulled up on it, but if "they" catch you going thru customs with undeclared imported goods you can get into a lot of trouble.

Stila stuff is widely available on eBay/discount make-up sites here though as they don't sell it here these days.

Somer outlet stuff at Gap is made for the outlet specifically so may not be of comparable quality.

i am orf to canada in nov to see family
shopping is crapola there
even mac makeup which is canadian I think is the same price as here

I got a Sephora card and bought enough to get two free gifts - one was a tube of decent moisturiser that has lasted 6 weeks so far, well worth having. LOVE Sephora.

Outlets are incredible in the US! DH and I stocked up on adidas/Nike etc - we have been to their outlet shops over here but there they're the same price, but in dollars IYSWIM. Adidas gym tops for $15 for example. Got a DKNY dress for the equivalent of £50 and a Kenneth Cole one marked down from $200 to $20.

The sales in normal shops are much better than here, too, and if you have coupons you can often use them on top of other discounts.

I wouldnt bother with Mac or Benefit, once the tax is added its the same.

Uggs $135 which i think is about £50 cheaper.

I couldnt be bothered with outlets as I was on holiday and it was such a trek to get to them. The sales are everywhere and do look out for coupons. I ended up buying a small wheely bag, you might want to take one with you.

Are you shopping in the States or Canada? I cant remember Canada being cheap for anything.

Canada is stupidly expensive. Even though the exchange rate for US$ and Canadian$ is pretty much the same now, a box set of Bare Minerals stuff I bought in Sephora in Vegas was $49 there and $59 in Vancouver two weeks later.

Take all labels off before you pack & re-fold clothes. Even if you get pulled over at customs, they would have difficulty proving that you had just bought items in US & were therefore liable for duty & VAT.

I forgot about the vouchers. Most malls have a booklet of vouchers which give you further reductions, eg 15% off if you spend $100 in Hilfiger.

I've bought several items from Gap outlets & none have been of inferior quality.

to be honest, I was impressed by Gap in general. I thought there were much better places to shop and the kiddies sale stuff was just what you could get here and not even cheap.

Avoid Old Navy, again, I didnt get it, not when we have Primark et al here.

how do i get a sephora card, im going next year and will deffo be shopping.. tia

ragged, "if "they" catch you going thru customs with undeclared imported goods you can get into a lot of trouble"- even when it is for personal use???

Yes, you have to declare anything you import from outside the EU, and pay duty on it if it's over a certain value. Even if it is for personal use. I can't remember the limit, but it isn't very high.

Remember the days when you could only bring a couple of bottles of wine back from France? Nightmare!

Don't forget when you take all the labels off, don't keep the receipts. If you want to bring the receipts back, put them in an envelope and post them back to yourself.

i cant stop thinking about how much we get ripped off in this country. How can Uggs be £60 cheaper when they are made in Australia?

Bring back as much as you dare, wear your Uggs and open all your makeup. Take labels off everything and just shove them in your bag without folding. Everyone does it, we all had an extra carry on case. Everyone on the flight did practically!!

They will ask you if you want a Sephora card when you walk in. If they dont then ask them.

Does anyone know if we can order Sephora online from the UK?

Kittya - I don't think Sephora will ship to the UK. I looked into it a few months ago.

what a shame!! Oh, its so unfair!

But there's a Sephora in Bluewater.