The Paris Chronicles: pt. 2, Shopping

This post will be a summary of shopping in Paris. I’m not an expert by any means, but I did buy things, so I have a bit of experience. This is mostly for touristy stuff (t shirts, key chains, mugs, etc.); I didn’t do much clothes shopping.

First things first: don’t buy things under the Eiffel Tower. There’s a couple of shops under there and they all have expensive touristy things. There’s also a little stand thing near a corner before you go under, and I’d recommend not buying anything there either. My brother and I got cheated.

So everything was fairly expensive, like I expected, so I wasn’t that put off. The cheapest things at the stand that I just mentioned were key chains for 1.50 (euros). We thought, wow, what a good deal compared to the rest of this stuff. Then I bought a pocket mirror for 10 euros because I thought it was really cute. After walking around under the Tower and then going to cross the street to get a better view, we were approached by guys selling stuff. Their arms were full of key chains and model Eiffel Towers. We automatically said no and kept walking, but as we got closer to crossing the street we actually heard what one of them said: “3 for 1 euro.”

My brother and I both paused and said, “Wait, what?” We went back and bought more key chains. It was then that we realized we had been cheated. By the end of the day those guys were selling 10 key chains for 2 euros—and we had spent 1.50 for one! So if you see a bunch of guys (mostly African) with tons of merchandise in their arms, go to them. Their prices are cheaper, and you can bargain. Across the street there were men sitting on the ground with displays of what they were selling, and they had a bit more than the guys directly under the Tower. I got a little glass figurine of the Eiffel Tower. Actually, it’s one of those figures with the image inside a glass square thing. I don’t know what they’re called, but I love them, so I got one. They wanted it for 6, I paid 3.

Don’t know how to bargain? Never fear. I already had experience having been to Ghana before, so I consider myself something of a pro. *Brushes shoulders off* First thing is, be willing to spend a minute or two talking to the seller. Whatever the original price is, you can bring it down. There are a few exceptions, like with the key chains I said before. 3 for 1 is a good deal; asking any lower is just being stingy. I don’t know, just use common sense. Think about what price you want to pay, think about whether it’s reasonable, and then ask that price.

This is an example scenario (if the grammar seems bad it’s because that’s how they talk):

Shopper: Ooh, this is nice.

Seller: Oh yes, *insert description of whatever it does/looks like here*

Shopper: How much is it?

Seller: 6 euro.

Shopper: Oh…

Seller: No, it’s okay! Tell me how much you want to pay.

Shopper: 3.

Seller: Oh no, that’s too low. Okay, okay, 5.

Shopper: I don’t think it’s worth more than 3.

Seller: Come on, 5, is good deal.

Shopper: Mm, no thanks.

Seller: Wait, okay, 4.

Shopper: Mm…nah, no thanks. *start to walk off*

Seller: Okay, okay. *nods head, extends hand for money*

Whenever they do that I always confirm the end price. So in that case I would say, “3 euro, right?” and then they would nod. I always do that because once I went through this whole thing and at the end the guy acted like we had come to the conclusion he wanted. Always confirm.

The walking off thing makes them desperate. It’s like, oh no, I’m losing a potential buyer. I think the starting price they offer is usually high because there’s always that one person who goes, “Oh, whatever,” and pays for it without bartering. But you can bring it down. It might take a little longer than the scenario I gave you, or it might not. It all depends. If you’re willing to spend 5 minutes you could probably get it down a lot, but it takes time.

Now, this ONLY APPLIES to the people you see on the street. Don’t try it with someone in a shop. Regular rules apply there.

For regular touristy stores, be sure to shop around. That mirror I spent 10 euros on? I found similar ones in a shop that were selling 3 for 10. I felt dumb. (Just a side note here, it’s not like I spend tons of time looking in mirrors. I’ve just never had a pocket mirror and I’ve actually started looking for one recently and haven’t been able to find one, so when I saw it I thought it was my lucky day and decided to buy it, despite the ridiculous price.)

So remember, if you see something in one tourist shop, it’ll be in another, and it might be cheaper. There’s tons of shops, and a lot of them are close together, so don’t worry about not finding whatever you’re looking for again.

They sold a lot of scarves along the streets too. Scarves, hats, gloves, and some purses. If you cross the street at the Eiffel Tower to that…museum/building place (I don’t actually know what it is) and you go up the stairs, there’s guys up there selling purses on the ground as well. They weren’t knock offs, they were just regular purses. I’m not a name brand person so it didn’t bother me. If you’re looking for Prada or Louis Vuitton or whatever then you’d have to go to a regular store. Champs d’Elysees has tons of rich stores so if you want to spend some hardcore money, go there and walk up and down. There’s a giant Louis Vuitton there. There’s some regular stores there too, so non-rich people can find some stuff as well.

We did go into some normal clothing places too. I got some boots. By the way:

BritBit 1: Girls love boots. I don’t know why, but it seems like every single girl has boots here, and it’s annoying. Seeing a girl in sneakers is rare. If she’s wearing sneakers she’s probably also wearing a punk sort of outfit, or a…I don’t know what the word is. Skater, maybe. I guess the only reason it’s annoying is because everyone looks exactly the same: shirt, leggings/tights, boots. Leggings have taken over.

BritBit 2: They wear shorts with tights. I’m used to it by now, but when I first arrived I thought it was strange. They even do it in the winter. As in 30 degrees outside (Fahrenheit). How can people stand the cold?

Anyway, French stores are just the same as other stores. You don’t really need to know French to buy anything. Like I said in my last post, I bought some earrings in another store and it was fine. No advice needed here.

Okay, so that’s my overview of shopping in Paris. I’ll post again soon talking about…something French. I haven’t decided yet. Au revoir!