Hi guys,
I am off to London for 1st time for 2 weeks for work. Looking forward to shopping advise i.e. whats cheaper over there as compared to Oz ? I am more interested in clothes (casual & sports), personal electronics, smart phone if possible etc. Would be keen to know any websites that I can place orders before I leave.
Also looking for a ozbargain similar site for UK ?
The UK isn't a place I'd call cheap. Having said that the sales at Harrods can be pretty good. Getting the VAT(same thing as GST) off means you'll save on some things. You're not going to find a smart phone for that much cheaper. Even if you do you need to consider that you are giving away the ACL for your savings.
I'd say to browse amazon UK.
Have you planned to go sightseeing on the weekends and after work? There is so much to see in London! Check out the London Pass, it has a list of places to see to give you ideas. For free stuff, the British Museum is amazing. It's huge. Hyde Park is full of squirrels, so fluffy. You have to pay to enter, but I really enjoyed Tower of London, and you can see Tower Bridge from there which is the best looking bridge in the world imo. Depending on what they have going when you are there, the Queen's Gallery may also be worth a quick visit.
As for shopping, things were pretty expensive over there when I went. If antiques interest you, it's pretty easy to bargain with antique stall holders in the markets and you might find a steal there.
Oxford street in London has all the main shops so give that a go. But I wouldn't say things would be much cheaper over there, especially with our exchange rate at the moment.
Harrods are really good with the returning the VAT part compared to global Blue, they have a dedicated department that deals with it. If you go there maybe go ask questions there directly first makes it easier for shopping later. Just beware Harrods and Global Blue and other such VAT return processing places will take a cut as a fee to process the VAT free purchase (this percentage differs), which I wasnt expecting. You can sign up for Global blue online, this works at most of the luxury brand name boutiques, most of them will have a sign in store or easy enough to ask.
A lot of the time i have found it cheaper to buy small jewellery pieces from UK online jewellery sellers/ or other stuff from amazon.co.uk and get them to post to Australia as they automatically remove the VAT for me and its a lot less hassle. Some places even offer free delivery if purchasing over a certain amount.
The Heathrow airport line for VAT return is a lot crazier than the line at Sydney airport so plan accordingly.
Head to Bicester Village or go crazy at Primark!
Wish we had Primark or Penneys in Australia.
Primark is about the only cheap clothing. Lived there for 4 years … only thing that was cheap was a pint from Wetherspoons.