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Buying stuff in UAE - cheaper than Europe?
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Bindair Dundat



Joined: 04 Feb 2003
Posts: 1123

PostPosted: Sat Jan 10, 2004 7:03 pm    Post subject: Buying stuff in UAE - cheaper than Europe? Reply with quote

I need to buy some small consumer electronics stuff, such as a digital camera, an iPod, and a backup drive. I'm in Europe now; should I plan on buying these kinds of things in Dubai during TESOL Arabia? Will I save anything over European prices?

Thanks.
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scot47



Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343

PostPosted: Sun Jan 11, 2004 3:14 pm    Post subject: vatman Reply with quote

NO VAT.

In some EU countries this monstrous tax is levied at 20 percent.

Prices of electronic gear are lower in UAE. You might have to pay customs on taking it back though.
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hmbaba



Joined: 06 Apr 2003
Posts: 37

PostPosted: Sun Jan 11, 2004 4:54 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

And probably with the strength of the Euro right now - assuming you have the Euro where you are - there could be an impressive price difference - and you can often bargain. Ask around at the Conference for good places to shop for those things - You could start off with places like Carrefour, Plug-Ins and Jumbo and then head down Computer Street. Anyone got any good tips?
Regards...
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rana



Joined: 10 Mar 2003
Posts: 31

PostPosted: Mon Jan 12, 2004 9:48 am    Post subject: dubai shopping Reply with quote

my husband and i were in dubai last year at this time. we were shopping for a digital camera and we found this cheaper online in the usa, we are americans so we chose to buy the camera online and have a friend bring it back to cairo, egypt when he came.

i did find most electronics comparable to usa discount prices though, especially if you are in dubai during the shopping festival some places have BIG sales. your best bet is to research prices in your home country and compare them to the prices in dubai, if you can do this online like we did great! we saved a couple if 300 USD on the digital camera.

we were surprised, we expected dubai to be cheaper, not so on digital and computers.
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shebab



Joined: 17 Sep 2003
Posts: 168

PostPosted: Mon Jan 12, 2004 10:29 am    Post subject: Shopping Paradise Reply with quote

As a very picky shopper, I do not find the UAE to be the "shopping paradise" that so many people gush on and on about when they refer to this place. The following is part of the growing list of items that must be in the magical "hidden aisle" of Carrefour, only accessible through the wizards at Hogwarts:

Pure vanilla extract
Poppy Seeds
Super glue that actually sticks
Rye Flour
Lonely Planet Guide to Prague
Shoes in wide sizes
Jazz CDs

As for electronic items, I also think they are cheaper in the States. This, coupled with the fact that sales people in the UAE don't seem to have a clue what they are selling or what the word "refund" means, makes me prefer shopping for such delicate items before getting on that long plane ride!!!
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scot47



Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343

PostPosted: Mon Jan 12, 2004 10:55 am    Post subject: prices Reply with quote

My former colleague and office mate shebab is right. They are cheaper in the US but the poster was asking about comparisons to Europe.

With the continuing collapse of the greenback US prices are likely to continue to be competitive.


Last edited by scot47 on Mon Jan 12, 2004 7:08 pm; edited 3 times in total
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rana



Joined: 10 Mar 2003
Posts: 31

PostPosted: Mon Jan 12, 2004 3:26 pm    Post subject: pure vanilla extract Reply with quote

shebab,
you crack me up! your list is great, it's a good thing you don't live in cairo, rye flour!!! I am laughing only because I often am saddened by things I cannot find in Cairo, like last last year it was peppermint extract! And when I went to Dubai, Carrefour failed me too!

Anyhow, I picked up my vanilla extract in Mexico this summer while doing the Cali- Mexico border thing. But the reason you can't find the stuff in Dubai, or much of the Arab world is the alcohol content.

My husband always insists on using the powdered vanilla when we make anything that muslim friends might eat for this reason. I must admit though the brownies he makes are better with the pure mexican stuff!

I was actually bummed I couldnt find corn tortillas in Dubai, oh well.
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tefllifer



Joined: 13 Jun 2003
Posts: 81

PostPosted: Mon Jan 12, 2004 5:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

For UAE grocery shopping - the obvious place to quote is Spinneys.
However, the larger Choitrams can be a real treasure trove of items - and cheaper than Spinneys too. trouble is the stores are often cramped so you have to scan the shelves slowly and carefully - Carrefour ISN'T the place for luxuries and specialites.
What often happens in the Gulf is that places run out of things - and it takes months to get the new stock in. Also, they just seem to forget to order some item ever ever again.
At present I'm in an oil-based Caesar dressing crisis - Ken's and Newman's Own have vanished - any suggestions? And Mozart chocs, last seen 3 years ago at Safar in Al Ain and Choitrams.
Whatever happened to all the flavours of Bluebell icecream, too?
Have definitely seen poppy seeds here - forget what the other items were...
Re food shopping - just try likely and unlikely places and you'll eventually locate whatever you need.
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dmb



Joined: 12 Feb 2003
Posts: 8397

PostPosted: Tue Jan 13, 2004 5:32 am    Post subject: Re: pure vanilla extract Reply with quote

[quote="rana"] But the reason you can't find the stuff in Dubai, or much of the Arab world is the alcohol content.

quote]

Here in Qatar alot of the mouthwash has alcohol in it. I prefer the Guiness though.
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shebab



Joined: 17 Sep 2003
Posts: 168

PostPosted: Tue Jan 13, 2004 10:15 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
Have definitely seen poppy seeds here - forget what the other items were


Poppy seeds in the UAE??? When I asked for these in Spinneys Sharjah several years ago, I was told by the manager that they were prohibited by the Ministry of something because they were considered a narcotic!!! Shocked
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Bindair Dundat



Joined: 04 Feb 2003
Posts: 1123

PostPosted: Tue Jan 13, 2004 5:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

shebab wrote:
Quote:
Have definitely seen poppy seeds here - forget what the other items were


Poppy seeds in the UAE??? When I asked for these in Spinneys Sharjah several years ago, I was told by the manager that they were prohibited by the Ministry of something because they were considered a narcotic!!! Shocked


Guess what? This is something that a lot of people don't want you to know, especially the U.S. government, but those ordinary little poppy seeds that you find on your bakery rolls --? Yup. They toast them to kill them. And those innocent little poppies that grow by the sides of the road in many, many countries --? Double yup. The official fiction is that there are opium poppies and non-opium poppies. The truth is that -- well, you may not believe me, but if you do some research you'll find that they're ALL opium poppies.
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dmb



Joined: 12 Feb 2003
Posts: 8397

PostPosted: Tue Jan 13, 2004 9:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Do they grow in the desert of Qatar? maybe that explains my students' behaviour.
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tefllifer



Joined: 13 Jun 2003
Posts: 81

PostPosted: Wed Jan 14, 2004 5:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yes, well, Sharjah is a special case, isn't it.
Things I'd never realised had been in remote contact with a piggy seem to find their way into the pork depts., too.
Rumour had it that in Saudi locals tried to get drunk on perfume for its alcohol qualities.
Nutmeg used to be banned in Saudi...
Whatever.
Next time I see poppy seeds, I promise to post!
Wide sizes of shoes in Clarks shops - but wish to hell they would stock the more fashionable selections available at Clarks elsewhere in the world rather than the God-awful Brit pensioner look.
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shebab



Joined: 17 Sep 2003
Posts: 168

PostPosted: Thu Jan 15, 2004 4:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Quote:
but wish to hell they would stock the more fashionable selections available at Clarks elsewhere in the world rather than the God-awful Brit pensioner look.


As an ignorant American, I thought that all Clarks shoes were that blah! Thanks for enlightening me! I'll have to make a special trip to Britain now just to buy shoes! Laughing
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scot47



Joined: 10 Jan 2003
Posts: 15343

PostPosted: Fri Jan 16, 2004 4:02 pm    Post subject: Shoes Reply with quote

Shoes ? Go to Istanbul. The Egyptian Market ! Woooooooooooooooow !

And then jump on the Bosfor Expres at Sirkeci Station and visit Scot47 in his Balkan Chateau.
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