Shopping question in port Rhine/Moselle river Cruise

[ido22900]

We are going on the Moselle/Rhine fairytale River Cruise through Amawaterways, and would like to purchase a nice locally made Swiss or German watch under $2000 in one of the ports. Any suggestions?

 

[Canal archive]

Search on line for a make you fancy then check their website for stockists I’m pretty sure a reputable company would not recommend a dud. You could even email them re their suppliers. Good luck.

[pontac]

 

 

Man or Woman's watch?

 

A canny shopper would first make a shortlist of the make & model of watch they want - a German or Swiss made watch is still German or Swiss made no matter where it is sold.

 

Then find out if it is sold locally and what the price is. Without that benchmark a canny shopper doesn't know when they are saving money or paying over the odds. International business is funny, sometimes things can be cheaper in an export market than at home. Maybe bargains on Black Friday?

 

There's only one German or Swiss major city you moor on that cruise where you'll have time to go shopping, and that is Cologne.* The cruise terminates in Basel and has no nights there so unless you have booked to stay on after the cruise your opportunity for buying in Switzerland is limited, as Basel is the only place in Switzerland the cruise stops.

 

Another consideration is tax. VAT (the equivalent of US sales tax) is 19% in Germany and 8.1% in Switzerland. When you buy there you ask for a form from the retailer which gets you a tax refund when you leave the country. You need to research that as some countries you can do it by mail, others you show form when you leave country. It's complicated that if you buy in Germany you enter Switzerland without border formalities and fly out of Switzerland, so I don't know.

 

All in all I'd be tempted to buy direct and pay CA customs duty, buy locally or get it in Oregon. And just relax and enjoy the cruise.

 

* Uhren-Landwehr at Severinstraße 43, Köln ( Köln = Cologne) is a stockist of the Laco Pilot Watch which is made near Heidelberg to which you have an excursion https://www.laco.de/en/watches/pilot-watch-original

[Mrs. Claypool]

Definitely do your research before you leave.  As pontac rightly pointed out, international business is funny.  

 

When I am eyeing an item in a foreign land, my dear husband generally says “Don’t bother.  We can get the same thing cheaper at home.”  

 

And he’s usually right!

 

Don’t even get me started about the Birkenstock sandals that I bought in Germany for $120, and then found at Costco for less than $50 when we got back home.