Online Shopping Tip

Daily Life, Swiss News and General Topics
1
Like many others I'm sure, I've spent the past few months in Switzerland moaning about a) the price of everything; b) the lack of choice of products compared to the UK and c) how hard it is to get things delivered here without being whacked by a great big customs bill.

Like the good ol' consumer-monkey that I am, I've been scouting for ways to get the things I want. Am still struggling with the fact I pay pretty much the same for an el cheapo Migros baby bodysuit as I would for one by the high-end brand Petit Bateau back home.

STILL. I recently found this website: www.feelunique.com . They mainly sell cosmetics/skincare/hair products and the brilliant thing about them is that the prices (lower than the UK RRP) include delivery worldwide. So I can order my products individually if necessary to avoid the customs charge. Instead of paying 30CHF for my Kerastase shampoo from the hairdresser, I just paid £9.15 including delivery via the Feel Unique website.

Thought I'd share, in case anyone fancied using it as well. And if anyone has any other shopping tips, I'd be very grateful!

2
Nice one, thanks

I'd just like to say something about el cheapo ( ) Migros' clothes, they are usually well made, not the prettiest clothes in the world, I grant you, but good quality.

Mrs. T

3
I bought a few bits from there recently, having been LOATHE to do so. I'm a bit phobic of pastel pink, you see....

They are actually better quality than I expected. I'm still gutted that there's almost no choice compared to the UK, especially if you DON'T want to dress your baby in cutesy pink from top to toe. I have twins, so need to be brave and barge that double buggy through the doors of H&M, which might at least be a bit more colourful...

4
I know!! I always binge on clothes when I go home. There is also Orchestra who do baby clothes, and C&A.

However, I do have some good news for you

Check this out:

http://www.nextdirect.com/ch/en?utm_...AEU01CH_160410

They deliver to CH

Mrs. T

5
Great site, thanks very much for sharing it prices are really very nice compared to what i am used to pay in the local hairdresser salons.

I am about to order but thought I ask you first - did you have to pay any customs when you received your order?

6
Hi,

The first order I placed with them came to about £80 and YES I did have to pay customs on that. I hadn't long been in Switzerland and didn't realise all the quirks of the system!

Now I know that there is a limit below which you won't get charged customs on a parcel. I'm not sure exactly what it is - does anyone know? - I am assuming something like 60CHF.

Because this site doesn't charge for delivery, I now therefore order all my items individually to ensure I won't get charged. My last two orders (1 x conditioner @ £14; 1 x shampoo @ £12) arrived and no customs had to be paid.

HTH x

7
www.iherb.com is a great site for purchasing supplements/vitamines, misc beauty and skincare products (soaps, shampoos, etc). They are a fraction of the price of what you will normally find in Europe, the only thing I wouldnt know is, in terms in herbal supplements, vitamins, etc, what is and isn't allowed into Switzerland.

This is where I get all my Vit C, B, D, etc....(it's a long list).

8

Above what value will I have to pay customs and/or value added tax (VAT) on import items?

In principle, every item sent from abroad is subject to customs duties and VAT.

There is no special exemption limit like that allowed for passengers carrying goods with them, only a duty-exemption limit.

Accordingly, customs duties and VAT are not charged if the amount calculated is less than CHF 5 for each customs declaration.

Furthermore, gifts mailed from individuals living abroad to individuals in Switzerland are duty-exempt up to a value of CHF 100. Goods purchased on the Internet do not satisfy these conditions and are subject to duty in accordance with the general provisions.

The maximum values for VAT-exempt imports are: 7.6% VAT (the majority of items sent) => CHF 66 2.4% VAT (e.g. books) => CHF 209 SO yes, makes sense to order items separately. I can also recommend www.strawberrynet.com , also no postage, so you can order each mascara and shampoo separately. And I order my lenses from contactforlenses.com and even though they only charge one postage, they send each lens pack in a separate envelope, so I have not paid customs on them either. The postman was looking at me a bit funny when he gave me 10 identical packages last time, but I'll live.

9
This is coming just on time... I am going nuts trying to find nice sundresses for me. I looked everywhere, Canada, US, Germany, Switzerland in shops AND on internet as well... Sigh! I haven't been lucky yet.

I am not that picky, but I am sick to see dresses with pleats in the back who made me look like I have a potatoes bag on. I don't want polyester, nylon and those synthetic fabric you find all over the place because you sweat like a pig at 30 degrees celsius.

I looked on LaRedoute, H&M, M&S, Top Shop, Gap (and plenty I don't remember) If you have any other options for my, I will be grateful...

10
thank you for the tip! With my London trip cancelled until further notice and ash moving away from Europe I am in dare need of my hair products! And much more of course, but hey, with my hair keeping under control is a start

11
I think www.zappos.com delivers internationally. They delivered to me in Ireland before, but they don't allow returns

www.asos.com also ships within Europe, they have loads of selection, but many of the clothes are waaaayyy to young for me and it can be hard to see how they might actually fit since the models are....well....typical models. but I think they have a more flexible return policy.

I am sure I have used other companies but these two come to mind.

12
I am a big fan of www.asos.com I normally wait for the sales

13
Ordered 2 Kerastaze products, total 27 pounds - hope there will be no customs

14
Oh, another one is http://www.mangoshop.com . I quite like Mango's clothes. They also allow returns and exchanges, very simple. they have a nicer range this season than normally.

http://www.nextdirect.com/ch/en is another option. I am not mad for their things, but they have some nice casual stuff.

15
OMG! I cant believe it I can order my TIGI bedhead foxy curls contour cream (it is great and smells great) and I pay 9.30 GBP instead of 30 CHF!

16
Straight from my bookmarks:

Skincare, cosmetics, fragrance and much more:

http://www.hqhair.com

They do deliver to Switzerland, although I have not ordered form them yet since I moved to Zurich. My personal favourites are Dermalogica moisturisers, Bare Escentuals foundations and Nars blushes.

Victoria Health: I've been ordering from this site for years. In my opinion, this is the best place on the net to buy the latest in vitamins and supplements. They deliver internationally.

http://www.victoriahealth.com/

I recommend Magnolia Rhodiola Complex for lowering stress levels; Methylcobalamin , which is vitamin B12, for energy production (literally will turn you into energizer bunny); Seditol to help to regulate sleep. And also Eskimo Kids fish oils for kids with tutti frutti flavour. My 4 year old loves it.

You can get 5% off from Victoria Health if you order via Beauty Bible link here:

http://www.beautybible.com/offer_VH.htm

and also a free gift. Every month is a different gift.

This site, I like for clothes although they are not cheap:

http://www.toast.co.uk/

Very good quality clothes, wear and wash well.

I think they deliver Switzerland as well.

And of course Boden:

http://www.boden.co.uk/

which could be hit and miss. Some of the clothes are a bit mumsy. They deliver Switzerlnd as well.

I have more but have to go now. Will post more links later, if anyone is interested.

17
I'm looking for the European version of http://www.thinkgeek.com

Update:

I googled 'thinkgeek europe' and got this:

http://www.getdigital.de/

YAY

CK

18
No Paul Mitchell.

19

try this http://www.lookfantastic.com/hair/paul-mitchell

20
Yay, great to read the replies and glad some people found the link useful. I know a lot of companies deliver to Switzerland - often at great cost... wanted to order a couple of bits from Green Baby UK but they wanted £45 to deliver here! - but the key thing with the feelunique website for me was that the prices included delivery so you could place lots of small orders to avoid paying customs. Cheapskate moi?

Blindgirl - I also love Toast and have had deliveries here from them. They deduct VAT which is great (surprisingly a lot of online companies DON'T). White Company also deliver here and deduct VAT. I'd be interested in other links/suggestions you might have if you fancy spilling the beans

Richdog - Booo to no Paul Mitchell. Hope you find it somewhere else.