These people had a petition against lowering the duty-free limit, maybe somebody will turn it into a people initiative
If shopkeepers want to stop people shopping in neighboring countries then the solution is in their own hands, just cut their prices.
Prices do not have to be high in Switzerland, look at electronic goods that are cheaper than our neighbours.
Completely agree. The quality stuff in German supermarkets is not much cheaper than what I can buy here. We tend to shop there when we are over there anyway and then focus on the âdelicacyâ items that are not common in Switzerland. And unless you go regularly, the VAT reimbursement is a pain in the butt and hardly worth it as VAT on groceries is reduced.
I did once save a lot of money on a bicycle due to lower pre-tax price and VAT return. But then had to pay import duty in CH anyway so irrelevant in the discussion here.
Theyâre actually not hedging their bets but being pedantically correct. Less, as in a smaller quantity, fewer as in a smaller number. Both can apply, depending on whether youâre buying an amount of cheese or a number of rolls of toilet paper.
Here is a week-old comparison of grocery prices Switzerland vs Germany, of course, quality can mean whatever you want it to.
Not really irrelevant, as for most things the VAT rate is so much lower in CH. In that case you still made a net saving of around 10% of the original purchase price.
Yeah, thatâs what I said. Irrelevant because unaffected by the new rule.
âCheeseâ âŚ
These are not what I call typical Swiss prices, unless you do your shopping at Manor or Globus. Most of the non-meat products listed bought at Lidl CH are around the same price as the listed prices in Germany.
Right, gotcha.
When I buy the 24 pack of beer at discount itâs 25-35 francs. So, more or less the same price as in Germany.
The price of beef is bit curious. Around 30+ CHF at Aligro, double or higher somewhere else. So the 46 is just an average, not really something you see on shops.
Fruits and produce are cheap anyway, no need to travel. Then I noticed waterâŚahhh itâs a US website right?
It is not that simple for agricultural products. These are so high here because of import tariffs and subsidies to farmers, not just high costs of labour etc. https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/business/import-tariffs_why-a-steak-costs-so-much-more-to-eat-in-switzerland/43218822. Shopping abroad sabotages the system. If it was left to market forces, all that wonderful countryside would disappear. The down side is that Swiss agriculture is really slow to move away from traditional crops/products.
It can, to you personally but quality is a real thing judged by experts or those in the know and quite often labelled to indicate a higher quality.
It can also be measured in, for example, the meat content in a sausage, the amount of marbling in a slice of Wagu beef, the duration of aging in a cheese.
You may prefer drinking a supermarket own brand fizzy wine for CHF2.99 but the quality is not going to match that of a vintage Champagne.
Coincidentally I was in a German supermarket this morning with a proper cheese counter where you can select what you want and have it cut to whatever portion size you like.
I bought some ripe Brie de Meux, Saint Albray, Chaume, and Swiss-made Raclette at around two-thirds to half Swiss prices. No German cheeses but from time to time I buy Cambozola and Allgäuer Bergkässe.
Good for you. I admit I donât have specific prices in mind - more eyeballing from the total bill it never seemed that cheap. Maybe due to the fact that I was at Edeka/Rewe and bought top shelf - because it must be cheap here 
Anyway. We are too far from the border to make this worth my while. It may be different for someone who basically lives in the Rhine.
Sausages are a difficult example as there are other measures like the quantity of nitrites, skin toughness, gristle content, and particle size, plus the flavour which is more of a personal measure.
My favourite quality quote; âAlways do things right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest.â â Mark Twain
A lot depends if you shop for low prices or not. M-Budget products for instance are at or close to German prices but of course the selection is limited. Ottos is good for groceries that keep (dry or canned, mostly, no idea about their perfumes).
No such thing as Swiss raclette. There must be an AOC, even if not official, a mention of the place of origin. The moule needs to have a seal somewhere at least.
UnlessâŚit was made by Emmi, but thatâs not raclette 
AhâŚi remember not so long ago talking to a small Swiss customer about a very technical agricultural product which weâve been selling for years across the world and he quipped âweâre still trialling, call me back in 2 yearsâ. 3 years later he actually called letting me know heâll he putting a (rather small) order of said product and to his disappointment I had to tell him weâve changed the formulation AND the pricing. Unfazed, he said âsend me a trialing sampleâ. After selling him something else and wishing him a great day we both agreed that to stick to âwhat works hereâ is best.
Not sure what you mean.
I prefer the taste of Swiss-made Raclette to the taste of French Raclette which is made slightly differently.
It is protected by a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO or APO in French), guaranteeing its origin and production methods
You mean no such thing as non-Swiss made Raclette, or are you just saying that there doesnât exist anything that literally uses the name âSwiss Racletteâ?
I guess you could argue that, but then again the only AOP I can find is for Valais raclette cheese only.
