 |
 Custom
Search
| ||||||||
| Shopping in Tunisia | |||||||||
| HOMEPAGE ATM Bank Account Cafes Children Clothes Customs regulations Doctor / Physician Family Friends Health Homosexuality Hospital Immigration Language Louages Marriage Money Exchange Pharmacy Public Transport Ramadan Relationships Security Shopping Taboos Taxi Tourist Scams Vaccination Weather All Tunisia Articles ... |
Beside the small shops that can be found everywhere, there are, in the bigger cities of Tunisia, also more or less large supermarkets, with names like "Magasin General", "Monoprix", "Carrefour" or "Promogro". In all supermarkets, there are full shelves, which result, however, often from the same article being placed there a few hundred times - the selection is thus smaller than it appears at first. Imported goods are rather rare and usually available only at high prices, specifically cheese and pork products. Overall, however, there is a sufficient amount of food available and one just needs to change the diet a little bit. Goods, such as rice, noodles, potatoes, sheep, cattle, chicken meat and fish, as well as vegetables and fruits, are available everywhere at any time. With beverages, one can find everywhere mineral water (often also with carbonic acid "Gazeuse"), fruit juices, milk, Coca-Cola and Fanta. Alcoholic beverages are in Tunesien disproportionately expensive, in particular, if it concerns imported goods, which are also only available in special shops (usually, except on Fridays, in the local "Magasin General"). One can find there in particular beer (native brands), Gin, Whisky, Liquer, Vodka and Wines (from Tunisia, red, white and pink).
In Tunisia, there is a large selection of falsified products ("Fakes, Copies") available, which carry a brand name, but are not manufactured or sold on behalf or with the knowledge of the trademark owners. This pertains mainly to clothing, watches, perfumes, sun glasses, bags, taped cassettes, CDs and DVDs. If one buys such a product, there are no problems in Tunisia itself - however, on the entry to Europe or the Americas, not only these goods might be impounded at the customs, but the owner also might face some sort of punishment. If one does not want to accept this risk, leave the hands in Tunisia off anything with a brand name on it - and which was not bought in a clearly identifiable authorized shop! Since 2010, the government has a closer eye on copyright infringements, however, it has to be seen what the practical results will be. |
In travel guides, you will often find the remark that haggling is recommended, because "this corresponds with the arabic mentality and is a big fun for the salesmen". Unfortunately, this is only a carefully maintained legend, because the reality looks differently. Each native knows exactly the price of a good in its home area and when shopping, they will exactly pay this price and the salesmen will exactly ask for this price. However, as soon as a dealer recognizes that a person is not "local" (which is very apparent with most tourists), he will ask for a price, which is three, five and even tenfold higher than the normal price. In the process of "haggling" he then eases the price substantially, often by 50% and more, so that the tourist believes, he got a good deal - but he nevertheless will still pay double or three times the value of the merchandise. So, when "haggling", the result is, right from the start, certain: the buyer pays more than the good is worth, and the "fun“ of the dealer is not rooted in the process, but in the joy of obtaining a higher profit. A real "haggling" usually only takes place when one buys multiple goods, or when some form of transport or installation is needed - otherwise, purchases of natives are very much unspectacular, just as a purchase of a western person in a western shop would be. It is helpful to buy where the natives buy, and it is even more helpful to understand at least somewhat the arabic language - so that one can hear which price the natives paid, and/or which price was offered to them. This is particularly important for purchases on the weekly markets ("Souks"). There are also various tourist shops, in which "fixed prices" are offered - which is certainly a progress in relation to the majority of the businesses, but even in such "fixed price shops" one needs to maintain caution, because these fixed prices are made only for tourists (as being said above: natives know the prices exactly and do not need a fixed price list). In typical tourist shops, one will never see any natives anyway - the mostly low quality goods and cheap souvenirs which are offered there are manufactured only for tourists, natives wouldn't buy them.
In the last years, there are growing complaints of tourists about the increasing aggressiveness of the salesmen, by whom one is often pursued or pushed/pulled into the shops. Also, a "No" or silence is understood by them as an invitation for even more aggressive acting or unfriendly comments. One should stay absolutely unimpressed by this and ask firmly to be not touched by the salesmen. An angry face expression helps a lot when doing so. If a dealer does not relent, then one should call him with a loud, angry voice to order, what is said exactly, and in what language, does not really matter, the important thing is just to rise public attention by talking loud. The same hint is valid also when women are being harassed - the louder a refusal takes place, the more effective it will be. |
The "Gold" jewelry, which are offered in hotels or obvious tourist shops, are almost never made from real gold, even if, during the price negotiations, the weight of the article is weighed out with important gestures and expressions. Those actually only gold-plated articles can be bought at eg. eBay for a fraction of the price and often in better quality. Genuine gold costs in all countries of the world more or less the same, because the gold price is in all countries of the earth the same, a lower price can only be found as a result of different taxes and gold qualities (and with war events, when many persons are forced to sell gold or are robbed). The only difference between Tunisia and many western countries is, that the "work" of the craftsman is not paid, just the weight of the material - nevertheless, if one compares the Tunisian price with the price of eg. a turkish, arabic or indian jeweler in western countries, the differences are not so big either. Also, in the tourist areas, eg. the jeweler streets in the Medinas, the prices are fixed amongst the jewelers - the same jewelry will cost the same price with each one of them. If one absolutely wants to buy gold jewelry in Tunisia (eg. individually manufactured pieces), one should do this with a trustworthy jeweler far from the tourist zones!
Many tourists bring home shoes from Tunisia - however, in many larger cities of western countries, you can meanwhile find shops in which the very same shoes (and also other clothing) are sold for nearly the same price, so even here, there won't be a large price advantage anymore. Spices, which are offered on the markets, can usually be bought as well in western countries with spice importers at similar prices, the so-called "tourist spice packs" in Tunisia are, by the way, usually not recommended, both quality- and price-wise. If someone carefully compares prices, he will find out that many goods that are manufactured in Tunisia, are sold there for higher prices than in western countries and often in lower qualities (because the "good" qualities go into the export) - so, for a "good deal", one has to investigate prices and examine qualities very carefully and should be aware of the prices in western countries as well. Bringing items TO Tunisia is, in many cases, not recommended, since the european purchase price plus transportation (luggage fees) will, in many cases, be more than the same item would cost in Tunisia. There are only a few goods that are really "worth" it to be brought to Tunisia, eg. if they are in Tunesien hardly available or very expensive. This is the case specifically for brand new electronics (telephones, computer etc., less than 6 months in trade), genuine wood furniture (wood is very expensive in Tunisia), and for alcohole, cheese and pork products, the two latter being sold only rarely and in more or less disgusting qualities and consistencies. | ||||||
