Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Summer sales in Paris

I%26#39;m planning to visit Paris for the summer sales, having already done most of the tourist stuff. Does anyone know when it will start this year? And I read on the net that the sales vary depending on when you come, so what are the recommendations?? At the start of the sale, the middle or the end?? And how long do the sales last?? Thanks in advance.





MD




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The 2009 summer sale dates haven%26#39;t been announced yet -- it%26#39;s regulated by the government, so everyone has to wait until they have made their determination as to when the soldes will start.





It%26#39;s difficult to decide when to go to the soldes -- the selection is best at the beginning -- but the crowds are at their worst the first few days.





As the soldes drag on (for several weeks) the markdowns get deeper and deeper, but the selection begins to dwindle and things begin to look a little shopworn.





The winter soldes lasted just over a month -- so you%26#39;ll have plenty of time to see how much of a gambler you are!




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SOLDES d%26#39;ETE (Summer Sales) in Paris usually run for five(5) weeks, beginning the last-Wednesday of June and running through the end of July. For 2009--from Wednesday, June 24th--thru--Saturday, August 1st.





Shopping these (or any other) sales is %26#39;art%26#39; not a %26#39;science%26#39;. Waiting for a bigger discount and better price may work in your favour...or...you may simply lose out by having what you want snatched up by someone else.




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This year%26#39;s January sales were allowed to begin a week earlier than announced because of the poor Holiday sale%26#39;s numbers.



The gov%26#39;t is waiting to see how spring goes before announcing the summer dates, which is unusual.



As for when to go. Depends on what you want. If you think that you%26#39;ll be getting anything at Chanel, Gucci and the like, then you need to be at their doors before opening on the first day and even then, most of their regular customers have already had their pick the week before the sales begin.



High end brands like Kenzo, Max Mara and Burberry will have plenty of selection through out the first week, then they pretty much empty out, sales rarely even going on beyond the second week.



Personally, I often like going the last week. I love original clothing, so the stuff that nobody else wants is often just right for me, AND the prices can be amazing. I%26#39;ve gotten 30% off of 30% off of 30% off of luxury goods from the Bon Marche.



This year is a one off. Because of the economy the sales were deeper much earlier than they%26#39;ve ever been before and they lasted a week longer than usual.




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I and my budget are a little more tuned to the ready-to-wear market -- but I found jeans (YES we wear jeans in Paris! I just never used to travel with them....) for less than ten euros, and several *wool* sweaters for about five euros each, as well as some housewares for 70% off.





It%26#39;s a roll of the dice, but it%26#39;s kind of fun to see what you can find.





I actually found that they would bring out new goods as the weeks went by...and that the prices just kept going down.





So things I needed or really, really liked, I bought early...things I liked but could live without I kept going back and checking until the price got to a level I wanted to pay. If it was gone, oh well.




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So are these sales at all retail stores, or just clothing stores? Just checking, as we%26#39;ll have my daughter with us, and she might be more interested in the toy scene than clothing. Luckily for us, we%26#39;ll be there the last week in June, so we%26#39;ll be able to get to the first week of sales! Not sure my husband will appreciate it though!




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Many/most retail shops/stores (of all types) in Paris.




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Even Leroy Merlin and Castorama (big DIY stores like B%26amp;Q/Homebase/Home Depot/Lowe%26#39;s) have products on the Soldes...if they retail goods, they%26#39;re allowed to put them on clearance pricing during that period.




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