Welcome2France - Paris Travel Articles

Paris’ two biggest (and we do mean big!) sale seasons are in July and January. So get ready to take advantage of extraordinary deals and savings, soon!

Sales are called “soldes” in Paris, so you’ll be seeing this word cropping up all around the city in July. The summer sale season truly starts off with a bang, with virtually every brand offering their entire line at discounts as deep as 40-50% off! And as if that wasn’t deep enough, generally prices fall an additional 20% off during the latter part of the sales season! (The sales period tends to last 6 weeks.)

Tourists can often enjoy an additional 10% in the bigger department stores such as the Galeries Lafayatte, Printemps, etc. Simply go to their information desks and ask about acquiring a special savings card for visitors. Usually the discount applies to certain items. Some may not be eigible, so ask what the rules or restrictions are. Either way, you’re sure to find a heck of a bargain during July.

These bi-annual selling periods are actually state-regulated, and are times to coincide before Parisians head to their summer locales in August, with another to banish the year prior’s inventory in January. The sales encompass more than clothing: everything from kitchen appliances to hardware is deeply marked down,

The tricks are the same as you could expect during any other frenzied shopping period. Arriving early gets you the best chance of finding the best bargains. You may also want to go to hotspots the day before the blitz, to see what items you’re most interested in.

Bring your politeness and patience. You’ll need both to get the most from salespeople, and just to weather the madness internally. Take a deep breath, expect to wait, and you’ll be fine. If it helps, pack a lunch and bring a book to read.

Dress for comfort, and for quick-changing when you’re trying on clothes (avoid wearing clothing with lots of buttons, for example). Wear very comfortable walking shoes (as you may well be traipsing about all day).

If you have your eye on a high-ticket item, be aware if there are many of them available, it will probably go on deeper discount midway through the season. Of course, if you think it’s in short supply, you may wish to indulge yourself. After all, that’s the beauty of the sales period. At the same time, waiting too long (especially past midway through the season) means the item you have your eye on may no longer be available. If you’re on a budget, you may well wish to skip the first couple of weeks and just see what’s left over for the second half. There will still be a lot of great things available, at a very discounted price, but many of the more expensive items will be sold out. Of course, most Parisians opt for a mixed approach: Go early, buy something you can’t live without, return midway for the items you’re not 100% sure of, then a final sweep near the end for the less important items at the best price.

As in any market, don’t hesitate to “cross check” prices between stores.

And most of all, be sure to know the return policy. (Many stores don’t allow returns of items purchased during sales seasons!)

And finally, many top Parisian stores have discounts online, as well. So feel free to shop even if you’re not in Paris!

In addition to the main department stores, there are numerous outlet stores in Paris to experience, all over the city and environs.

Here is a great list of stores to consider visiting:

http://www.pariswoman.com/archives/outlet_stores.htm