So I’m off to the States for a visit.
I hear tails of things that are ‘cheap’ in the US, so what can I buy that is a total bargain or I could even make money on by buying there & bringing back?

Anyone want a Santa Cruz? 😀

Guns are cheapish, you’d make loads

Beef jerky?

Go pro Hd

And a second vote for beef jerkey

A house?

Chewinn toobacco, crystal meth & teeth whitening.

maglites – got my dad one about 20 years ago..
I remember being there in 96 and looking at all the latest mountain bike..

we went few years ago took empty suitcase inside another one, my 2 teenage kids soon filled them with clothes cost me about half the price of the uk prices and then with the good exchange rate at the time it was great, just take all the tags off first.

LOts of legal drugs that you need a prescription for on the UK!

I just got back from a week out there, rate is quite good at the mo. Best bargains were clothes. Under Armour sports gesr and Oakley stuff. Oakley glasses mighht be worth a look. I’m a bit skint, so didn’t look at electronics stuff to avoid temptation!

Serious suggestions would be Enve rims and a CCDB Air.

Peanut butter MnM’s..they sell em by the sackload…

What state?

Once you add on sales tax (if applicable), and the cost of exchange, some of the “amazing” bargains aren’t so amazing.

It tends to work better for US stuff that for some reason we consider to be a premium brand, but is considered common in the US – i.e. Levis (you can pick them up for peanuts), or for expensive purchases such as Macbooks.

Problem is, the more expensive the purchase, the higher the risk of having a head-in-hands moment if you have a warranty issue. Check that you have a valid international warranty for any major purchases (and that the european warranty centre isn’t 1500 miles away in some backward country like Spain).

£100 saving on iPads ?
35% saving on Santa Cruz’s/intense/Transition… could post you one marked ‘gift’ 😀

Seriously “Beef Jerky”??? Who eats this stuff?

Seriously “Beef Jerky”??? Who eats this stuff?

I do, but I buy packets in Tesco, easier that way.

If you’re buying stuff to sell on ebay. Buy Carhartt jeans. It’s a work-wear brand in the US and quite cheap. Here it’s quite expensive. I brought pairs back for mates for a few years.

A bought a pair of Vans for half the UK price, I were right made up!

Twinkies 😀

You can get brand new GoPro HD2s for around £200 on ebay so not really worth bringing them over (assuming they’re $300 in the US).

Peterfile> California

Jeans. My next trip to the US will involve at least one more pair of 501s.

A lot of the other stuff I have seen is not too amazingly cheaper, but I would go for a GoPro or something if the price difference made it worthwhile.

Hollywood chewing gum was always popular when I was at school,… and Razzle.

i buy

a USA mountain bike, treks, cannondales etc, bring it back boxed
levi 501’s
leathermans
harley davidson clothes, jackets etc

Not so much electronics these days, the US got shagged by exchange rates same as us. A bit cheaper but beware of different keyboards on laptops and different mobile phone tech.

Depends how much you want to spend. Oakleys are a cracking bargain, as is Chris King stuff and I think Fox last time I checked. Be careful bring bike bits back unless you fit them to a bike you’ve brought over – looks like smuggling. Also Levis are cheap jeans in the US.

a balti ?

I buy:
iPods : about a 25% saving
Levis jeans $40 per pair, even in Macys
Abercrombie & Fitch for the kids (sale items are very cheap)
Converse All Stars $40, cheaper in the factory shops (sizing is the same as UK)
T Shirts for the kids.
Kreitler Rollers (brought back two pairs before they had an importer)
Suitcase (Macy’s again have good sales of Victorinox)

Delaware has no sales tax, if you are near.

25% less on apple products? Guess its the age old thing of rrp matching in different currencies.
i.e. $99 in states = £99 in uk

Buy 6, sell 5, and end up with one free for yourself 😛

Pop into a Walmart, Clif bars by the boxload in loads of flavours, G-shock watches from $35. TJ Maxx or, cheaper still, Ross for cheap clothes. I got Converse for £15 and Nike 6.0 for £20 at Easter. Hiking gear is good too.

Don’t buy American cheese, it is god awful. Decent European cheese costs a fortune.

Very large soft drinks!

32oz (just under a liter) self serve fountain drinks are commonplace at convenience stores and gasoline stations. Most of the plastic cups that they are served in are a smaller diameter at the bottom so that they fit in the cupholder in your car. There are larger 44oz and sometimes even 64oz versions available, too.

Edit – The Big Gulp on the left is the 32oz size. 7-eleven is a chain of convenience stores.