What to buy - summer gear



Roxy



Billabong





With summer upon us we thought it would be timely to compare prices for the purchase of swim wear, sunglasses, thongs and other summer essentials. The result is that these items are worth purchasing from the US and shipping back to Australia. Other than the brand name sites themselves our favourite website to get all your summer necessities is http://www.swimoutlet.com/ which stocks a huge range of brands including Roxy, Seafolly, Billabong, Speedo, Havaiana's etc. Whether you are looking for athletic swim gear or just to relax at the beach this site seemed to have everything and at great prices. Don't forget to change your location to the USA though when first logging on to the site. The question is can we cope without the traumatic experience of bather shopping in front of those horrid change room mirrors???

What to buy - underwear & pj's

For those of you that are considering buying underwear from the USA, our thoughts are don't bother unless you want something unique from the likes of Victoria's Secret. Prices are comparable to Australia, as is quality.

Pyjamas on the other hand are another matter, whether you going for luxury or the good old dependable flannels, you can get a wide range of pyjamas from the US at great prices.

Tommy Hilfiger USD $50.00

When you want to splash out we recommend checking out:

• Victoria's Secret www.victoriassecret.com
• Bare Necessities www.barenecessities.com

Target USD $24.99

But on those days when its just you, a DVD and a block of chocolate then you can go past the bargains at:

• Kmart www.kmart.com
• Target www.target.com

Sweet dreams!          The USA Shopping Affair Team

What to buy - toiletries & cosmetics...

In committing my family to our 'Global Sourcing" experiment, one of my aims was to determine whether there really was as much threat to all Australian retailers as the media hype made it appear or was the competitive threat particular to specific products and therefore specific retailers. For that reason I was particularly interested in the price comparison of everyday toiletries and whether it would save us money by sourcing our everyday needs such as sunscreen, deodorant, soap etc. It may seem obvious that the answer would be no, but I wanted to ensure that I had fully researched the prospect before coming to that conclusion. My research has however concluded a positive no, it's not worth buying your everyday toiletries including the cheaper skincare product ranges such as Olay etc from overseas as the shipping makes it cost prohibitive. In light of this, I have added an additional rule to my previous experiment parameters.

Rule 4: Where an item can be purchased from Australia for less than $15.00 then the item should be sourced from here. 

Urban Decay

The more expensive skincare ranges are another matter and are unequivocally worth buying from overseas, and I am fairly certain that most people know that cosmetics are definitely cheaper to source from overseas. The following cosmetic and skincare list has been compiled based on the most popular products purchased by our customers over the last 6 months:

• MAC
• Bobbi Brown
• Too Faced
• NARS
• Maybelline
• Ole Hendrikson
• Makeup Forever
• Clinique
• Benefit
• Dior
• Aveda
• Urban Decay