Souvenirs are important for travellers. They are the prove of your vacation itself if you need to show your friends and family about what the exciting things have you done at the destinations. Souvenirs are one of the essential parts for many travellers to bring the gifts when back at home.
But before you are buying the souvenirs, there are also some important things you have to know and they are so much necessary to make your vacation safe and comfort. You may have never heard about the travellers that have been jailed just because of what they have bought on vacation. Or those who are interrogated by the immigration officers or the airport officials of what they are bringing in the backpack.
I won’t want you to be one of those people and you won’t want to experience that as well as part of your “things to tell” experience to your friends. That won’t be really cool. And by the way, interrogated for souvenirs can be a shame.
Things to know before buying customers on vacation
By writing this, I don’t really mean to scare you about many things. No matter how important the souvenirs you have bought on vacation are, they still be the secondary thing on your journey.
But when you are getting them right since the very first time, souvenirs can be the small happiness for those who are receive them. So, make sure that what you are going to bring back to your home are thing things that really matter and unique.
Follow along the tips below to know what to buy and know before you are heading to the souvenir shops.
1. Regulations on both countries
If you are travelling abroad and want to buy souvenirs before getting back to where you are living, it is better to know about the regulations of the souvenirs you are going to buy. Many Asian countries are making souvenirs using the non-environmentally friendly material and they are legally to sell. In the other hands, your country may accept that souvenirs under certain condition.
For example, couple of months ago, someone told me that the decorative lamp of where he was working is forbidden to enter one of the country in Europe because of the material and its impact to the environment. The exporters should have prepared the documents for that before shipping, but they didn’t do that.
Therefore, beside you have to know about the regulations of both countries, you should also make sure that the shipping office of the souvenirs are knowing about the regulations so they will prepare all the needed documents. That will be good thing to do if the souvenirs you are buying have to be shipped for reasons.
Make sure that the material of the souvenirs are legal and documented. It is good if you are buying the accessories made with agarwood, but since that will be the rare material for souvenirs in the world, you need to know that your country is ok about that.
2. Size does matter. But the smaller ones will be the better!
For travellers on vacation, many of them are tempting to buy more souvenirs that could cause their bag to be full and its volume can be excessive that it should be. That’s understandable since they may have found a shop with unique souvenirs in cheap price.
But the thing that I want to telling you is that, if you want to buy more of that, you will need to buy those in smaller size. That’s why in many souvenir shops, maybe in the whole world, most of the souvenirs that are selling are those that can even fit in your pocket.
So you can buy more and so you won’t add some extra burden for your backpack and shoulders.
3. Use national currency when you are on a vacation at abroad for cheaper souvenirs
There will be time when the exchange of currency values will give you advantage. When you have Dollars and need to buy souvenirs in… let’s say in IDR (Rp), you can buy many souvenirs then.
Thank’s to the money changer business for that but make sure that you finds one that the rate won’t break your bank. Until today, Dollars, Pound sterling, etc are quiet good as the currency when you are changing them into the other’s country national currency.
So, you’ll get more money than before and you will also get more cheaper souvenirs since most of the shops won’t serve you in Dollars especially at the countries with their own currencies such as in Asia.
Gary Holmes