What good-value items do you stock up on when you go abroad?

Troytempest

As much gin as I can carry - especially duty free offers.

RobM99

Saffron!   Next!

VWPolecat

Cool Whip and Cheesecake flavor Jello..   

Brie

Westin said:

Brie said:

Knorr sauces in Germany are much nicer than the ones here.  Likewise any things that Benedicta make and sell in France - bernaise, salad dressing - very nice and cheaper than Waitrose.  

And cigars.  A nice box of cigars in Germany  might be 25% of what they cost in the UK.  We used to go to Aachen on purpose to buy them from a particular store but the current limits on what we can come back with don't make this such an attractive option these days.

Funny you mention that. I thought it was just me that used to come back from Germany with the Knorr sauce and soup packets.  They do a nice soup with small noodles in which would always make a return with me following a trip to Berlin.

One difference with soups is that they tend to have less sugar or salt in them compared to the ones in the UK.  You might be happy to try some from a Polish grocery should you have one in your area.  I've got "cuppa soup" that's both cheap and tasty and some of the best instant borscht possible (£1.79 for 20 servings!)

If you go to Canada you will likely find the Knorr sauces are the same as the ones from Germany rather than the ones from the UK.  (But don't bother to bring back any maple syrup as quite frankly you can get it just as cheaply from Aldi or Lidl.)  

Pollycat

Olive oil and honey from Greece.
Superior taste.

jackieblack

jon81uk said:

Used to buy clothing and similar when in the US but due to the collapse of the dollar exchange rate recently its no longer good value.

Ditto ☹️   

twopenny

Jewellery.
I had to replace an earing lost in the Maldives sand. Found lovely saphire earings in a small section of a gift emporium less than half the price here.
Followed by a beautiful gold Italian bracelet at cairo airport, saphire ring Maldives,and several diamond and emerald rings India. All checked and good. Better than nick-nacs and reminds me when I wear them.
Opposite end - coffee and snacks in spain. Their instant nescaf is a whole different product!

lr1277

In the late 90’s I used to to the USA to buy clothes especially Ralph Lauren polo t-shirts. I once even went out with one suitcase, bought another suitcase there and filled it with clothes to bring home.
Won’t do that now for multiple reasons; exchange rate and will only but designer clothes if they are decent value.
I also found not all the clothes the US are decent quality or long lasting. That is why I liked RL because the quality and durability were good.

[Deleted User]

MSE_Laura_F said:

MSE Scarlet brings back really tasty canned tuna from Spain, which she says is a totally different kettle of fish (sorry) to the UK's equivalent.

Similarly, Martin Lewis has talked about how you can buy Zara clothes at a fraction of the cost in Spain, Greece, France or Italy. If you're planning on going abroad anyway and had your eye on something from Zara, you're usually better off waiting until you're abroad to buy it.

I'd love to know...

Is there a particular item that - if you're going abroad anyway - you make sure to stock up on since it's cheaper or better value than here?

Ah, the glory days before brexit, when you could just get stuff shipped without hassle or charges.

Tank full of petrol? Charge your EV? Especially in France where the electricity price rise has been capped at 4% and EDF is nationalised.

teetkac

I always buy Metagrip Bobby pins from Sally's in the USA, they cost loads here but they are the absolute best and don't budge. You definitely become more careful about misplacing them too! Also, some OTC medicines and ointments that you can't get in the UK I may stock up on. Lastly, Everything But the Bagel seasoning from Trader Joe's as again, it ends up costing a fortune here!