Greek Notes. Fur Coat Question - Intermod.Ru

Returning from Greece, I decided to write a series of vacation notes and more. I start with the most themed article for Intermod - about clothes, or rather, about fur coats. If for some people buying a fur coat in Greece is considered the main purpose of a visit to this country, for many it is a pleasant addition to their vacation, because prices for similar fur products in many cities of Russia are much higher. And what woman does not dream of a fur coat …

Naturally, before going to buy a fur coat, even in Moscow, I flipped through almost all the discussions on the forums dedicated to tourism in Gezia. But from the experience of communicating with a guide, with tourists, with sellers, I decided to supplement and systematize the information.

Fur-tour

Many tourists complained that when buying a fur coat tour for almost $ 10, they were forced to overpay $ 500-1000 for a fur coat. Moreover, the accommodation was in 2 stars, the conditions were not very good, and so on. Let's immediately cancel this option and consider the concept "for one and relax", as well as be sure that we are not deceived, not heated, not set up.

Is Kastoria the center of fur fashion?

Kastoria is considered the center of fur fashion in Greece. The center where a large number of factories and workshops are concentrated. Translated from Greek, it means ~ beaver, in ancient times it was the center of furrier workshops for processing beaver fur. Then the beavers ended and Castroia became just the center of furrier's craft. The map shows where this city is located approximately. To estimate the scale, from the blue star (the center of the peninsula of the "first finger" of Kasandra) to Kastoria ~ 350 km. Therefore, when the list of excursions included a trip to Kastoria with lunch for 10 euros (E), many Russian tourists were on their guard … Will there be a variant of a "fur-tour" with overpriced. Further, the opinions of compatriots were divided, some bought a fur coat in Kastoria and were satisfied, others went and came to the conclusion,that the most interesting models were chosen by the stores and only stocks and boring models remained in Kastoria. I meticulously questioned everyone and decided not to stage the 700-kilometer experiment.

A shop in Thessaloniki was recommended to me and I decided to combine sightseeing with a visit to the indicated place. There are only 5-6 fur shops in Thessaloniki, located on Ignatia Street (central street), usually in office centers. On the street there is a sign and one fur coat, and when you enter the office - a full set of fur coats for any wallet. The specified store was located at Ignatius 30. A Russian seller (and fur coats are sold either only by Russian-speaking ones, or in tandem with a Russian employee) described the merits of the models they liked for a long time, but it was in this store that they specialized in Fashion. High quality finishes, gorgeous fur … I didn't have enough money. After wandering around Thessaloniki, I went "home" without buying. If anyone is interested, I attach the store's business card (white).

Buy nearby?

Many tourists did their shopping in tourist areas or nearby "villages". I also drove into the nearest large "village" - Kallithea, the center of Kasandra's "finger" on the east coast. Upon closer examination, I counted there about 40 fairly large stores with an interesting selection. Almost all stores speak Russian, all stores can order a fit or other size. For a guideline of prices, the favorite model of a large size Black Lam (Black Glama) with a double hood (fur on both sides) and excellent workmanship costs 2100-2300 E. Similar models in Moscow can be found for 4000-4500 E. This is a real Black Lam class fur. (Black Glama), without cheating, very often "factory assembly" Made in Greece. Because I bought a fur coat for my mother, who was not there, I photographed the models on my phone and sent MMS. Here is one of the Black Lam models (Black Glama).

I didn't have enough money for such a model and I bought something similar, with ordinary fur for 1500 E. I bought it in Kalithea, the store's address is on a "yellow business card". As a rule, sellers drop the "tax" - 20-25% of the cost of a fur coat and then stand firmly in price, occasionally yielding another 50-100 E. When buying, you must have a foreign passport to extract documents for exporting a fur coat. I could be wrong, but it seems that the tax-free cost of a fur coat should not exceed 65,000 rubles, so sometimes the amount in the documents differs from the amount actually spent. At the airport, you must return the issued document at the baggage drop-off point. If this is not done, you can be "marked" as an unscrupulous guest of the "Schengen".

In the "village" of Hanioti, where we rested, there was also a large selection, so here you can choose for yourself - quality, style, and, which in my case played a decisive role in the purchase - the charisma of the seller, who did not even speak Russian. Of course, she had a Russian assistant, but for some reason, in my case, she decided not to entrust her with direct communication. I had to use gestures, facial expressions and school English)))