Folding Bikes - What to buy in Paris?

I'll be going on a business trip to Paris soon, and the US dollar is gaining ground. What is there to buy in Paris?

French Pastry? ;)

Pastry? No, it's art you savor with your eyes and then your mouth! Here are my favorites:

Fauchon - 26 Pl. Madeleine
Mulot - 76 Rue de Seine (6th Arr.)
LaDurée - 16 Rue Royale (8th Arr. but there are other locations)
Dalloyau - 101 Rue de Faubourg (St. Honoré near Rue Colisée)
LeNotre - 48 Ave. Victor Hugo (16th Arr. but there are others including 10 Champs Elysées)

Take a long ride afterward to burn off the indulgences.

...or maybe you meant what to buy bike related?

onions?

a stripy top?

:deadhorse:

There is very little related to cycling that will be a better deal than in the US, unless you're buying everything at full MSRP from your LBS in the US. But even Euro brands sell for same or higher numbers in Euros than in USD. I've always been surprised that brands like Campagnolo or Mavic still don't benefit from fewer taxes or other benefits for being produced in EU and sold in EU.

Items that might be worth looking at, because of a wider choice or lower prices, include commuter items such as raincapes, chainguards, mudflaps, baskets, commuter handlebars, reflectors, mounts for lamps and dynamos. Some of those could be so cheap that it could be worth buying a bunch of different ones just in case.

The fact is that we are constantly ripped off, especially here in Britain. Take any of the big selling branded products and you will normally find that the exact same item costs a lot more in Britain. :(
At the moment $1 = £0.57 but we have become so accustomed to the fact that we will end up paying in £££ what you guys are paying in $$$ ..... when /if we ever complain we are told it is all down to market demands and that there are more people in the USA so they can better prices. :rolleyes:
It doesn’t end there, some time back it would have been possible for me to travel to Holland and other European countries and buy a brand new UK spec. car that was made 1 mile from my house cheaper than I could buy it from a local dealer... and that included factoring in travel and accommodation expenses.
As others have said, there probably won’t be any real bargains in Paris, even with the improved $.

The fact is that we are constantly ripped off, especially here in Britain. Take any of the big selling branded products and you will normally find that the exact same item costs a lot more in Britain. :(

So you guys must import a lot from the other EU countries since they are paying 1:1 €:$, but the lb is still worth more ? I've been surprised with how reasonable shipping prices are here in Belgium. I had a Merc shipped here from the UK and it was also very reasonably priced shipping.

I just got back from a trip to Paris and the prices are hideously expensive for everything against the US dollar. Even though it's about 1.3 something to the dollar instead of 1.4, it still makes no sense to buy anything unless it can only be purchased there. Don't forget to add at least 3 percent to any credit card purchases, unless you're carrying a lot of cash. And then you lose money exchanging it anyway.

It's an amazing city though.

Unless the policy has recently changed, Capital One Visa is one of the few, if not only, credit card companies that has no fee charge for international transactions and you will get a better exchange rate than you would using cash. If you have a Bank of America checking account you can withdraw Euros from your account without a transaction fee by using the ATMs of BOA partner banks. Last time I did so in Paris that was BNP Paribas (you have to locate them though). You can't lower the prices but if you plan ahead you can cut down or eliminate fees. If you make a large enough purchase (say over 200 Euros - it varies by retailer) the retailer can supply you with documentation to refund your VAT at the airport. We did this for the sum of all our purchases at the Printemps department store. I think we got back something like 15-17% at the airport.

Pernod, Gitanes, Fois Gras, Baguette, Escargot, Peugeot folding bike.