The best fashion and gift stores Colombia

Timetable

Stores generally open from Monday to Saturday, around 9-10 a.m. until 7 or 8 p.m., and often on Sundays in tourist areas. Shopping centers open every day, usually from 9am to 11pm, a little earlier on Sundays. Local grocery stores(tiendas) also have very extensive opening hours. Markets(plazas de mercado) open from 7am to 4 or 5pm.

Budget & Tips

For locally-made products - leather shoes or bags, textiles marked Hecho en Colombia ("made in Colombia"), especially lingerie, handicrafts, jewelry in gold, silver, emerald, etc. - prices are fairly economical. On the other hand, for all imported products (wines, gourmet foods, electronics, sun creams, etc.), prices are quite high. Cartagena's historic center is full of magnificent boutiques, but they are often more expensive than elsewhere. As far as handicrafts are concerned, it's always better to buy from the craftsman or in the town/region of production, rather than in the souvenir stores of tourist towns, or worse, at the airport (as a last resort!).

Payment by credit card is accepted almost everywhere, but more rarely in craft markets and small villages (bring cash, preferably in small denominations). When you pay by credit card, you can usually pay in a single instalment(a contado) or in several instalments(a cuotas). You will be asked how many times you wish to pay(¿en cuántas cuotas?). Payment on credit is highly developed and even encouraged by the banks, which make their money with high interest rates. For example, you can pay for your supermarket purchases in 36 monthly instalments, or even 48!

Online payment is also becoming increasingly widespread (the long confinement of 2020 has helped its development). MercadoLibre.com is the most popular online sales site, offering both new and second-hand products at attractive prices, with fast, efficient home delivery. A safe site.

Sales

There is no official sales period, but from time to time (2 or 3 times a year), a Día sin IVA (Day without Value Added Tax, equivalent to our VAT). For 24 hours, most products (not food) are exempt from the 19% tax.

Black Friday (last Friday in November) is also all the rage in Colombia, especially for electronic products.

What's very local

The markets and streets of tourist towns and villages are overflowing with beautiful and varied handicrafts (in wood, clay, metal, leather, cotton...), which are hard to resist! If possible, it's best to buy directly from the producer or artisan, who may even show you around his or her workshop. Bargaining(regateo) is not a common practice and it can be frowned upon to try to negotiate, except in tourist markets where prices are inflated for gringos.

In fruit and vegetable markets, it's common for vendors who are happy with their sales to offer a little something extra for free (a little more fruit, for example). This is the famous ñapa, a term and custom found almost everywhere in Latin America.

Tourist traps

Beware of Made in China copies of local handicrafts, or counterfeit designer clothes, perfumes, sunglasses and so on. Beware, too, of fake precious stones (emeralds in particular). Always insist on a certificate of authenticity.

Also, don't forget that the sale of pre-Columbian antiques is illegal. If they are genuine pieces, they must have been stolen. If they're not, they're reproductions, in which case you can buy them, but not at any price. And don't buy any handicrafts made from coral, feathers from protected species, turtle shells or, of course, wild animals (monkeys, parrots, frogs, etc.).