PRICING ("Preisauszeichnung")
Usually the vendor displays his merchandise with a price tag in the shop window or he sticks a price tag on the products in the shop. According to German law you can not insist successfully, that he will surrender the item to you for the same price as seen on the price tag.
By showing the chosen product at the check-out, from the juridical point of view you are only making an offer to buy the item. Only by entering the price into the check-out, the seller is accepting your offer and the purchase has been realised.
According to the German price quotation law comparative prices shall be available for many products. You will find them particularly at the pricing for food and detergents. The comparative price is price per kilo or per litre, which makes it easier for you to compare prices of different brands.
IN THE SUPERMARKET ("Im Supermarkt") • BOTTLE / CAN DEPOSIT ("Pfand")
In the Supermarket
Prices vary considerably from supermarket to supermarket.
In general, the more self-service there is in a supermarket, the less you have to pay.
In some supermarkets you will see nothing but rows of products stacked in boxes on top of one another. Here you will wait in vain for good qualified information on products, even though digital cameras, computers or other more or less "complicated" goods are for sale. On the other hand the prices are often lower than elsewhere.
In contrast with many other countries you usually weigh fruit and vegetables yourself in supermarkets. You simply put them on the scales, press the button with a picture or the number the product is given and then sticks the price tag on the food.
Customers bag groceries themselves, since most stores do not offer this service.
One can buy a grocery bag at the check out in most stores. Many shops charge 0, 10 € - 0, 20 € for a plastic carrier bag at the checkout desk.
Bottle/Can Deposit
The use of re-usable glass or plastic bottles ("Mehrwegflaschen"), and recently beverage tins, is encouraged in Germany. That is why you have to pay a deposit ("Pfand") of 0, 15 € - 0, 50 € on most bottles and beverage tins. The deposit will be refunded to you when you return the bottles or tins to the supermarket/shop.
You can easily recognise a returnable bottle at the writing "Pfandflasche" on the label of the beverage.
OTHER TYPES OF SHOPS ("Weitere Einkaufsmöglichkeiten") • TAX ("Steuer")
Other types of shops
Should you wish to buy organic foods and vegetables, have a look at the "Reformhaus" or the "Naturkostladen" (= health food shop).
Note the difference between a German pharmacy and a drugstore:
The pharmacy dispenses mainly medicines. Some drugs don't require a prescription, whereas others do. It is also possible to buy cosmetics and some health foods in an Apotheke, but be aware that they are more expensive than in drugstores.
A drugstore on the other hand sells mainly toiletries, cosmetics and films etc, although it can sell some health care products if they are not on prescription.
Tax ("Steuer")
A 16 % value added tax (VAT/"Mehrwertsteuer") is charged on most German goods and services at present.
As a special exception a 7 % tax rate is charged on some goods, ie. food and books.
The market price always includes this tax.
Buying as a citizen of a non EU member state you can get this tax refunded in some bigger stores. There you just have to fill in a VAT form.
| CONVERSION FOR CLOTHING | |
| Women | |
| Germany | 38 |
| Austria | 38 |
| Switzerland | 38 |
| France | 40 |
| Spain | 40 |
| Itlay | 42-44 |
| UK | 12-14 |
| Ireland | 12-14 |
| USA | 8 |
| CONVERSION FOR CLOTHING | |
| Men | |
| Germany | 50 |
| Austria | 50 |
| Switzerland | 50 |
| France | 40 |
| Spain | 50 |
| Itlay | 50 |
| UK | 40 |
| Ireland | 40 |
| USA | 40 |
| CONVERSION FOR CLOTHING | |
| Children | |
| German sizes | Height in cm |
| 88 | 80-88 |
| 104 | 89-104 |
| 116 | 105-116 |
| 128 | 117-128 |
| 140 | 129-140 |
| 152 | 141-152 |
| 164 | 153-164 |
| 176 | 165-176 |
| CONVERSION FOR SHOES | |
| Women | |
| Europe | United Kingdom |
| 36 | 3 1/2 |
| 37 1/3 | 4 1/2 |
| 38 2/3 | 5 1/2 |
| 40 | 6 1/2 |
| 41 1/3 | 7 1/2 |
| CONVERSION FOR SHOES | |
| Men | |
| Europe | United Kingdom |
| 40 | 6 1/2 |
| 40 2/3 | 7 |
| 41 1/3 | 7 1/2 |
| 42 | 8 |
| 42 2/3 | 8 1/2 |
| 43 1/3 | 9 |
| 44 | 9 1/2 |
| 44 2/3 | 10 |
| 45 1/3 | 10 1/2 |
SIZE ("Konfektionsgrößen")
Even if our EU citizens are blessed with European medium sizes for cucumbers and condoms, the sizes for clothing and shoes sometimes still differ from one European country to the other.
But you can't always rely on these conversions, because every manufacturer has its own conversion system.
The best thing to do: Try it on!
The European Union is developing a European standard system.
DISKOUNT ("Rabatt") • THE SALES ("Schlussverkauf")
Discount
Only since 2001 it is allowed in German shops to haggle about prices for all goods -but we still have to get used to this procedure.
Except on open-air street markets, it's not usual in Germany to haggle about prices of groceries, because no retailer will give you a discount on food or beverages, which already have a reasonable price.
But since 2001 if you want to buy more than one article of the same non-food product or a product of a higher price range, i.e. furniture, electronics or clothes, you may haggle with a co-operative vendor.
Exception: Books and newspapers, because here price fixing is required by law.
The Sales
The best bargains can be made at the end of the summer and the winter seasons.
The summer sale ("Sommerschlussverkauf") starts on the last Monday in July and the winter sale ("Winterschlussverkauf") begin on the last Monday in January. These sales last 12 days and are restricted to fabrics, shoes, leatherwear and sports equipment.
It is advisable to check the quality of these offers, because sometimes, especially for the sales, products of low quality are put on the market.
It is also often worth looking for bargains 2 - 4 weeks ahead of the official start of the sale, as prices may be reduced at that time already.
Apart from bargain sale times, shops often have some specially prices items.
It is expected, that this will be even more so in the future because, according to a draft law, the bargain sale should be abolished. There are government plans to do away with bargain sale regulations thus allowing retailers to reduce their prices for all groups of goods whenever they want.
PAYMENT METHODS ("Zahlungsmittel")
In almost all big department stores and bigger supermarkets EC-Cards are accepted without any difficulty.
But a few discounters are still an exception at present, because they only accept cash exclusively. Therefore it is advisable to ask in advance whether EC-cards are accepted.
Many shops still refuse to accept credit cards.
Germany shops don't accept cheques as a means of payement anymore.
Withdrawal of Cash ("Abhebung")
You can withdraw cash from your account with your EC- or credit card from every cash machine which shows an EC- or Maestro-Symbol.
Principle of equal charges ("Grundsatz der Gebührengleichheit")
Cross-border cash withdrawals in Euro
Since July 2002 charges levied by your bank for your cross-border cash withdrawals up to € 12.500 shall be the same as the charges levied by your bank in respect of corresponding payments within your native country.
Cross-border payments in Euro
With effect from July 2003 charges levied by your bank for cross-border credit transfers up to € 12.500 € shall be the same as the charges levied by your bank in respect of corresponding credit transfers transacted within your native country.
OPENING TMES ("Öffnungszeiten") • EXCHANCE ("Umtausch")
Opening times
Shopping times are still legally limited in Germany. Within the statutory business hours (6 am - 8 pm) opening hours can often vary from shop to shop.
Widespread opening hours:
Monday - Friday continiously:
8 - 10 am until 6 - 8 pm
Saturday:
8 - 10 am until 2 - 4 pm*
Sundays & national holidays:
closed
*)According to a draft law it is planned that from June 2003 all shops will be allowed to open till 8 pm on Saturdays.
Smaller shops close during lunch break, mostly between 1 - 3 pm. On Saturdays smaller shops close between 12 am and 2 pm.
On Sundays many bakeries are open till noon.
Bread rolls, food, beverages and newspapers can be bought at most petrol stations in bigger cities. These are usually open round the clock, and are generally more expensive.
Exchange
Most department stores offer an exchange free of costs. The exchange is a voluntary action by the vendor, that is to say you have no legal right to exchange something.
Check the fixed time for the exchange before the purchase (mostly within 1 - 2 weeks) and in case of doing the exchange take your receipt with you.
But be aware that reduced goods can be excluded from exchange.
YOUR RIGHTS ("Gewährleistung" / "Garantie")
Seller's legal warranty
Offering warranty for the merchandise he sells is a statutory duty of the seller.
If you discover that the item you purchased is imperfect, you initially have the right to choose between the free repair of the imperfect good and the replacement of the product.
Should the repair fail twice or should the exchanged item too be defective, you can withdraw from the contract of purchase. You will then be refunded the full purchasing price if you return the product to the seller.
However, should you wish to keep the imperfect merchandise nevertheless, you can effect a reduction on the purchasing price.
Time limit
According to the consumer purchasing law the warranty period expires within two years.
Proof
If the fault appears within the first six months after the purchase, the seller has to prove, that the product was not faulty at the moment of sale.
After six months a shift in the burden of proof takes place: From now on the customer has to prove that from the moment the item was bought it was already defective.
Attention: This legal warranty is only a right you can exercise against a seller in Germany. You can not exercise it against the manufacturer!
Guarantee
In contrast to the legal warranty, the guarantee is a performance the manufacturer or even the seller can give you supplementary and voluntarily. The guarantee is mostly limited to the particular nature or durability of the goods.
Please note that the manufacturer is giving you a Europe-wide current guarantee. Only then can you repair the item free of charge also in your home country.
When buying expensive items, it is important to keep the receipt, because the guarantee is only valid if you present the original proof of sale.
SECOND-HAND MERCHANDISE • CUSTOMS DUTY ("ZOLL")
Purchasing second-hand merchandise
If you purchase second-hand goods from a commercial dealer, the warranty period may be contractually reduced to 1 year.
However, the seller may not preclude the warranty entirely.
If the purchased item is defective, the customer has the same rights as when purchasing new products.
When buying an article from a private person however, the warranty for material deficiency may be precluded entirely.
EU-citizens are allowed to import goods for private purposes (not for commercial purposes) to Germany. The following amounts are regularly supposed to be for private purposes:
tobacco products
cigarettes: 800 pieces
cigarillos: 400 pieces
cigars: 200 pieces
tobacco: 1 kg
alcoholic drinks
spirits (more than 22 % vol.): 10 l
liqueur (less than 22 % vol.): 20 l
wine (there of max. 60 l sparkling wine): 90 l
beer: 110 l
NATIONAL LABELS
It would be preferable, if product-labels were identical all over Europe and infact some European labels already exist. In Germany there are also many national labels in use. The following selection might be helpful to you in your decision to purchase a German high quality product:
This is the German Eco-label assuring that foodstuff bearing this label is definitely produced ecologically and therefore an organic farm product. Introduced in 2001 to reach the ambitious government goal of 20 percent organic land until 2010, the label has now been awarded to more than 14.000 German products.
The criteria for the Eco-label are taken from the current provisions of the EC Eco-labelling Regulation.
For further information:
www.bio-siegel.de/download/infoflyer-44.pdf (English)
www.bio-siegel.de/download/infoflyer-33.pdf (French)
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The foundation ("Stiftung Warentest") tests various consumer goods and services and conducts system comparisons and product studies.
The tests are devised according to a fixed system and include a quality assessment.
Many manufacturers depict the assessment of Stiftung Warentest on the customary packaging of their tested product.
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A team of experts, consisting of doctors, psychologists, educationalists etc. award this logo to educationally useful toys of high quality.
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For technical equipment, such as bikes, toys, household appliances, tools etc. the GS-label (Geprüfte Sicherheit = tested safety) stands for independently tested product safety. The national GS-Label is still used a lot in Germany, in addition to the CE symbol applied throughout Europe.
For more detailed information have a look at the English version of www.hvbg.de/d/bgp/d/prod/eg/gs.htm
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Consumers are encouraged to purchase environmentally friendly products and services. The "Blue Angel" marks products, i.e. furniture, and DIY superstore products, which in their category are less ecologically harmful than others.
Strong criteria the consumer can trust exist for the product and its material, such as less pollution, less energy and less noise.
The English version of www.blauer-engel.de may give you further detailed information.
Cosmetics have to meet a lot of standards to get this label awarded which stands for naturally tested cosmetics. Animal raw material may only be used if taken from substances produced by living animals, i.e. milk. For the production of vegetable and animal raw material ecological methods are preferred. Only some preservatives are allowed. Synthetic colours and fragrances are prohibited, i.e. paraffin, silicone and other petroleum based substances.
For more detailed information have a look at the English version of www.kontrollierte-naturkosmetik.de.
