HOW TO BUY A GOOD FUR COAT!
How to buy a good fur coat? Good quality, beautiful and reasonably priced. Now I know it. I can't write well. But I want to talk about my own real experience, I'm sure that it can be useful to many. Especially since summer is coming soon, many will go on vacation. Good information is never superfluous.
This year, for the first time, we decided to go to Greece on our own, without travel agencies. Because the main purpose of the trip was very peculiar and no travel agency would have helped us anyway, but perhaps we need to write a separate story about this. And really, what's so difficult about it? I bought plane tickets via the Internet, booked a car and a hotel there, read something in the reviews on the forums, something my friends suggested, and now we are already “smart”, we know where and why we are going. Well, how to return from Greece empty-handed? You must bring a fur coat, otherwise you will not forgive yourself. This is where a lot of questions arise. Go on an organized fur tour? So much has been written about them. It would seem that all normal people know about “free cheese in a mousetrap”, everything is clear there. A few years ago we were in Greece on vacation and went on an excursion to Kastoria from the hotel. In practice, it turned out that this tour is no different from a fur coat (although we paid for it), they also put signs on us, and the guide even accompanied us to the toilet and did not allow us to talk on the phone. Result: money spent, a dead day (it would be better if they lay on the beach), a lot of negative emotions, the purchase never took place. Although the latter may even be good. A neighbor at the hotel bought there something that the tongue cannot call a fur coat, which she very bitterly regretted, but she could not agree on either a refund or a replacement. And the money is lost and the impressions of the rest are spoiled. It seems that we already have some experience, we need to be smarter. No wonder they say "the miser pays twice. " First, we peck at a tempting advertisement to get a fur coat for free, and then we cry. And if you get into the car yourself, take a specialist, will the result be more expensive?
The sister of her husband added fuel to the fire, bringing from her vacation in Greece a chic fur coat of excellent quality at a very affordable price. This illustrative example affected me much more strongly than all the advertisements from travel agencies. Here, as they say, I saw it with my own eyes, felt it with my hands, and sniffed it with my nose. I will omit the small details of the flight-road, it is hardly interesting. Let's approach the topic of fur coats specifically. Here, as in any other matter, a methodical approach is needed. Think about what you want to buy and what methods of achieving the goal are acceptable to you. Like any sensible person, I wanted to buy a fur coat a) of good quality, b) at a reasonable price, c) wearable, d) a beautiful model that would last in fashion for several more years. e) do not spend all 10 days of your vacation looking for one coat, but find your dream as quickly as possible. "What fool doesn't want that? " you say. But! At the same time, a) my solid school "four" in English does not give me the opportunity to communicate with foreigners. I understand a little the fifth through the tenth, but I don’t even try to speak. b) I am badly oriented in the area even in my hometown. And in a foreign country I will definitely get lost in 3 pines, and even more so in palm trees. Who to ask for help? Doubtful-looking local men who come to the beach of the hotel and offer their services? It’s good if he just turns out to be a gigolo and robs him to the skin, but if he delivers where and “no one will know where my grave is”... And where did you see a man who knew a lot about shops and liked to go there? c) my knowledge of the quality of furs turned out to be very average, sometimes even naive. d) knowing what the sellers in fur coat stores are doing, I was very afraid of running into low-quality goods. That is why I turned to a knowledgeable person for help and I am very pleased with it.
Our trip to Greece was completely subordinated to one specific task, everything was scheduled and planned in advance, only one day was allocated for shopping. Fear, how I didn’t want to go to an unknown distance, along serpentines and waste time on fuss and tedious searches. If you go to Greece in the summer to relax, then you are also unlikely to want to. It turned out that such sacrifices were not needed at all. Thanks to our guide, we managed to buy everything we dreamed about in just half a day. After all, time is also money. A very sweet, erudite, knowledgeable woman, she went with us to wholesale stores, showed us the way so that we would not get lost, along the way telling us a lot of interesting things about the history of Greece, about traditions and life in the country. She also gave us a kind of briefing in advance on how to behave in stores, on the tricks of sellers, on how to choose high-quality fur, how to bargain. This came in very handy. And it also came in handy that she speaks Russian and Greek equally well. In one store, I asked the seller to call the owner, to bargain (after all, in all the reviews they write that it is the owner who decides the last price). The seller took the phone in her hands and began to babble something. Turns out she was just pretending to call. And how do I know this without translation? I would have believed. And in another store, two saleswomen agreed among themselves “you can give it away for so much, but the client liked the coat, so we don’t say the last price, we overestimate it. ” If I hadn’t been whispered about it in my ear in time, I would have paid 300 euros more, and saved even more. What about our nerves? I said in advance what kind of model I want. Our guide has developed a route, adjusting to our desires. “Such a model is in such and such a factory. ” And we first of all went to them, and only then, for a change, to other stores. Thus, we were saved from a long aimless wandering among the pieced fur coats, from a fussy crowd of other tourists, from fears for the quality of goods and fears for our own safety in a foreign country. In short, we pay—we order the music. Our guide met all our expectations. She talked a lot, explained, gave advice when asked about it. But she herself is a very tactful and polite woman. No comparison with the tour guides who took us to Kastoria. She didn't force us to buy anything. We asked her if there was good leather somewhere, she saw us off. And although I didn’t originally plan a leather jacket, but since I saved on a fur coat, I gave myself a nice bonus leather with laser trim. Asked about Greek cosmetics, olive oil, sweets, souvenirs, she brought to the shops, showed, explained everything in detail. Therefore, along with good purchases, we brought a lot of positive emotions from Greece.
I know that many do not like the truth and they will scold me here, especially those who advertise fur coats or specific factories. Do not strain, your customers will not go anywhere from you. And smart people will draw a conclusion for themselves. I don’t name factories on purpose (the three of us bought different fur coats and sleeveless jackets in two stores), because everyone has their own taste. Where I did not like any style, another person can like absolutely everything. And I do not say the exact prices, so that the toad does not strangle anyone here. Each of us has his own taste, his own material possibilities. For some, a rabbit or a goat for 300 euros is a “booty coat”, and for some, blackglam has already become boring and give sable. Everything turned out as I wanted: fast, cheap, good quality, I chose what I liked, and not what the sellers sell. There were three of us, chipped in and paid 100 euros for the whole day, plus a car rental of 35. I think this is not much for a whole day of solid positive. According to the most conservative calculations, comparing with our prices, I saved approx. 4000 euros for all purchases. So I don’t feel sorry for this 45 money at all, because the most important thing is that dreams come true.
