ideas for items ex-pats prefer to buy from the uk than spain

Other topics that are not covered in the sections above.
Nigel.jones
Tourist
Posts: 9
Joined: Sun Jul 23, 2017 11:10 pm
Location: Lake vinuela

ideas for items ex-pats prefer to buy from the uk than spain

Postby Nigel.jones » Mon Jul 31, 2017 5:19 pm

Hi everybody,just a general enquirey,i have owned a property in lake vinuela,velez-malaga area for 15 years and im finally in the process of moving over full time,i make regular trips over in my van bringing some personal items etc,but i was wondering are there any items that folk still prefer to buy from the uk,im thinking mainly white goods,washing machines,fridge freezers etc,ive always took my own from the uk,but i always heard folk moaning about the prices etc in spain,is this still the case,many thanks,

BENIDORM
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 3982
Joined: Tue Nov 28, 2006 2:15 pm
Location: Granada Province

Re: ideas for items ex-pats prefer to buy from the uk than spain

Postby BENIDORM » Mon Jul 31, 2017 5:36 pm

Good Evening Mr.Jones and Welcome to the Forum. :wave:

There has been much discussion over the years about what to bring and it has changed a bit now.
I would personally recommend that you only bring white goods that are under three years old, fridges etc are difficult things to transport and most white goods are now available in Spain at realistic prices and if they break down you will have more chance of getting them fixed.
I still believe that sofas and beds are better from the UK, unless you are prepared to pay a lot of money.

People used to say 'Don't forget to bring your hot water bottles', however they are now easy to find in Spain.

Also it is now easy and quite cheap to buy white goods from the likes of Amazon..UK or Spain.
Good Luck,
Regards,
Gordon

El Cid
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 16058
Joined: Sun Oct 24, 2004 10:42 pm
Location: La Herradura, Costa Tropical, Granada

Re: ideas for items ex-pats prefer to buy from the uk than spain

Postby El Cid » Mon Jul 31, 2017 6:47 pm

I bought a cooker recently, a top end Bosch. It was 40% cheaper than in the UK.

It’s the same with most things. Even ink cartridges are cheaper and they come from a UK supplier.

Many white goods are different models in Spain, for good reason. Fridges have to operate at higher temperatures and washing machine are cold fill only as no one has central heating where hot water is a cheap by product. Also many UK items do not have international warranties.

The usual reason why some people think such items are more expensive in Spain is because they don’t know where to buy them at the best price and are frightened to use Spanish websites.

Sid

olive
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 4500
Joined: Wed Oct 12, 2005 7:13 pm
Location: Poniente, Granada

Re: ideas for items ex-pats prefer to buy from the uk than spain

Postby olive » Mon Jul 31, 2017 8:56 pm

Kippers

Antique and newer brown furniture which is out of favour in UK and thus very cheap.

One problem of course is having a market for your merchandise.

El Cid
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 16058
Joined: Sun Oct 24, 2004 10:42 pm
Location: La Herradura, Costa Tropical, Granada

Re: ideas for items ex-pats prefer to buy from the uk than spain

Postby El Cid » Mon Jul 31, 2017 9:56 pm

A good range cooker is unobtainable in Spain. A friend paid a huge amount to get one shipped over. Personally I would just install two conventional oven/hob units instead. It is about the only thing that might be worth importing. A free standing double oven is another thing that does not exist in Spain.

Sid

User avatar
costakid
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 5754
Joined: Sun Feb 13, 2005 11:55 am
Location: malaga este

Re: ideas for items ex-pats prefer to buy from the uk than spain

Postby costakid » Mon Jul 31, 2017 10:21 pm

My wife still brings Tea bags back from the uk even though you can now buy PG tips here.

Nigel.jones
Tourist
Posts: 9
Joined: Sun Jul 23, 2017 11:10 pm
Location: Lake vinuela

Re: ideas for items ex-pats prefer to buy from the uk than spain

Postby Nigel.jones » Tue Aug 01, 2017 12:22 pm

olive wrote:Kippers

Antique and newer brown furniture which is out of favour in UK and thus very cheap.

One problem of course is having a market for your merchandise.

Hi,many thanks for your advice,thats very useful to know,restoring antique and reclaimed wooden furniture,bedside cabinets,wardrobes,sets of bedroom drawers etc is 1 of my passions,its definetly worth me looking into a bit further,the selling pages on facebook are very useful to put a few items on,best regards,Nigel

Nigel.jones
Tourist
Posts: 9
Joined: Sun Jul 23, 2017 11:10 pm
Location: Lake vinuela

Re: ideas for items ex-pats prefer to buy from the uk than spain

Postby Nigel.jones » Tue Aug 01, 2017 12:25 pm

costakid wrote:My wife still brings Tea bags back from the uk even though you can now buy PG tips here.

Ha,its a british thing,my suitcase as always got a supply of t-bags in no matter where i travel,a good brew solves many streses in life,many thanks,Nigel

Nigel.jones
Tourist
Posts: 9
Joined: Sun Jul 23, 2017 11:10 pm
Location: Lake vinuela

Re: ideas for items ex-pats prefer to buy from the uk than spain

Postby Nigel.jones » Tue Aug 01, 2017 12:32 pm

BENIDORM wrote:Good Evening Mr.Jones and Welcome to the Forum. :wave:

There has been much discussion over the years about what to bring and it has changed a bit now.
I would personally recommend that you only bring white goods that are under three years old, fridges etc are difficult things to transport and most white goods are now available in Spain at realistic prices and if they break down you will have more chance of getting them fixed.
I still believe that sofas and beds are better from the UK, unless you are prepared to pay a lot of money.

People used to say 'Don't forget to bring your hot water bottles', however they are now easy to find in Spain.

Also it is now easy and quite cheap to buy white goods from the likes of Amazon..UK or Spain.
Good Luck,
Regards,
Gordon
Hi Gordon,thanks for that,ive looked into a bit more and i dont think there would be much call for the said products,and the water bottle situation is actually a quote ive used myself many times when advising folk moving over,ha,many thanks,Nigel

Nigel.jones
Tourist
Posts: 9
Joined: Sun Jul 23, 2017 11:10 pm
Location: Lake vinuela

Re: ideas for items ex-pats prefer to buy from the uk than spain

Postby Nigel.jones » Tue Aug 01, 2017 12:39 pm

El Cid wrote:I bought a cooker recently, a top end Bosch. It was 40% cheaper than in the UK.

It’s the same with most things. Even ink cartridges are cheaper and they come from a UK supplier.

Many white goods are different models in Spain, for good reason. Fridges have to operate at higher temperatures and washing machine are cold fill only as no one has central heating where hot water is a cheap by product. Also many UK items do not have international warranties.

The usual reason why some people think such items are more expensive in Spain is because they don’t know where to buy them at the best price and are frightened to use Spanish websites.

Sid
many thanks sid,your quite right,even though ive owned my property for many years ive never really looked around for big products there,ive always took them from here myself,but its definetly the case now,that the uk is more expensive for most things,many thanks,Nigel

User avatar
gerryh
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 8046
Joined: Sat Jan 12, 2008 6:17 pm
Location: Cajiz, Malaga

Re: ideas for items ex-pats prefer to buy from the uk than spain

Postby gerryh » Tue Aug 01, 2017 1:14 pm

El Cid wrote:...A free standing double oven is another thing that does not exist in Spain.

Sid
Do built in double ovens exist in Spain?
Been looking but haven't found any yet.
My wife constantly complains about the single electric oven here, not as good/ useful as the double oven she had in the UK.
Cheers
Gerry
Gerry Harris

Nigel.jones
Tourist
Posts: 9
Joined: Sun Jul 23, 2017 11:10 pm
Location: Lake vinuela

Re: ideas for items ex-pats prefer to buy from the uk than spain

Postby Nigel.jones » Tue Aug 01, 2017 1:30 pm

Hi Gerry,i have no idea whether they do or not,but if you decide to 1 day purchase 1 from the uk,then get in touch and i will give you a good price for bringing it over on 1 of my trips,it will be insured and it all helps towards my fuel costs,many thanks,Nigel

El Cid
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 16058
Joined: Sun Oct 24, 2004 10:42 pm
Location: La Herradura, Costa Tropical, Granada

Re: ideas for items ex-pats prefer to buy from the uk than spain

Postby El Cid » Tue Aug 01, 2017 1:45 pm

gerryh wrote:
Do built in double ovens exist in Spain?
If they do, they are likely to be very expensive and difficult to find. When I was looking at ovens about 2 years ago I did see a couple. I checked again recently and there was no sign of any. The range of models differs by country. You can get a double Bosch oven in the UK, but it isn't in the European range. I think one reason is that everyone wants a built in kitchen and you cannot get a double oven cooker under the standard height worktop. If you are going to have a tall, deep unit then it would go there, but a better choice then would be two ovens one on top of the other.

If your kitchen is big enough a side by side pair of ovens is an alternative.

Sid

Lyric
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 2532
Joined: Fri May 16, 2008 12:36 pm
Location: Torrox Campo

Re: ideas for items ex-pats prefer to buy from the uk than spain

Postby Lyric » Tue Aug 01, 2017 6:36 pm

We never managed to find what we understood as a double oven in Spain. This is our solution, and yes the main oven IS too low for an ageing back. :)

Image

With thanks to Gerry and Enrique.

User avatar
gerryh
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 8046
Joined: Sat Jan 12, 2008 6:17 pm
Location: Cajiz, Malaga

Re: ideas for items ex-pats prefer to buy from the uk than spain

Postby gerryh » Tue Aug 01, 2017 6:48 pm

El Cid wrote:...and you cannot get a double oven cooker under the standard height worktop.
Sid
You posted a link to a site in the UK, www.appliancesdirect.co.uk, that does sell them. Was hoping to find somewhere in Spain.
Have to look into getting one shipped from the UK.
Cheers
Gerry
Gerry Harris

El Cid
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 16058
Joined: Sun Oct 24, 2004 10:42 pm
Location: La Herradura, Costa Tropical, Granada

Re: ideas for items ex-pats prefer to buy from the uk than spain

Postby El Cid » Tue Aug 01, 2017 6:52 pm

It’s about the only way Gerry. Just add the cost of shipping to the oven price and it won’t seem too bad. Having the right gear in the kitchen is essential - whatever it costs, otherwise you might as well eat takeaways!

Sid

markwilding
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 7776
Joined: Fri Aug 14, 2009 11:02 am
Location: Bilbao Spain

Re: ideas for items ex-pats prefer to buy from the uk than spain

Postby markwilding » Tue Aug 01, 2017 8:36 pm

I like my laptop to have a UK keyboard and I always pop into M&S at the airport to bring back sausages and maybe a couple of packs of fish cakes.

scs3jb
Tourist
Posts: 15
Joined: Fri Aug 25, 2017 4:14 pm
Location: Malaga

Re: ideas for items ex-pats prefer to buy from the uk than spain

Postby scs3jb » Thu Aug 31, 2017 5:21 pm

Beyond the foodstuffs, I've found Furniture options to be severely lacking over here. Sofas, etc. are cheaper and better quality. There also seems to be a distinct lack of a quality second hand market, and people seem to ask for full retail for ancient tat.

I'll probably be going down the route of hiring a carpenter to furnish some of the rooms in my flat.

User avatar
Wicksey
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 5879
Joined: Mon Sep 20, 2004 1:21 pm
Location: Axarquia coast

Re: ideas for items ex-pats prefer to buy from the uk than spain

Postby Wicksey » Thu Aug 31, 2017 7:27 pm

There's Oak land Furniture Spain who deliver free here and seems to have a good range of quality sofas and wood furniture.

Manchesteral
Resident
Posts: 1967
Joined: Wed Mar 12, 2014 11:48 pm

Re: ideas for items ex-pats prefer to buy from the uk than spain

Postby Manchesteral » Sat Sep 02, 2017 12:03 am

I've spent a lot of money recently buying things to make my rented apartment more "homely" and I honestly haven't noticed a big difference in prices, don't bother with the "Apple T V box" though, it's a piece of *beep* and I can get everything it offers from you tube for free, whereas if you want it from Apple you have to pay for it, useless and a waste of €144.00 euros !!


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 21 guests