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Some tours to and in Turkey
are virtually free.
In fact, some tour companies may almost pay
you to go on a tour!
How can this be?
In a word, shopping.
Many tours in Turkey include a "shopping
component," a stop
at one or more shops selling carpets,
ceramics, souvenirs, etc. Tour participants
may buy things.
What's wrong with that?
In principle, nothing.
We all want souvenirs of
our trips: photos, postcards, apparel,
jewelry, furnishings, carpets, antiques.
The shops to which your guide takes
you may have good-quality merchandise
and provide helpful, reliable service.
Sometimes, however, I find three
problems:
1. Higher Prices. The
prices at tour shops are often higher
than in non-tour shops. They may even
be substantially higher. Outrageous?
Not really: just
business. If you are satisfied to have
the item for a certain price, who's
to say you're wrong? We all know of
shops at home that charge more—perhaps
far more—than other shops for
the same goods. One person's good value
is another's rip-off. Caveat
emptor! ("Let the
buyer beware.") It's been that
way since at least Roman times.
2. "Shopping Exile." The
shops chosen by tours are often in isolated
locations, well away from
other shops, so it's impossible
to compare quality and prices,
or to do something else if you're not
interested in shopping. Even if your
tour is cheap, your vacation
time isn't. You could be seeing
and doing other things if you weren't
in shopping exile.
(But then, your
tour might cost more if there were
no shopping stop, so you might look
upon a shopping stop as a way for those
who buy things to subsidize your tour!)
Some tours label the shopping stop
a "cultural educational
visit," which it may
be: you may learn interesting facts
about Turkish crafts or carpets. But
that's not perhaps the main reason
why your tour stops at a shop.
3. Commissions. The
main reason tour shop prices are higher
is that shops may pay your guide and/or
tour company commissions on
all your purchases. Isn't this
terrible?
Actually, no. "Commission" is
just another word for mark-up and/or
finder's fee, a normal business
practice in almost every kind
of business.
Commissions have been around for thousands
of years.
Every time you buy an airline
ticket,
or book a hotel
room, buy insurance,
a guidebook or
a mobile
phone, or purchase
any of a hundred other items or services
at home, you pay commissions, service
charges, or some other mark-up. (The
bookstore's
mark-up on a guidebook is
about 40%, by the way). Commissions
are an efficient way to bring buyer
and seller together for the
benefit of both.
Normal commissions range from 1% or
2% to 10%, 15%, 20% and even higher.
They are hidden in the price,
so you don't realize you're paying
them. Most of the time you gain no
benefit by going directly to the manufacturer
or service provider, who will maintain
the retail price so as not
to discourage independent sales agents.
In other words, whether you buy a guidebook from a bookstore or from the publisher,
the price you pay will remain about
the same.
So what's wrong with commissions? Well,
in some tour shops they may be very
high. Yes, your guide has
provided a service by bringing you
to a shop which s/he believes has good-quality
merchandise and service. But is the
guide's service worth the mark-up?
Sometimes it is, sometimes it may not
be.
Many guides are eager to give
good service to visitors,
and honestly want to help. (Here
are my recommended
private guides.)
Others may be more interested
in
the commissions.
And for yet other guides, the shopping
stop may be arranged by the tour
company, and the guide may have no
control over it.
Can't This Be Stopped?
In a word, no. But some companies
stipulate that any shopping must take place after the
day's tour itinerary is completed. In other words,
it must be during free time, and voluntary. I find
this quite acceptable, but travelers who want to
be sure of a good price should also shop
around and look in some shops without
a guide accompanying them.
Some tour companies offer shopping-free
tours, but they lose
business because they
must charge more for the
tour in order to pay their guides
competitive wages.
Many travelers compare prices, think
all tours are the same, opt for the
lower price, and end up getting less
tour for their money.
And some travelers
really love shopping and think
that stopping at shops is just fine.
What You Should Do
Here are steps you should take to have the best possible
tour:
1. Ask about shopping before
booking your tour. If you
don't want to spend time in shops,
tell the people selling you the tour.
Write it down and have them sign
it. If they tell you there's no shopping,
or "cultural experiences" in
places where items are for sale,
ask them to give it to you in writing.
Chances are they'll confess that
there are stops in shops, but that's
why the tour is as cheap as it is.
If you really don't want shopping
stops, buy your tour directly from
a company that is forthright about
the presence or absence of shopping
in their itineraries, such as my recommended
tour companies; or buy a employ
a private guide to give you a private
or semi-private tour where
you control the itinerary (which will
probably
be more expensive).
2. Study the shopping market
before your tour. Shop for
souvenirs on your own, finding the
shops yourself so no one can claim
a commission from your visit. Go
to two or three shops and price similar
goods to get an idea of average prices
and quality. Turkish shopkeepers
are usually extraordinarily helpful,
happily explaining how items are
made and the different levels of
quality.
If you know something about the market,
you'll be able to judge whether or
not the prices in a tour shop are appropriate for
the goods and level of service.
3. Bring a book. If
you want to take advantage of a low
tour price but don't want to pay high
prices in a tour shop, enjoy the shop's
hospitality, the "cultural lessons," the
free tea or soft drinks, and when you've
had enough, find a comfortable seat
and read your book. (Shameless plug:
read Bright
Sun, Strong Tea!)
Actually,
you may find it difficult
to find a seat, as many
tour shops purposely keep seating
to a minimum so that
you'll
keep moving, looking, and shopping.
4. Report your experiences
on the TTP
Forums. Good or bad,
help other travelers by telling what
you've experienced while shopping
in Turkey.
Here's
how to file a complaint.
Recommended
Travel Agents & Tour Operators
Recommended Private Guides
How
to Check a Turkish Travel Agency
How
to File a Complaint
Travel
Agencies & Tour Operators Homepage
About
Turkish Travel Agencies & Tour
Operators
Itineraries & Guided
Tours
Shopping
in Turkey
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to Go
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