A field guide to cross-border price gaps
The same thing costs different money on either side of a border
Tariffs, indirect taxes, regional brand pricing, distance from the factory, exchange rates, and the depth of the secondhand market. There are only six reasons a price gap exists — and once you know them, what to buy where answers itself.
×2.5 means the same item runs roughly 2.5× as much outside that country. These compare what a traveller actually pays — outlets, big-box retail and secondhand included — not list price against list price. Ranges, because FX and timing move them.
Why a price gap exists
Buying on a vague sense that things are cheaper on holiday is how travellers overpay. A price gap is never mysterious: it comes from one of six mechanisms, sometimes two together, and which one is operating tells you two useful things — roughly how large the gap should be, and what will go wrong when you try to take the goods home.
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01
Tariffs and indirect tax
Apparel, leather goods and footwear carry the heaviest import duties almost everywhere. Layer on the domestic consumption tax — 10% in Japan, roughly 20% VAT across the EU, 0% to over 10% in US sales tax depending on the state — and the same product becomes structurally more expensive in any market that stacks duty on top of domestic tax. This is why an imported handbag is dear in Japan and a domestically made knife is not.
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02
Regional brand pricing
The single biggest factor, and the most often missed. One brand runs different price ladders in different markets, deliberately. Polo Ralph Lauren is a US mall staple but sits in Japan as an imported label at a premium; Uniqlo is everyday clothing in Japan and a "Japanese design brand" abroad. The rule that falls out of this: a brand is almost always cheapest in its home market.
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03
Distance from the factory
Locally made and locally stocked means no freight, no importer, no distributor margin. Sakai and Seki blades, Okayama denim, Imabari towels, Solingen steel, northern Italian leather. Buying at the source typically removes two or three intermediaries, and each of them was taking a cut.
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04
Exchange rates
A weak currency makes locally priced goods look cheap to a visitor — but only while those local prices hold. Imported goods catch up with six to twelve months of lag as replacement stock arrives at the new rate. So FX widens the gap on domestically made goods and does almost nothing for imports. Never buy an import on an FX argument.
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05
Depth of the secondhand market
Japan's standout mechanism. Fast replacement cycles, fine-grained and consistent condition grading, serious authentication, and heavy supply. Cameras, watches, instruments, golf clubs and games all price differently here because "used" carries a different level of risk than it does elsewhere — and that difference in risk is the price gap.
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06
Tax-free schemes and VAT refunds
Departing travellers can claw back indirect tax. Japan refunds its 10% consumption tax; EU VAT schemes net roughly 10–14% back after operator fees. Minimum spend, paperwork and deadlines all vary by country, and the refund is forfeited entirely if you miss the customs step on departure. Not knowing the rules costs 10–20% on identical purchases.
What to buy in Japan
The mechanisms at work in Japan are mostly three: proximity to production, the exchange rate, and the depth of the secondhand market. Which gives a rule you can apply without a list — buy things Japan makes, and things Japanese people have let go of.
Drugstore & cosmetics
Japanese OTC medicine, eye drops and sunscreen run 1.5–4× cheaper than abroad. What is worth buying, which chains are cheapest, and the customs limits.
Tools & craft
Kitchen knives, fountain pens, prescription glasses and Imabari towels cost 1.5–4× more outside Japan. Where to buy each, and how to fly blades home.
Secondhand market
Japan grades condition harder and stocks more than anywhere, so used cameras, watches and retro games run 1.2–5× below overseas prices. Where to go.
Apparel
Uniqlo and Muji are 1.4–2× cheaper in their home market, and Okayama denim beats any specialist abroad. What to buy, and what to avoid entirely.
Hobby, food & drink
Model kits, fishing reels, matcha and sake cost 1.4–4× more outside Japan. What travels well, what customs stops, and what is already overpriced.
Japan tax-free 2026
From 1 November 2026 Japan switches from point-of-sale tax exemption to an airport refund. What changes, what it means for departure day.
What to buy where
One rule covers most of this: buy in the brand's home country, or in the material's home region. Everything else is detail.
United States
Polo Ralph Lauren, Levi's, Brooks Brothers · Outdoor gear (Patagonia, The North Face, REI) · Supplements and protein
South Korea
Eyewear with exam and lenses included · Cosmetics and skincare · Dermatology and aesthetic procedures
Italy
Leather shoes at factory outlets · Leather bags and small goods · Ties, shirts and jackets
United Kingdom
Goodyear-welted shoes (Church's, Crockett & Jones) · Factory-shop seconds · Tweed and knitwear (Harris, Shetland)
France
Luxury goods at home-boutique prices · Cookware (Staub, Le Creuset, De Buyer) · Pharmacy skincare (Avène, Bioderma, La Roche-Posay)
Germany
Blades and kitchenware (Zwilling, WMF) · Hand tools (Wera, Knipex, Gedore) · Board games, German editions
Thailand & Vietnam
Dental work (implants, cosmetic) · Bespoke suits and shirts · Silk and linen goods
Taiwan
High-mountain oolong tea · Dried fruit and bottarga · PC components and electronic parts
What not to buy on the road
Price gaps have a direction, and the assumption that travel makes things cheaper is the most expensive mistake on this site. Each of the six below runs the wrong way for a structural reason, not a seasonal one — these do not become good buys during a sale.