Tried searching this topic here: out of 157 posts, 153 on "weather." Go figure. Anyway, how much bargaining is possible in the markets? How about at the leather school behind San Croce? And does anyone have a favorite shop to recommend? (Specifically, I'm thinking along the lines of briefcase or tote.)

You can only bargain with cash. I've bargained in the San Lorenzo market for just about everything.

Know, though, that the merchants in the market are savvy and know well the 'market price' for goods (no pun intended). They aren't going to let you get away with any huge steals. <BR> <BR>If you are shopping for gloves, the markets has many colors in basic styles, and wrist length (about 20000 lire/pair of womens), but I suggest finding the Martinelli shop. <BR>

We just got back a couple of weeks ago and my husband and I both bought leather jackets right by the church there in San Croce. We looked in the leather in the church, but couldn't find the style we wanted. Phillip referred us to 'Old Florence' just to the right of the church as you walk out the front. Talk to Caesar - great guy and very willing to bargain. My husband got his jacket for $250, down from about $350 starting price. I didn't even want a jacket, so of course Caesar kept dropping the price for me to a point that i ended up buying one for $150. Had we held out for my husband's jacket, we probably could have had it for $200. <BR>We paid by credit card for my husband's jacket and mine with cash. <BR>Great leather. I would definitely recommend this shop. <BR>

We weren't looking for briefcases or totes, but we did buy great leather jackets in Santa Croce. The salesmen are all ultra-smooth and they make you feel like you're getting a terrific deal. However, I doubt if they're really cutting into their profits too much. <BR> <BR>Example: the jackets we saw in Santa Croce were all marked at over 1 million lire and the salesmen in all the stores promised us 30-50% "discounts" without any haggling on our part. The pricing seemed suspect, but with the dollar so strong, we went ahead and bought anyway. And, as others have said, you can get an additional discount if you pay in cash. <BR> <BR>The leather in San Lorenzo and (Porto Roca?) open-air markets all looked great and I'm sure you can walk away with nice stuff at a comparatively good price. Coming from Boston, I'm used to seeing poor-quality leather at high prices, so I was very happy not having to bargain in Italy and still get great things for much less than I would at home. <BR> <BR>Furthermore, I don't know what you're willing to spend, but don't overlook the upscale stores on Via Calzuoli, Porta Roca, etc. because you think they're too expensive. We browsed through places like Furla and Max Mara and found that the leather was surprisingly cheaper than in the US. <BR> <BR>Have fun!

My wife bought some very nice purses at the Leather School early in our trip last year. Therefore she was able to compare as we traveled more in Italy. She found the prices there to be as good or better than other places and the quality to be better than some. Her leather school purses were all leather lined. Some of the other shops were not. We did a little bargaining, but not much. I also bought a belt and was pleased with price and quality. We will be back in Florence again in three weeks, so I am sure I will be back to the leather school.

My wife bought some real Louis Vutton (sp?) handbags-dirt cheap after we negotiated for 30 mins.! She already owned several and knew these were real.Got best deals in Venice though. <BR>