Hi,
Do shops in Germany have after Christmas sales? Do the sales start the day after Christmas or in January?

What are the best places for shopping? I would be interested in both cities and small villages.

Thank you.

Most of the sales in Germany occur mid-January. July and January are the two monthes that Germans put EVERYTHING on clearance.

Thank you!

If you are close to a US Army installation visit one of their bookstores. They will sell you books. They usually have a Bargain Hunting In Germany book for the troops to use. We have one from the 90s and it has some good tips.

Also, be sure to get the VAT certificate when you purchase an expensive item. You MUST get it from the shop where purchased, not later.

We enjoy shopping in the small towns in stores owned by local people that sell locally made items. You can find some unique items in these places.

Thank you, Bob. The book sounds fun. We deffinately want to shop in the small towns. Happy New Year!

Just a note......unless you have military/DOD ID or work on the Army installation...you will NOT be allowed on post. Especially now, these installations are closed to the general public and strictly guarded. You could always hang around outside the gate and ask some nice soldier to go in and buy the book for you

A better option, IMHO, than spending vacation time hanging around the gates of a military base would be to click on:
http://www.awchamburg.org/AWCH_Getti...n_Hunting.html

for excellent bargain hunting advice, plus instructions on how to order Bargain Hunting in Germany (the German-language edition, but anyone with basic German should be able to puzzle out names of the stores and directions suggested in the book) directly from Amazon.

Thank you for the helpful replies!

If you are in Garmisch check out the bookstore there. It is not a post and not protected as one poster mentioned. Most of the bookstores in the resort areas are not protected as they are not on Army forts.