# cheaper or more expensive



## Elli and Tony (Jan 13, 2014)

Hello.
We will be moving to a village near Penela, Central Portugal in March 2014. Moving from the UK we are wondering if we should stock up on certain household items to bring. Are everyday items such as suntan lotion etc cheaper in the UK? 
Would be great to have some feedback on things worth bringing over from the UK that are cheaper here. 
Looking forward to our move and a new start in life.
Elli and Tony


----------



## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

Assuming you'll be able to get online, it probably doesn't make a heck of a lot of difference either way because you can order most things from sites such as amazon & british corner shop etc to get UK prices & products.


----------



## canoeman (Mar 3, 2011)

Certain things yes but you'll be surprised on how many branded products are cheaper here than UK without knowing your exact shopping difficult to say but enough to export back to UK


----------



## BodgieMcBodge (Mar 8, 2013)

Welcome
From B*Q last week to the local Brico*arce today cheaper here are
Chainsaws, chainsaw files, spanners, timber, petrol cans, gas heaters, tools, garden tools, rotavators, boats, these are my everyday items. Also the quality and range here is different so a direct comparison doesn't work. UK plumbing supplies are not the same as here,eg. there is a UK PVC waste pipe of 40mm but here it is a 50mm.Bring the essentials like Mar*ite (no advertising) as your local village shop may not stock this. 



Elli and Tony said:


> Hello.
> We will be moving to a village near Penela, Central Portugal in March 2014. Moving from the UK we are wondering if we should stock up on certain household items to bring. Are everyday items such as suntan lotion etc cheaper in the UK?
> Would be great to have some feedback on things worth bringing over from the UK that are cheaper here.
> Looking forward to our move and a new start in life.
> Elli and Tony


----------



## notlongnow (May 21, 2009)

> suntan lotion etc cheaper


Sun lotion is one thing that is a LOT cheaper, especially if you go to Poundland - the stuff from there works, so it really is worth getting a drawer full.

UK condiments, if you use them - i.e. English mustard, horseradish, cranberry sauce. All easy enough to find here but always more expensive - so if you're shipping a box of stuff then grab them.

Shampoos and shower gels are far more expensive in Portugal too. 

Medications: we always grab Lemsip in the UK, and generic paracetomol and ibuprofen. 

Of course some of the things I mention above are heavy, so there's only so much you can take on a flight. One Xmas I purchased three big jars of cranberry sauce and had to pay £10 for going over the weight limit, which rather defeated the object! But if you are shipping possessions it's worth chucking some of these things in. 

The same items are those we often ask our guests to bring.


----------



## Ronnie_Yook (May 9, 2012)

Hello and welcome to beautiful Central Portugal, when you arrive,

From our experience of renovating etc down here, my advice would be to bring as much as you can, but I see you are asking about household items....one item we seem to use a lot of, is "Savlon" ointment, which I understand is not available from the farmacias (chemists) here.

Note that (in our area of Central Portugal) most pharmaceutical products are not available in the shops or supermarkets...even Aspirin. All are supplied from the expensive farmacias (chemists)!


----------



## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

Ronnie is quite right in that a lot of small Brit items aren't available here but there's not much you can't get online & usually at a reasonable price.

Good quality pet food is one example. It's close to half the price on amazon.co.uk as it is in the shops here.


----------



## Ronnie_Yook (May 9, 2012)

travelling-man said:


> Ronnie is quite right in that a lot of small Brit items aren't available here but there's not much you can't get online & usually at a reasonable price.
> 
> Good quality pet food is one example. It's close to half the price on amazon.co.uk as it is in the shops here.


Yes, travellingman, excellent, re Amazon, they presently use MRW for transport logistics and we have received 100% on all our orders with them, as we live "in the sticks" the friendly MRW drivers usually fone us to pre-arrange meeting up to collect our orders. Do note that if you feel like tackling the language, that Amazon in particular also have facilities in other European countries (see bottom of Amazon webpage) the mainland European companies are also useful if you want to pay in €uros which in some cases is cheaper than Amazon in UK!

Ordering on-line is probably a vital part of ex-pat living overseas, but do bear in mind the logistics and costs of transporting to and from the UK. You will see some of those particular difficulties of expats posted on this forum ie: GLS & Royal Mail!

An important point to remember, is re: electrical goods, where ordered with a UK company will probably come with a UK "3-pin" electricity plug, whereas european purchases should come with the 2-pin plug.


----------



## travelling-man (Jun 17, 2011)

Ronnie_Yook said:


> Yes, travellingman, excellent, re Amazon, they presently use MRW for transport logistics and we have received 100% on all our orders with them, as we live "in the sticks" the friendly MRW drivers usually fone us to pre-arrange meeting up to collect our orders. Do note that if you feel like tackling the language, that Amazon in particular also have facilities in other European countries (see bottom of Amazon webpage) the mainland European companies are also useful if you want to pay in €uros which in some cases is cheaper than Amazon in UK!
> 
> Ordering on-line is probably a vital part of ex-pat living overseas, but do bear in mind the logistics and costs of transporting to and from the UK. You will see some of those particular difficulties of expats posted on this forum ie: GLS & Royal Mail!
> 
> *An important point to remember, is re: electrical goods, where ordered with a UK company will probably come with a UK "3-pin" electricity plug, whereas european purchases should come with the 2-pin plug.*


The good news is amazon.co.uk sell a neat little adaptor for about 2 or 3 quid. 

One thing I did miss here was good snorkers/sausages but then I found tongmaster.co.uk which sells all kinds of sausagy herbs & spices etc which in turn inspired me to buy a snorker making machine from amazon.


----------



## canoeman (Mar 3, 2011)

and a lot of computer related items and others come with a 3 pin plug that a 2 pin either pushes into or clips in body but it's only a few minutes work to replace a plug


----------



## siobhanwf (Mar 20, 2009)

Items supplied & dispatched by AMAZON themselves are free delivery to Portugal if the order is over £25.


----------

