When traveling abroad, the urge to buy something to remind you of the place you visited can be overwhelming. Should you give in to your urge and buy something that you probably won't find useful? For example, why would you want to buy a grotesque traditional mask if you won't be wearing it on Halloween? If you really want some kind of memento, why not just photograph the souvenir you wanted to buy, thank the buyer and strut off. That way you'll have it [the souvenir] with you without having to pay for it? Your thoughts, guys?
When it comes to saving on souvenirs, buy what and where the locals buy. The souvenir shops are typically overpriced and filled with gaudy trinkets. If you can find local artwork, pottery, or other items that are being sold to the local population, you will likely pay less and end up buying something more attractive. Another thing to consider is mailing the items to yourself at home. With airlines charging extra for additional bags and overweight bags, you can often save by shipping your trinkets home separately. There is often less hassle with customs as you don't have to sit around and wait for them to go through your bags.
I don't see an issue with splurging to buy a few memento's from an overseas vacation or something. Usually, those sort of vacations are a once in a lifetime trips, so why not buy what you want? Saving money is great practice for most things, but on a big vacation trip, I think it makes more sense to spend and buy what you want, rather than just try to pinch pennies.
Some stores would find this to be rather rude, so be careful. And otherwise, I don't mind spending a few bucks to get a souvenir, but my choices have also grown up over the years. I no longer buy things like pens or keychains that won't get used or ever seen even. I was so drawn to needing something that had the name on it that I would end up with items that I didn't even want to see later. Instead, I buy things that will obviously remind me of a place, but without needing to say the name. For example, I might buy a vase that I love, even if it has nothing to do with the place I went. I'm still going to remember it whenever I see it and that's the point of a souvenir anyway.
I think it's rude to walk into someone's store and take a picture without buying anything. Some things you could do are mailing postcards to yourself while on vacation with little notes on what you did that day, and putting them in a little album when you get home. Or you could buy something edible like a sauce or spice from you vacation country and you'll remember your vacation every time you put some of that spice in your food. My friend collects hot sauce from all over the country and she uses them too.
I like doing this as gifts, too! I will buy something that really represents the location I visited and then gift it to others who weren't with me. I bought hot sauces for my sister one years, for example, and brought back a whole bunch of various Asian foods when I visited Vancouver the first time.
If you're looking for the cheesy type of souvenir, like a stuffed animal or a flag, you can normally find cheap stuff like that at a dollar/euro/pound store. I've also had lot of friends ask me to bring them back a rock or shell from a country, super cheap and you know it's naturally from the country, a great free reminder of your trip.
I don't generally bring back souviners for anyone, not even myself. I used to buy dumb little things when I was younger, like plushies, keychains, patches and pins, but I never had anything to put them on! So they usually got dumped into a donation box during spring cleaning. I now only buy stuff that I can use, but still only sparingly. Like, for instance, when I went (back, for the second time) to London, I bought myself a pretty little shot glass from the Tower of London, from Paris (under the Eiffel Tower no less!) I bought myself an interesting top, and from Wales (right by the Cardiff Castle) I bought myself a really pretty ring and necklace set. I also bought myself a really cool t-shirt from the special Fright Night they did during Halloween week at the the East Penitentiary in Philly. So pretty much everything that I could either use or wear. But, when it comes to getting stuff for other people, I generally just send a pretty post card from where ever I'm staying. It's become sort of thing among our friend group now that we're all in our twenties and traveling around the globe. Someone askes for addresses for post cards, we all pm ours to the person, and they send everyone who sent a message a post card! I did it for my friends while I was in England and my one friend sent me one from when she was in Italy. It works for everyone!
A fantastic way to save on souvenirs is to find the local Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart usually has local are items that will really help your budget. You do not have to spend a fortune on memoirs. You could also get free souvenirs from the rest areas and/or beaches.
I think that the best way to save on souvenirs is to stay away from hotel lobby shops and the commerce nearby. This includes all tourist zones because where the tourists are, the prices are more expensive. So go and explore the place where you are, you will find cheaper souvenirs and more likely things that are different and aren't just those common places that usually we buy on the souvenir shops.
When I went to Ecuador this past winter, I can say that I bought a ton of souvenirs. But, the thing is that almost all of them were useful items. I went to the Otavalo craft market and the prices there are very nice for the handmade products, and even then I haggled on the prices. I got scarves, hats, sweaters, wallets and more for less than a hundred dollars. They have all been given away to friends and family and used, and they all love it. Other than that, I don't really buy souvenirs for myself, as the memories are enough for me. But yeah, if you do buy souvenirs, definitely try and find sources that are more open to haggling and less formal. Stores that use cash registers and receipts will all probably not be open to this, so watch for the lack of those in nations that are known for haggling.
Take a camera with you and a picture, the cheapest. But if you are really looking for a physical thing, then bring something you could trade to someone from there. Or get anything that's unique from there like a rock or a leaf. It could be a sand also, anything that you find cute and something you only saw there. But more than this, the best souvenirs you can have are your memories. When you are in a place, make sure that your stay there will be really unforgettable. Otherwise, it would be just gone to waste. Make the place, where you traveled, have a fractional space in your heart and in your brain.
When my sister went to Greece last year, she brought back some inexpensive, but cool souvenirs. She brought my parents a bottle of olive oil and me a ceramic coffee mug that has a little sheep's head on it. It's so cute. And the year before she went to France and brought me back a soap dish and a bar of handcrafted olive oil soap. So there are interesting things to take back home, you just have to put the time into looking for them.
Yeah, in general, I try to be really sensible whenever I buy souvenirs. I make sure that I'm able to use them at least for something. For example, I like buying those keychains containing the name of the city which also double functions as a bottle opener. Or there are keychains which also function as a mirror. Those are ok to buy because they are useful. On the other hand, I hate buying those costume type of items because for sure, there's no use for them when I get home.
I never thought about it, but that's true. I live in Miami and our local Walmart sells Miami souvenirs like postcards, magnets, pens etc. with tourist-y photos of the city. I never thought about who those were for, but I guess budget conscious tourists would want them. I guess each location would have souvenirs unique for that area, at Walmart prices.
A good way to save money on souvenirs is simply not to buy any the first couple days of a trip if you are going to be in one place for longer than that. This way, you can look at a variety of places and decide if something you wanted the first day is really worth spending your money on or not. The worst thing is to splurge early on, and then not have enough money for something fantastic you find towards the end of your trip. Also, by using this strategy, you may decide that while you saw many interesting things, very few were worth taking home, and so you have more money at the end to either save for the next trip or splurge on a nice meal or experience that you might not have been able to do had you spent your money on tacky and cheap souvenirs. I also no longer buy souvenirs for anyone, though I may sent a postcard.