The Signature
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Winter Discount shopping season kicks off in Sicily By Dr. Alberto Lunetta, NAS Sigonella Public Affairs
magine a “Black Friday” weekend IItaly’s that lasts three months! annual winter “stagione dei
saldi,” or discount season, kicked off Jan. 7 and will last until March 15. This is the first of two annual governmentregulated periods for such a special sale. The other discount season starts on the second Saturday of July and lasts until Sept. 15. Expect long lines at checkout counters and excited shoppers; however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic’s safety regulations, you won’t find yourself among a crowd of people pushing and shoving their way into stores like the usual first days of the post-holiday season sale. This sales season is expected to provide some relief for Sicilian retailers who were forced to temporarily close during Christmas due to a new national government-imposed lockdown. Various media outlets reported that, according to consumers’ associations, Sicily’s retailers have been facing a catastrophic crisis since the beginning of the pandemic, and 30% of them might not be open anymore in January. So get ready to buy high-quality Italian, stylish items at bargain prices, but watch out for retailers who trumpet big discounts. Here are some good rules of thumb provided by Italy Consumer Associations. Try to listen to these tips so you will avoid rip-offs and disputes with merchants that are difficult to handle if you don’t speak Italian. First of all, do not trust discounts higher than 50% from the initial price. A “sensational” 80%-90% discount sounds like a tempting offer, but it is probably a rip-off. Be sure to look an item over carefully before you buy it. Check different
Sigonella bargain hunters will be happy to hear that the new year’s clearance sales season begun in Italy yesterday. (Photo by www.direttasicilia.it)
shops to compare prices. If you have visited a store in the past, you might be able to evaluate if a product was overpriced and then marked down. Stores must display on the tags the initial prezzo (price) and the reduced price, both in ciphers and in percentage. Remember that during the discount season, defective merchandise can be exchanged or returned as usual. There is no “special return policy” when you purchase an on-sale item. Therefore, always keep your “scontrino,” or receipt, and distrust the shops that display signs saying: “la merce venduta non si cambia” (purchased merchandise cannot be returned) or “all sales are final.” By law, you have the right to change any defective clothing or shoe that is not up to sample within two months. Retailers can either refund you or give you a coupon that should be spent in the same shop, and it is best to confirm this when you make your purchases. Some storeowners are sometimes reluctant, already, after a week, to
change defective merchandise. With that being said, once you buy something and later you don’t like it anymore, you cannot get your money back just because you don’t like it anymore. Personal taste is not a legitimate reason to exchange an item. Finally, remember that you can use any method of payment. Don’t trust shop owners who display signs saying “non si accettano carte di credito e bancomat” (credit cards and ATM cards are not accepted). If you don’t see any signs around, and the sales clerk tells you about it upon paying, tell them you know they must accept your credit card.
Who is La Befana? hen I was a kid, I remember W being very excited on the night of Jan. 5 because I knew that
the next morning, I would get some special gifts from her. Before I actually went to sleep, I used to place empty stockings under the Christmas tree. "Italian News" cont’d on Page 11
