Summer Sales Season Kicks off in Sicily

The sales season is back in Sicily! Shoppers, get ready to strike good bargains but also be alert to potential rip-offs. (Photo by Milanoevents.it)

Summer Sales Season Kicks off in Sicily

By Alberto Lunetta NAS Sigonella Public Affairs

The sales season is finally here! Despite the economic crisis, long lines of shoppers are ready to strike good bargains. The “sconti di fine stagione” (end-of-the-season sales) began last week and lasts until mid-September. Some shops will continue offering discounts until the end of September. A similar sales season occurs in the winter, as well. During the first days, Italian shoppers will flock to stores for good deals, so expect long lines.

Due to the current financial crisis and bad weather which have disrupted the spring shopping season, analysts are predicting that retailers will immediately offer a 50 percent reduction to lure consumers to their stores. Consumer associations estimate that Italian families will spend an average of 270 Euros during the summer discount shopping season. While you’re searching for big bargains, make sure you are aware of some tips that the Italian Consumer Associations recommends to protect yourself. This will help you avoid rip-offs and disputes with merchants that would otherwise be difficult to handle if you don’t speak Italian.

1) The first rule of thumb is to check prices before the discount season begins to be able to make price comparison. Do not trust discounts higher than 50 percent off the original price. A sensational 80 or 90 percent discount might sound like a tempting offer, but it is probably a rip-off.

2) Some unfair retailers might try to sell worn or damaged items as “promotional sales” just to reduce the quantity of merchandise in stock.

3) Remember that during the discount season, defective merchandise can still be exchanged or returned as usual. There is no “special return policy” when you shop during discount sales. You have the right to return any defective fabric or shoe that is not up to sample within two months. Retailers can either refund you or give you a voucher that can be spent in the same shop. Therefore, always keep your “scontrino” (receipt) and avoid shops that display signs saying: “la merce venduta non si cambia” (purchased merchandise cannot be exchanged) or “all sales are final.”

4) Be sure to look an item over carefully before you buy it. Check different shops to compare prices. As a general rule, if you have recently arrived in Sicily and have not had a chance to explore the shopping scene yet, be oriented toward buying at big department stores, where sales are usually fair.

5) Stores must display on merchandise tags the initial “prezzo” (price) and the reduced price, both in ciphers and in percentage.

6) Finally, remember that you can use any way of payment. Mistrust shop owners displaying signs saying “non si accettano carte di credito e bancomat” (credit cards and ATM cards are not accepted) because of the sales season. That’s illegal. If you don’t see any signs around, and the sales clerk tells you about it upon paying, tell them you know they are supposed to accept your credit card or ATM card.

Italy’s Mafia Uses the Old Lira as its Own Parallel Currency

From Bloomberg

Italy’s proposed mini T-Bills may be pie in the sky for now, but it appears that the country already has another currency floating around: the old lira.

A senior police officer recently revealed that domestic criminal organizations are still using the pre-euro currency for illicit transactions. It’s not clear how the former notes are ultimately exchanged for euros, if at all; though he said officers are still uncovering them. The lira ceased to be legal tender in February 2002.

“We still discover big amounts of liras,” Giuseppe Arbore, a deputy in the Guardia di Finanza, which investigates financial crimes, said at a parliamentary hearing on Thursday. “Italian liras still constitute parts of illicit transactions.’’

Arbore’s remarks prompted amazement among lawmakers of the Senate Finance Committee, where he was testifying on a government bill aimed at simplifying the tax system. When pressed to provide examples, he said he couldn’t elaborate, citing ongoing investigations.

“When a banknote is accepted by an organization internally, even if it is outside the law as a legal value, it can settle transactions,’’ he said. “We are obviously talking about illicit organizations.’’

The disclosure follows days of speculation and criticism of a proposal by members of Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini’s party for mini T-bills to pay state creditors, which some fear would be a first step toward a parallel currency, and even an exit from the euro.

Though it’s little more than an idea and far from being introduced, if ever, it’s come under fire from Finance Minister Giovanni Tria and fellow Italian Mario Draghi, the European Central Bank president. Both said that it would increase the nation’s staggering debt and would be illegal if used as a parallel currency.

Under current legislation, it’s not possible to convert lira, and the Bank of Italy years ago transferred the equivalent value of the currency still in circulation to the state, around 1.2 billion euros, according to the central bank’s website.

It’s not the first time that the mob and the former currency have been linked. In 2012, the central bank’s Financial Information Unit report said it worked with the Bureau of Anti-Mafia Investigation on “suspicious transaction reports’’ relating to lira-euro conversions.

Many things are unclear about the idea that Italy’s government could issue what would amount to small-denomination IOUs to pay some of its bills. How would the so-called mini-BOTs work? Are they a clever way of giving the country’s sluggish economy a boost? Would they amount to a parallel currency to the euro, or even a prelude to leaving it? Are they a sly way of getting around the European Union’s rules on debt? One thing is sure: markets don’t like any of these possibilities.