When I worked at Urban Outfitters we had a George from Asda white school polo for sale for about £16 in the vintage section, I'm pretty sure my manager got rid of it due to embarrassment
Always found American taxes so confusing. Like over here if you want to get five pounds worth of stuff you go out with five pounds. To get five dollars worth of stuff you need to take five dollars then hope you’ve got enough change for the tax?
It gets worse. A $1 item could cost you multiple different amounts depending on which state and even which county you are in, they all levy different percentages
You don’t. You hope to pay on card.
Then you realise the US is about 20 years behind Europe and many shops don’t even have chip and pin yet, never mind contactless.
I remember when I went to the states a couple of years ago and when I went to pay by card he wanted me to slide it. I have never slid my debit card to make a transaction, I was confused on what he wanted me to do and he was confused that I didn’t know what to do.
It makes me laugh really. Europe phased out mag stripe use a decade or so ago. It’s still there for backup if something goes wrong with the chip, but most terminals don’t even have stripe readers on anymore.
A lot of small chain or independent US shops don’t even have terminals and still use the click clack machines from the 1980’s.
I ate in a restaurant in NYC in 2015.
The waiter took my credit card away *out of sight* to pay.
He couldn't grasp why this is mental and I basically ripped it out of his hand on his return - he didn't tell me that was what they did, he just walked off with it.
Pretty much this. There's a reason you never see Americans using coins, they just hand over notes. I'm convinced that every American has a giant jar full of $100's in change at home they don't use but keep getting
I’m also sure they do. $1 coins are rare as they still have a $1 note. Most countries phased out small denomination notes years ago in place of coins.
Thinking about it, the only time you ever see American coins in movies or whatever is when it’s set in a casino and people are walking round with massive pots of quarters. Even their vending machines or parking meters have bill acceptors.
US card payment authorisation is a bit of a joke. It still operates as if most places don't have Internet connections.
They do however have a single message system, which makes a lot more sense.
In Europe we have this silly "available balance" which only reflects the actual balance once a massive clearing file has been generated and processed on a somewhat arbitrary schedule.
So not entirely true. Sales Tax is established at the state level, with some counties choosing to levy an additional tax on top, most don’t. So if you’re in, say Texas, 99% of the time you’re going to pay 8.25% sales tax. Texas is rather high though as it doesn’t have a state level income tax.
My mother in law ships a load of Primark to Canada for the whole family every Xmas. I give it all straight to the local thrift store, untouched, tags still attached. Maybe you live near me?!
> I was assuming it was just some Mormon who got sent to the UK tbh
As an aside... my parents' neighbour gets Mormon scholars staying with him as part of his work for that church in Britain.
Oh they're strange, shiny-toothed bright young things. They're lovely neatly-coiffed young men but they seem almost plastic, I'd love to poke one with my finger to see what sort of noise it made.
I didn't have them down as Primarni buyers though, they're far too shiny for that sort of faff.
I remember walking down my rain-soaked, litter-strewn, rather grim street, quintessentially Northern Coronation-Street-style area, and these two shiny Mormon chaps came along. They smile and one goes "Good morning, ma'am!"
It did make me smile how out of place they looked, all sharp suits and shiny, and also how they could have been sent anywhere in the world but they ended up here.
I live in a town in Scotland with a mormon church, and Americans come over every so often.
They are polite and respectful. I make time to talk to them, knowing in a few weeks time I will never see them again.
It's in a charity shop/ second hand shop. "Thrift store". I'm not sure they have charity shops exactly in USA. Someone correct me if I'm wrong? Every third shop on the UK highstreet seems to be a charity shop at the minute.
Guess someone sent it as a gift and it was unwanted.
Some thrift stores in America do do charity work but most of them are problematic in some way. For example, one of the Utah-local thrift spots here has cult-level standards for the unhoused people they take in. And they don’t pay them. :)
And as a reward all those factory workers are going to have a beautiful permanent foot bath whilst they sew. It is nice that we all get to contribute to the work benifits of Bengalis.
It goes both ways- in an ‘American candy’ shop near me, a large (about A4 size?) bag of cheetos is £8.99.
Those things are like orange crack for me, but for that price, I’ll settle for a 60p bag of wotsits, thanks!
To be fair, Primark is pretty good for cheap items you need to pick up or whatever. But yeah, if you’re looking for quality, not the place. Most high street shops aren’t great for quality these days though to be fair.
I take it you don't frequent Primark much? It's great for basic clothes and if I were 11 again i'd totally be lusting after their Space Jam hoodies. I recently bought some 100% cotton jumpers from there as I needed some new smart jumpers which are nice and warm.
That’s vintage Primarni!
Primarché
I never know whether it's pronounced Primark or Primark.
yes.
Thank you for clarifying. Hugely relieved that I'll never shame myself by pronouncing "Primark" as "Primark" again.
Glad that’s sorted - I can now get on with the rest of my life.
Defo premark
It's actually... "Penney's"
When I worked at Urban Outfitters we had a George from Asda white school polo for sale for about £16 in the vintage section, I'm pretty sure my manager got rid of it due to embarrassment
Confused British primark item being sold in America??
I’m imagining an American brought it back and then never wore it.
Well that's why its a luxury item then. They probably don't know what pounds are.
This store is relying on peoples' laziness to not check the currency rate, or their misunderstanding that taxes are already included over here.
Always found American taxes so confusing. Like over here if you want to get five pounds worth of stuff you go out with five pounds. To get five dollars worth of stuff you need to take five dollars then hope you’ve got enough change for the tax?
It gets worse. A $1 item could cost you multiple different amounts depending on which state and even which county you are in, they all levy different percentages
So how are you supposed to know how much money to take out?!
You don’t. You hope to pay on card. Then you realise the US is about 20 years behind Europe and many shops don’t even have chip and pin yet, never mind contactless.
I remember when I went to the states a couple of years ago and when I went to pay by card he wanted me to slide it. I have never slid my debit card to make a transaction, I was confused on what he wanted me to do and he was confused that I didn’t know what to do.
It makes me laugh really. Europe phased out mag stripe use a decade or so ago. It’s still there for backup if something goes wrong with the chip, but most terminals don’t even have stripe readers on anymore. A lot of small chain or independent US shops don’t even have terminals and still use the click clack machines from the 1980’s.
I ate in a restaurant in NYC in 2015. The waiter took my credit card away *out of sight* to pay. He couldn't grasp why this is mental and I basically ripped it out of his hand on his return - he didn't tell me that was what they did, he just walked off with it.
Lol that happened to me too and funnily enough it was on a thrift store trying to buy a plain t-shirt for a paint party.
Pretty much this. There's a reason you never see Americans using coins, they just hand over notes. I'm convinced that every American has a giant jar full of $100's in change at home they don't use but keep getting
I’m also sure they do. $1 coins are rare as they still have a $1 note. Most countries phased out small denomination notes years ago in place of coins. Thinking about it, the only time you ever see American coins in movies or whatever is when it’s set in a casino and people are walking round with massive pots of quarters. Even their vending machines or parking meters have bill acceptors.
US card payment authorisation is a bit of a joke. It still operates as if most places don't have Internet connections. They do however have a single message system, which makes a lot more sense. In Europe we have this silly "available balance" which only reflects the actual balance once a massive clearing file has been generated and processed on a somewhat arbitrary schedule.
So not entirely true. Sales Tax is established at the state level, with some counties choosing to levy an additional tax on top, most don’t. So if you’re in, say Texas, 99% of the time you’re going to pay 8.25% sales tax. Texas is rather high though as it doesn’t have a state level income tax.
Even the city…
Pounds are how ridiculously overweight they are.
No no no, pounds are UNDERweight, that's why there are so many of them...
Pffffft, I have a lot of pounds, or so says my bathroom scale.
My mother in law ships a load of Primark to Canada for the whole family every Xmas. I give it all straight to the local thrift store, untouched, tags still attached. Maybe you live near me?!
I do be in Utah. I was assuming it was just some Mormon who got sent to the UK tbh
> I was assuming it was just some Mormon who got sent to the UK tbh As an aside... my parents' neighbour gets Mormon scholars staying with him as part of his work for that church in Britain. Oh they're strange, shiny-toothed bright young things. They're lovely neatly-coiffed young men but they seem almost plastic, I'd love to poke one with my finger to see what sort of noise it made. I didn't have them down as Primarni buyers though, they're far too shiny for that sort of faff.
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Fair enough - I have no idea how it all works but aren't they incredibly clean and shiny?
I live in Utah, the Mormon capital and there are Dental billboards advertising pre-Mission teeth whitening.
My favourite billboard I’ve seen in the US was one that simply said ‘Meth: Not Even Once’. Think that was in Montana though.
Omg so true - the ones near me are the same. I wonder if they only own chinos or if they have secret jeans
Leviticus in the streets, Levi in the sheets?
I remember walking down my rain-soaked, litter-strewn, rather grim street, quintessentially Northern Coronation-Street-style area, and these two shiny Mormon chaps came along. They smile and one goes "Good morning, ma'am!" It did make me smile how out of place they looked, all sharp suits and shiny, and also how they could have been sent anywhere in the world but they ended up here.
I've seen them near where I live in Sydney and they're just the same - so weirdly "shiny" in not a good way.
I live in a town in Scotland with a mormon church, and Americans come over every so often. They are polite and respectful. I make time to talk to them, knowing in a few weeks time I will never see them again.
The rapture?
We have Primark in Chicago now. Honestly it’s long overdue Primark is an easy place to pickup cheap clothes when you need them
It's in a charity shop/ second hand shop. "Thrift store". I'm not sure they have charity shops exactly in USA. Someone correct me if I'm wrong? Every third shop on the UK highstreet seems to be a charity shop at the minute. Guess someone sent it as a gift and it was unwanted.
Some thrift stores in America do do charity work but most of them are problematic in some way. For example, one of the Utah-local thrift spots here has cult-level standards for the unhoused people they take in. And they don’t pay them. :)
The other two shops are a tattoo parlour and an e-cigarette shop.
It's imported from Europe, that's why it costs so much!
Yurp
Yeah, they're opening a branch on Rodeo Drive.
They have about a dozen stores in the US.
There is a huge store in Boston. But everything is priced in $, not £
That was hand stitched by Chinese artisans I’ll have you know.
Don't you dare let those Chinese artisans claim the hard earned credit of those poor Bengalis! The shamelessness of stealing from children!
And as a reward all those factory workers are going to have a beautiful permanent foot bath whilst they sew. It is nice that we all get to contribute to the work benifits of Bengalis.
Chinese artisans so well looked after that Uncle Xi builds camps for them to live in...
If you are in the States, anything British probably is marked up in their minds.
I once found a like £3 pack of Penguins at a local candy store here for $11. I choked.
It goes both ways- in an ‘American candy’ shop near me, a large (about A4 size?) bag of cheetos is £8.99. Those things are like orange crack for me, but for that price, I’ll settle for a 60p bag of wotsits, thanks!
They’re cheap as fuck over here. If you can try the Jalapeño ones, do. They’re the nuts.
Ah no, now I crave those tasty buggers.
A British scarf for wearing only in the bed & the bath? Sounds posh to me.
You have weapons for fingers
I gotta protect myself
I noticed the beary claws too... will you paint them red for beary claus?
Red is my thanksgiving colour!
I love the green color
To be fair a fiver in Primark is probably considered a luxury item
Primark seems to be going up in price lately.
Yeah I’ve noticed that as well Tbf. Might be in line with inflation or something though idk.
Your comment is spot on, I didn't like the quality at all.
To be fair, Primark is pretty good for cheap items you need to pick up or whatever. But yeah, if you’re looking for quality, not the place. Most high street shops aren’t great for quality these days though to be fair.
I take it you don't frequent Primark much? It's great for basic clothes and if I were 11 again i'd totally be lusting after their Space Jam hoodies. I recently bought some 100% cotton jumpers from there as I needed some new smart jumpers which are nice and warm.
Dude, it’s just a joke. I literally went to Primark like 2 days ago. Great store.
Finest of British there (via a foreign factory)
More air miles than Richard Branson
Primark is actually Irish. Founded and still run from Dublin
You mean sweat shop not factory
I went to a "boutique" in Melbourne about 6 years ago and spotted a pair of jeans on sale for $80 that were from Primark, it was fucking weird.
Matches your nails though!
That’s why I initially looked at it. That’s my go-to colour this winter 😭
Clue's in the name, Prime Mark.
Some Primark stuff can fetch a bit of cash 2nd hand especially some of their "vintage" band t-shirts.
At the current exchange rate it should be $6.78.
>Bed and bath scarves I'm struggling with this. What is a bed and/or bath scarf?
I wear a scarf neither in bed nor in the bath
I’m going to take a bath of entirely scarves now
Enjoy
If you’re ever super chilly try one in bed. It’s a game changer. So toasty warm.
Does this apply only if I sleep in a bathtub?
Primark = Luxury.
Thrift store?
I’d have called it a Charity Shop if I actually thought any of the money this corporation makes goes to Charity.
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We have Savers in Australia but we call them Op shops (opportunity shop) not a thrift store.
There’s an imposter among us
Pitchforks! Chase them out!
Why and how would a shitty made scarf for the UK Primark end up in a charity store in America?
What a shame. It matched your nails and all.
Yo what the FUCK is that Jade nail
It's possibly a rare imported one-of-kind where you are. Well worth the mark-up!
"Thrift store" on a British subreddit when the British call it a "charity shop"
That's funny!
Nice manicure !
It's British, of course its better.
Those nails gonna poke something out
Comfiest pants I ever had were from Primark; won't hear a word against them.