Originally Posted by
mzzxx11
ShopAround:
I've also shopped in Italy, and GB commission was around 50%.
They have an online cacluator:
http://www.globalblue.com/tax-free-s...nd-calculator/
I've just keyed-in a 200EUR purchase. The VAT rate in Italy is 22%, so the refund should be 44EUR, while the calculator shows a 25EUR refund, or a 12.5%, which is roughly half. The other half is of course GB's fee.
I don't see why a 3rd party must be involved in the process since the VAT is collected and refunded by the government. I understand they charge a premium for a speedy processing that is required, but if one is not in a hurry why pay a commission to a middleman?.
I think the "rough" estimate of 50% suffers from both approximation and error.
First, 25 refunded on 44 euros is actually 56.8% refunded and 43.2% cost. So, 50% is an exaggerated approximation.
More importantly, the 22% VAT is not 44€. Rather, it is €36.07 which is 22% of €163.93. The €200 price is the items COST marked up by 22%. The VAT is not 22% of the sticker but rather ~18%.
That said, Global Blue does take a bite (albeit, I believe, smaller the more you spend).
As an aside, my wife wanted to pick up a synthetic Prada purse at the Marche outlet store in July (they are lighter than leather bags and still have some style). She ended up with a travel/computer attache that was 550€ - a deal vs. sticker of 1300 or so. The server that processes the detax would just not work so they finally just knocked the VAT off the sticker and charged us that. Good deal for us. We got all of the refund, no paperwork hassle and my wife could use the bag immediately (technically you are not supposed to until you leave the country).