just an article some might find interesting...

Shopping I-5

There's lots of choice right here at home, but the near-par dollar is tempting many to try the malls down south

Andrew Mccredie , Special to the Sun



The Seattle Premium Outlet Mall has it all.

Handout photo


As someone who would rather have a root canal in an airplane with its engines on fire than spend an afternoon "at the mall," the very idea of a cross-border shopping getaway had me burying my passport in the garden.

But with the dollar's strength and a dated, 10-year-old wardrobe to encourage me, I found my long dormant inner consumer nodding in agreement as my wife made plans for a full-out assault on the newest Church of Consumption to straddle Washington state's I-5 highway -- Seattle Premium Outlets.

With more than 100 outlet brand stores that even a retail rookie will recognize -- Adidas, Calvin Klein, Nike, Polo Ralph Lauren, Sony and Quicksilver to name but a few -- SPO is one of many "unique outdoor-setting" factory outlet centres operated throughout the United States by a company called Chelsea Premium Outlets..
Located in Tulalip, about an hour south on I-5 from the Peace Arch border crossing and within shopping-cart-pushing distance of the mammoth Tulalip Resort Casino (and soon to open Hotel and Spa), Seattle Premium Outlets is what you would also consider the 21st-century template for a shopping experience -- a wide variety of stores offering everything from clothes to televisions to diamond rings to crock pots at much lower prices than what you'd find in traditional retail stores. And with a selection, from my experience, wider and more varied than their Canadian counterpart stores.
Likewise, the exterior and interior architecture of the SPO stores eschews the typical bland factory outlet feel in favour of a high-street boulevard boutique experience. To that end, there is a distinct Pacific Northwest feel to the place, defined by an amorphous canopy supported by big logs in the mall's centre courtyard. We visited on a sunny day, so the Northwest elements weren't a factor, but on a rainy day you would be dashing from storefront to storefront.

The factory outlet concept isn't exactly new, but what is is the explosion of these shopping centres along the I-5 between the Canada-U.S. border and south Seattle. No fewer than a dozen can be found in and around northwest Washington state's main highway, a dozen more if you follow the I-5 south into Oregon and into the city of Portland.

And now with the Canadian dollar settling in par range with the U.S. dollar, that stretch of highway is a highway of dreams for cross-border shoppers.

And what this conglomeration of factory outlets has created, one becoming even more pronounced with the loonie's rise, is a burgeoning tourist industry -- that of the shopping destination.

Seattle Premium Outlets is a prime example. Located about half an hour south on I-5 from Bellis Fair, the Bellingham shopping centre that once had the Canadian shopper pretty much to itself, SPO provides the ideal destination for at least a couple of hours of bargain shopping.

Accommodation of all sorts exists along the I-5 corridor, from high-end hotels to economy motels to quaint B&Bs a few clicks east or west into rural Washington State.

We stayed at a reasonable and ideally situated hotel called Nexus Hotel in north Seattle that provided everything a shopper would need, including a big spa tub to pamper those tired feet at the end of pounding the pavement. If you're not shopped out, there's also Northgate Mall within walking distance along with a large Target store.

The great thing about the Nexus and other hotels located along I-5 is that despite being just 20 minutes down the road from Seattle Premium Outlets, many are within shuttle distance of all that Seattle has to offer. Downtown excursions, vineyard tours, aviation museums and dozens of golf course are with an hour's drive of this area, and most hotels also provide shuttles to such locales.

Nexus Hotel's Olga Szemetylo reports the surging loonie has seen a large number of Canadians booking rooms, particularly on weekends. Like most of the hotels along the I-5, Nexus has a special shopping outlet package, offering a $25 to $50 gift card and other coupons for SRO.

As mentioned, telling you I'm a reluctant shopper is an understatement. My aged mother, bless her heart, still provides me with socks and underwear each Christmas morn, and as much as I'll miss her terribly when she slips this mortal coil, I worry most about what to do when my Fruit of the Looms get threadbare.

But after wandering the spacious sidewalks of Seattle Premium Outlets for 30 minutes or so, I felt an odd sense of peace and tranquillity in an otherwise uncomfortable and intimidating environment. That feeling of ease was doubled when I actually decided to go into a store. Without fail, in this and every subsequent store I was greeted by a friendly, and ultimately helpful, employee. Not once did I feel pressured or that I was a burden to them, feelings I often experience when shopping in my homeland.

All and all, I found the half-day I spent at SRO to be a really great experience, enough so to prompt me to tell my wife we'd be stopping at Bellis Fair and Peace Arch Premium Outlets on our return north on I-5. She took a sip of the $6 US Yellow Tail wine and gave me a look that she'd created a monster.

Which brings us to the only two real downsides of loading up the car with just enough gas to get over the border for a two- or three-day trip "shopping the I-5."

First is the border lineup. If you're going over on a weekend there's not much you can do about a good hour or more wait, though monitoring AM730 and its frequent border updates could save you a little time.

Second is a question of patriotism. A first-year economics student could tell you destination shopping isn't good for B.C. or Canada's economy, which in turn means it isn't good for you and me.

Returning home with about $250 worth of clothes -- no underwear or socks, though -- that my wife put a domestic price of about $800 on, my cross-border shopping getaway felt more like a smart use of my money and time than a bad one.
She was disappointed in the selection and price of women's business wear, but said the kid's clothes -- at The Children's Place -- and shoes more than made up for it.

WHAT TO BRING:

To get into the United States by vehicle, you must have proof of citizenship, meaning, ideally, a valid passport. A birth certificate along with government-issued photo ID will suffice.

As to money, the best way to maximize the dollar's strength is to convert your Canadian money into U.S. dollars at your Canadian bank branch.

If you plan to use a credit card, be aware that the rate of exchange you receive might be different from the day you purchased goods as credit card transactions typically take a day to process.

Debit cards also work south of the border at the majority of stores, though expect a $1.50 transaction charge each time you swipe it. Many merchants also offer cash-back services.

Gift cards are available from most shopping centres and can be ordered online using a credit card.

WHERE TO SHOP:

Seattle Premium Outlets is located in Tulalip, Washington, about a two-hour drive from Vancouver (plus border wait), and about 30 minutes north of Seattle. SPO features more than 100 designer brand stores in an outdoor-style setting.

Bellis Fair is located in Bellingham, Wash., a 20-minute drive south on I-5 from the Canada-United States border. An indoor mall in the traditional sense, Bellis Fair is anchored by five large stores -- Kohl's, JCPenney, Macy's, Sears and Target.

Located at the so-called crossroads of the Skagit Valley, Prime Outlets in Burlington, Wash. is 66 km south of the Peace Arch Border on the I-5. Thirty-five stores, including Eddie Bauer, Jones New York, Liz Claiborne and Tommy Hilfiger.

Peace Arch Factory Outlets is located in Custer, Wash., eight kilometres along I-5 south of the Canada-U.S. border. It features three dozen or so stores.
Super Mall is the largest outlet mall in the U.S. Northwest and features over 150 stores. Located in Auburn, Washington, just south of Seattle, about 21/2 hours south on I-5 from the Canada-U.S. border.

IF YOU GO ...

- Where to stay:

The Nexus Hotel is located in North Seattle just off I-5 and about 150 km south of the Canada-US border.

Best Western Navigator Inn & Suites, located north of Seattle in Everett, features an Outlet Shopping Spree package that includes a $50 gift card for use at Seattle Premium Outlets and a SPO tote bag with VIP coupon book.

Hampton Inn & Suites is located in Lynnwood, 15 minutes south on I-5 from SRO.
It features similar Outlet Shopping Spree package, and is within walking distance of 30 national discount retailers (including Nordstrom and Old Navy) and Alderwood Mall, Washington state's large mall with more than 200 stores.

Next spring a large hotel and spa complex attached to the Tulalip Resort Casino and a mere walk from Seattle Premium Outlets is scheduled to open.

- What to declare:

If you are over the border for less than 24 hours, you must pay duty on all purchases.
For 24 hours or more, you can claim up to $50 Cdn worth of goods without paying duty. If the goods are worth more than $50, you cannot claim this exemption.

For 48 hours or more you can claim up to $400 Cdn without paying duty.
For seven days or more, you can claim up to $750 Cdn without paying duties.
Under NAFTA, goods qualify as duty-free if they are for your personal use and were made in the United States or Canada.

For complete information, visit the Canada Border Services Agency at

they don't have rock and republics/true religions there do they? i tried look for some but i couldn't find any ..

i dont know but many times, if not all, my family doesnt need to pay duty on anything. and we tell them we bought like 100 dollars worth of stuff.

yeah same, we just scatter the stuff we buy around the car, take off the tags, wear some of em. and if they ask, we'll be like we didn't buy anything and they would just let us go.

hahaha that's what we do too.
we wear like the crappiest oldest shoes,
bring like no bags,

come back
wearing new shoes,
carrying like coach bags or whatever hehe

Last time I went we were just honest about how much we bought and they just let us go! If you stay there for 24 hours, you get $50 of duty free stuff...which isn't a lot at all.

AHAHAHHA SAME.
i went there lookn like a hobo, came back lookn ball'n =)