💡 Bags at the till are paid in Polish shops, so many people bring their own; loyalty cards (for example in the store's app) are usually optional.
💡 BLIK is payment with a six-digit code from your bank's app: you generate the code in the app, say or enter it on the terminal and confirm on your phone.
💡 In a shop alejka is the aisle, dział the section, półka the shelf; staff will gladly help: Gdzie znajdę...?
💡 Asking the queue whether you may go ahead with a few items is normal: Czy mogę przejść? Mam tylko dwie rzeczy. People usually agree.
💡 If the price at the till differs from the shelf, tell the cashier at once; under Polish law the shop should sell at the lower price or correct the mistake.
💡 Poland has a Sunday trading ban (zakaz handlu w niedzielę): most shops are closed; a few niedziele handlowe a year are open, as well as petrol stations, duty pharmacies and some small shops.
💡 At the self-checkout (kasa samoobsługowa) an assistant nearby helps: just raise your hand or call Przepraszam, mogę prosić o pomoc?
💡 Offers: promocja (promotion), wyprzedaż (sale), druga sztuka za pół ceny (second item at half price), karta klienta (customer card); to compare, look at the cena za kilogram (price per kilogram).
💡 The data ważności (expiry date) is written as należy spożyć do (use by) or najlepiej spożyć przed (best before); an expired product must not be sold, tell a member of staff.
💡 Cashiers do not like big notes for small purchases; if there is no change they may ask you to pay by card or with smaller notes.
💡 In some shops the cashier weighs vegetables, in others you weigh them yourself on a scale and stick on the price label; ask a member of staff.
💡 At the market the price is per kilogram (za kilogram); pół kilo is half a kilo, dwa kilo two kilos; the seller often asks Coś jeszcze?
💡 Polskie is Polish, z gospodarstwa from a farm, bio organic; the question Czy mogę spróbować? is acceptable almost everywhere.
💡 In Poland at a deli counter weight is often given in dekagrams (deko): ten grams; dwadzieścia deko is two hundred grams, pół kilo five hundred.
💡 Eggs are bought by the ten or by piece: dziesięć jajek (ten eggs); wiejskie (farm) and świeże (fresh) are words you often hear at the market; twaróg is a fresh curd cheese.
💡 Haggling is normal at a flea market (pchli targ); politely ask Czy może być taniej? (can it be cheaper?); in a shop or an ordinary market it is not usual.
💡 In a drugstore (Rossmann, Hebe, Super-Pharm) cosmetics, baby goods and cleaning products are sold, but not prescription medicine; pieluchy are nappies, chusteczki wipes.
💡 On packaging look for bez zapachu (fragrance-free), do skóry wrażliwej (for sensitive skin), hipoalergiczny (hypoallergenic).
💡 On the package look for dla dzieci (for children), hipoalergiczny (hypoallergenic), do kolorów (for colours); płyn do prania is a liquid detergent, proszek is a powder.
💡 Fitting rooms (przymierzalnie) are usually at the end of the section; staff often count items and give a number. The question Czy mogę przymierzyć? is standard.
💡 In a shop a return is the seller's goodwill, the receipt (paragon) helps; there is usually an exchange rule within a few days. Online purchases can be returned within fourteen days.
💡 Size is rozmiar; większy (bigger), mniejszy (smaller); sizes are marked with letters or numbers; ask whether it comes w innym rozmiarze (in another size).
💡 The fabric composition is skład: bawełna (cotton), wełna (wool), poliester; the label gives the washing, for example prać w trzydziestu stopniach (wash at thirty degrees).
💡 A buyer can make a reklamacja (complaint) about goods with a defect within two years (rękojmia); proof of purchase (receipt, card statement) is needed; the seller must reply within fourteen days.
💡 A new product is covered by the rękojmia (seller's legal liability) for two years and often a gwarancja (manufacturer's warranty); bring the receipt and explain what is wrong.
💡 Connectors: USB-C and Lightning; cables and chargers are in the akcesoria (accessories) section; kabel do ładowania is a charging cable.
💡 Appliances come with a karta gwarancyjna (warranty card); keep it with the receipt; the manufacturer's warranty is in addition to the buyer's rights (rękojmia).
💡 Instalments (raty) are a contract: check the oprocentowanie (interest), the number of payments and the total cost; do not sign until you understand the terms.
💡 Read the ad carefully: price, condition, place; meet in a busy place; do not send an advance to a stranger; pay once you have seen the item.
💡 In a lumpeks prices often depend on the day: new deliveries (dostawa) arrive on certain days and tag colours have different discounts; ask when the fresh batch comes.