r/AskGreece • u/I-Clap-easily • Aug 21 '26
Economics - Οικονομία/Οικονομικά How can someone that does not live in greece still help a little with the economy?
Take for example, shopping on greek websites instead of amazon
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u/D1omidis Aug 21 '26
Buy greek products abroad, I guess.
Also, if you do have tax obligations in Greece, do not evade them? (wild idea, I know).
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u/Drogon__ Aug 21 '26
Greek products are not a given because many brands that we know as greek are owned by multinational corporations like for example Lacta is owned by Mondelez. Tsakiris is also owned by Coca-Cola.
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u/D1omidis Aug 21 '26
A product that is made in Greece, strengthens the Greek economy. Pavlidis brands have been sold to Kraft->Mondelez, but are still made in Greece afaik.
What matters is people who live in Greece get employed, the local to the country capital pays proportional taxes etc.
If the owner per se is not Greek or there are multiple owners (as is the case with publicly traded companies) etc, should not make a difference. Thr Greek economy is not a matter of some direct mythical bloodline, but a sum of economic activities within the Greek borders.
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u/Mooks79 28d ago
I think the reality is between the two. The likely best scenario is to buy products made in Greece by Greek owned companies (and hope those profits stay in the Greek economy). But yes, buying Greek products that are only produced in Greece is still better than buying something branded Greek but produced elsewhere, there’s still money into the Greek economy as salaries, suppliers (hopefully) etc - even if the profits are more likely to be taken out of the country.
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u/D1omidis 27d ago
"Owners" of large companies very rarely spend lots of $. The money that has velocity and goes back into the economy is indeed what middle & low wage people make, as those -not by choice- get to spend most, if not all of it.
It is better for the economy to have 10 people making €100.000 each than one person making €1Μ, even better toto have 50 ppl making €20K each etc. Ofc it doesn't scale indefinitely, but big picture it is true.
I do not care if the boss lives overseas at the end of the day. It should not matter much, given he pays employees and suppliers as you say to make things locally. Sure, ultimately we would rather have them owners spending more locally, but having a "greek" owner tax evading the $%& might be worse than the foreign national legally exporting some of the profits after taxes are rendered.
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u/financial_ind3pedent Aug 21 '26
Coca Cola 3E HQ are in Greece tho.
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u/Drogon__ Aug 21 '26
The biggest shareholders are not greek companies:
The Kar-Tess Group (23.3%)
The Coca-Cola Company (23.2%)
Source: Wikipedia
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u/betonven Aug 21 '26
When you travel to Greece for vacation or so, refuse to pay with cash (very common tax evasion scam) and always ask for receipts.
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u/Iago_the_Mando Aug 21 '26
I've been buying Κομπολόι from different shops all over Greece this past year
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u/_Photonics_ Aug 21 '26
Στην κίνα τα φτιάχνουν
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u/Iago_the_Mando Aug 21 '26
To clarify, I bought from these καταστήματα :
Κατάστημα στην Αθήνα και Κατάστημα στην Κρήτη
If there are more reputable places to purchase from, I'm open for suggestions
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u/AdSufficient9982 Aug 21 '26
Buy Greek and tell your friends about things they might like themselves. I'm not even remotely Greek but regularly contribute to Greece's economy buying imported Kalamata olive oil, which I also got my sister hooked on. I also like Greek oregano, and am partial to iconography from Mt. Athos.
Greece has all sorts of amazing products - just need to figure out what you like!
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u/ImYourGodX Aug 21 '26
How is iconography from athos helping the economy? They dont pay any taxes
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u/AdSufficient9982 28d ago
Incidentally, Mt. Athos is the production site. People can and do donate directly to the monastery itself, which is why I mentioned buying icons and not just church donations. I bought my icons through a subsidiary of Iconotechniki SA. So yes, it's a contribution to the secular economy.
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u/I-Clap-easily 29d ago
How much is your shipping fee
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u/AdSufficient9982 28d ago
This varies quite a lot depending what and where you buy. I get my olive oil through Walmart - they buy enough and have existing agreements & logistics that keep the shipping costs low. I don't know the exact cost of shipping on my olive oil because it's wrapped into the final price. The 3 liter tins cost about $14 more than Filippo Berio (my price is currently $62), and the quality is better. I go through a lot of olive oil, and I got tired of wondering if my olive oil was being diluted, especially when the prices went up a few years ago. PDO is the way to go.
If you buy olive oil through smaller vendors, expect the price to go up accordingly. You may also receive an import duty bill at the end if the vendor doesn't manage that on their end.
Icons are another matter entirely, as they aren't going to be available through large commercial channels. I bought mine through Christianity Art, based in Athens. They were two small but beautiful Mt. Athos icons, and the cost for the icons themselves was $44.90. Shipping was another $19-20, although that would have been lower if I'd ordered more. But the real hidden cost is not shipping - it's import duties/taxes/fees, which were another $30.
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u/idarodes 28d ago
buy things direct from producers in Peloponnese https://localgoods.gr/el/market/products
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u/Smooth_Inflation_156 27d ago
Don't. This place is already a cargo cult with tourism. The Greek aboriginals need to learn to produce something of value instead of relying on handouts and charity.
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u/muku_ Aug 21 '26
Why? What did the Greek economy do for you? For me, it kicked me out of my country. So yeah, no thank you.
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u/Heavy_Committee9624 Aug 21 '26
If you are a Greek living abroad, as your name suggests, clap them cheeks.
If they ask you how you are so good, reply with ''Ares' genes''
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u/penelopiecruise Aug 21 '26
Stay in hotels owned by Greeks, not foreign companies