Need opinion about Chanel in Europe

[BBee]

Hi all,
I'm from Australia and going to travel to Europe in April. My route is Aus-London-Prague-Budapest-Vienna-Milan-London-Aus. I'm thinking of getting Chanel mini square/rec or WOC when I'm in Europe.

I have few questions I'm hoping people here can help me with
1) Where will be the cheapest (after claiming VAT) to buy Chanel from all of the places listed?
2) At Heathrow airport, I will be flying in and out (from and to Aus) at Terminal 4. I googled and I think Chanel stores in the airport are at terminal 3 and 5. Is it possible to go to terminal 3 or 5 from terminal 4 and buy Chanel from the airport? Will it be cheaper or the same price as in London city (after claiming VAT)?
3) I will also be flying to Heathrow airport terminal 3 from Milan. Is it possible to buy Chanel with tax free price at that time at terminal 3 even if my flight is Milan-London (not going out of Europe)? I'm a bit confuse about the price in the airport as few years back I wanted to buy Longchamp bag at Paris airport, and my flight was Paris-Barcelona. The staff there said I need to pay full price if I want to buy the bag and wont get the tax free price as my flight is to Barcelona and not leaving Europe

Thank you in advance for your help!

 

[shazzy99]

I can reply on point 3, as I already had experience with this. You can only get tax free price when you are leaving EU. You won’t be able to get tax free if you are going Milan to London and getting out at London.

I purchased bag in London and bag in Paris, prices were good at both after the tax back.

I’m sure others can advise more as it was only my first experience a few months ago, but should be cheaper at Heathrow tax free as prices are without VAT, but if you buy in London and claim the tax back, they take commissions and you don’t get the full VAT back.

Still way better prices than Australia either way.

 

[purpleggplant]

You only get duty free at Heathrow if you are leaving the EU. If you are going to be traveling within the EU, you will pay the Europe price but will get a VAT refund.

Because VAT is about 20% and there is a fee for the processing, you only get about 10-12% back.

Duty free items do not include the VAT price. Which is why people go to Heathrow.

The thing you’d have to take into consideration is the currency exchange. For example, I’m from the US and the exchange rate for GBP is worse and I’d save more with Euros, so I would save more if I purchased in France, Italy, etc at a non airport store.

I’m not sure if there are Chanel stores in any other airports except Heathrow. Which is why a lot of people go to Heathrow for designer shopping.

Sorry if this is confusing but I hope I got my point across.

 

[BBee]

You only get duty free at Heathrow if you are leaving the EU. If you are going to be traveling within the EU, you will pay the Europe price but will get a VAT refund.

Because VAT is about 20% and there is a fee for the processing, you only get about 10-12% back.

Duty free items do not include the VAT price. Which is why people go to Heathrow.

The thing you’d have to take into consideration is the currency exchange. For example, I’m from the US and the exchange rate for GBP is worse and I’d save more with Euros, so I would save more if I purchased in France, Italy, etc at a non airport store.

I’m not sure if there are Chanel stores in any other airports except Heathrow. Which is why a lot of people go to Heathrow for designer shopping.

Sorry if this is confusing but I hope I got my point across.

I can reply on point 3, as I already had experience with this. You can only get tax free price when you are leaving EU. You won’t be able to get tax free if you are going Milan to London and getting out at London.

I purchased bag in London and bag in Paris, prices were good at both after the tax back.

I’m sure others can advise more as it was only my first experience a few months ago, but should be cheaper at Heathrow tax free as prices are without VAT, but if you buy in London and claim the tax back, they take commissions and you don’t get the full VAT back.

Still way better prices than Australia either way.

Thank you for the replies! Now I need to decide if I should just buy the bag from Chanel store in 1 of the cities, or wait until my last day and buy the bag in Heathrow airport when I'm flying out of London.

But if I'm flying out of Europe from Heathrow terminal 4, can I go to Chanel stores in terminal 3 or 5 or I'm only allowed to be at terminal 4 and cant access stores in other terminal?

 

[Kayceedee88]

Thank you for the replies! Now I need to decide if I should just buy the bag from Chanel store in 1 of the cities, or wait until my last day and buy the bag in Heathrow airport when I'm flying out of London.

But if I'm flying out of Europe from Heathrow terminal 4, can I go to Chanel stores in terminal 3 or 5 or I'm only allowed to be at terminal 4 and cant access stores in other terminal?

I don’t t think you can access other terminals, other than the one you will depart from.
Please keep in mind that Heathrow Chanel doesn’t stock classics, so if you’re after seasonal items, you might get lucky but I wouldn’t risk it and wait till the last day to get the purses or items you want. Stock is definitely limited at Heathrow. It’s slightly cheaper at Heathrow than in the city but you’ll have a much better selection in the city stores.
If I was you, I’d just buy the items in either cities you visit cuz it will be much cheaper than in Australia, regardless of whether the price is in EUR or GBP.

 

[plue89]

I reckon if you see any that you like you should just get it. It is definitely a risk waiting until Heathrow. Not sure about woc but if you have your heart set on minis they might be hard to get

 

[purpleggplant]

I read that you are allowed to do between terminals. You can also request a personal shopper... this is something you can look into on Heathrow’s website. A personal shopper will be able to assist you by going to the store before you and reserving the item for you and then meeting you at a gate to walk you to the store, they probably know the faster routes so you don’t get lost.

And I also read that you can call the store 24 hours before to reserve and also ask for inventory.

Don’t quote me, but it’s definitely something to look into. They for sure have personal shoppers though.

 

[BBee]

I read that you are allowed to do between terminals. You can also request a personal shopper... this is something you can look into on Heathrow’s website. A personal shopper will be able to assist you by going to the store before you and reserving the item for you and then meeting you at a gate to walk you to the store, they probably know the faster routes so you don’t get lost.

And I also read that you can call the store 24 hours before to reserve and also ask for inventory.

Don’t quote me, but it’s definitely something to look into. They for sure have personal shoppers though.

Oh yes I read about 'Heathrow personal shopper service' somewhere in this forum, but I dont know how it works. Might need to do more research about that later. Thank you so much for your input!

 

[periogirl28]

My advice is to buy whatever you love, whenever you find it. As a last resort, please do call Chanel in Heathrow, they may be able to reserve an item for a short period for you. I just found out on behalf of a friend, that the Heathrow personal shopper service does not extend to Chanel. If you meet a nice Chanel SA in the London boutiques, they can call Heathrow and check stock for you. My SA used to do for me. Good luck!

 

[BBee]

I reckon if you see any that you like you should just get it. It is definitely a risk waiting until Heathrow. Not sure about woc but if you have your heart set on minis they might be hard to get

Its almost impossible to get mini in Aus due to limited stock I thought I will have better chance in Europe considering they will have more stock in store, and I think new season minis will be out sometime in March/April. Fingers crossed. If I cant get mini, I will be happy to get WOC or other small flap/bag.

 

[BBee]

I don’t t think you can access other terminals, other than the one you will depart from.
Please keep in mind that Heathrow Chanel doesn’t stock classics, so if you’re after seasonal items, you might get lucky but I wouldn’t risk it and wait till the last day to get the purses or items you want. Stock is definitely limited at Heathrow. It’s slightly cheaper at Heathrow than in the city but you’ll have a much better selection in the city stores.
If I was you, I’d just buy the items in either cities you visit cuz it will be much cheaper than in Australia, regardless of whether the price is in EUR or GBP.

Hi when you said they dont stock classics, do you mean they dont have any size of classic flap and reissue? do they have mini and classic woc? After reading everyone recommendations, I think I will end up buying in London or Milan instead of Heathrow airport

 

[plue89]

Its almost impossible to get mini in Aus due to limited stock I thought I will have better chance in Europe considering they will have more stock in store, and I think new season minis will be out sometime in March/April. Fingers crossed. If I cant get mini, I will be happy to get WOC or other small flap/bag.

Lol I know! When I call and asked the SA almost laugh at me and said it’s sold out Australia wide. I did see a lambskin square one in Westfield Sydney boutique but it was so scratched already good luck in finding The special one!!

 

[BBee]

My advice is to buy whatever you love, whenever you find it. As a last resort, please do call Chanel in Heathrow, they may be able to reserve an item for a short period for you. I just found out on behalf of a friend, that the Heathrow personal shopper service does not extend to Chanel. If you meet a nice Chanel SA in the London boutiques, they can call Heathrow and check stock for you. My SA used to do for me. Good luck!

Oh no! Im just about to google and learn more about personal shopper service in heathrow. Why dont they have it for Chanel? Thank you for your advice! Will surely look at Chanel in London first and decide what to do/where to buy from there.

 

[BBee]

Lol I know! When I call and asked the SA almost laugh at me and said it’s sold out Australia wide. I did see a lambskin square one in Westfield Sydney boutique but it was so scratched already good luck in finding The special one!!

Sometimes i feel like looking at second hand market, but the price of mini preloved is wayyy more than retail, its ridiculous Really hope i'm lucky enough to get mini in either London/Milan. Anyway do you know the exact date they release mini in Australia for next season?

 

[periogirl28]

Oh no! Im just about to google and learn more about personal shopper service in heathrow. Why dont they have it for Chanel? Thank you for your advice! Will surely look at Chanel in London first and decide what to do/where to buy from there.

I don’t think LHR Chanel or Hermes stores participate in the personal shopper service. I.e. they don’t let them check or reserve their stock. Try Chanel Bond St, Harrods, Selfridges and Sloane Avenue. The Sloane Street boutique is temporarily closed for renovation.