Buying Cartier Cheap While Traveling

Would anyone know the VAT refund rate in Germany? A google search tells me 19%, but I’m convinced there must be some fees tied to the refund process that drop it down a few %.

I have a long layover in Frankfurt next week and would love to hit up Cartier and make a purchase if it ultimately is still ‘cheaper’ than US prices!

Thanks in advance!!
 
I always lough when I see this thread. Cheap + Cartier - what a combination

I would believe you get the 19 % back but you need to pay the import duties (customs + "use tax" in the US) unless you cheat on taxes.
 
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I always lough when I see this thread. Cheap + Cartier - what a combination

I would believe you get the 19 % back but you need to pay the import duties (customs + "use tax" in the US) unless you cheat on taxes.

the irony, right?!

and thanks! even considering the customs and import duties, I think buying from Germany will still be lesser with 19% VAT than US price + state tax.

oh! and has anyone shopped at the Frankfurt Cartier boutique before? I’m curious if the store will process the refund for you right there instead of us needing to go through the airport process/refund counters.
 
Okay, let's dig in with the 10 diamonds WG reg Love: EUR 16600 list which translates to todays 16357 USD w/o 19 % tax. Cartier US lists it 17100 which means Germany indeed is 4.5 % cheaper. We need to note here that Cartier Germany is the cheapest in Europe just behind Luxembourg.

I also saw both rainbows still available in Germany :nuts:
 
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Would anyone know the VAT refund rate in Germany? A google search tells me 19%, but I’m convinced there must be some fees tied to the refund process that drop it down a few %.

I have a long layover in Frankfurt next week and would love to hit up Cartier and make a purchase if it ultimately is still ‘cheaper’ than US prices!

Thanks in advance!!

I brought my wg love in Germany (Berlin) a couple months ago. The vat rate is 19% but global blue takes a fee so the refund was around 14%. I also paid with a credit card and that has a foreign transaction fee of 2.99% so my total refund was around 11%.

I’m from the U.K. and with the tax refund it’s around 10% cheaper than if I were to get it in U.K.
 
the irony, right?!

and thanks! even considering the customs and import duties, I think buying from Germany will still be lesser with 19% VAT than US price + state tax.

oh! and has anyone shopped at the Frankfurt Cartier boutique before? I’m curious if the store will process the refund for you right there instead of us needing to go through the airport process/refund counters.

You pay the full price in the store. You also need to let the sa know you are not a EU resident by proof of passport and they will give you the tax refund form to give to customs at the airport and the global blue counter. I got my refund around a couple weeks later via bank transfer
 
You pay the full price in the store. You also need to let the sa know you are not a EU resident by proof of passport and they will give you the tax refund form to give to customs at the airport and the global blue counter. I got my refund around a couple weeks later via bank transfer

thank you so much for sharing this detail!
 
thank you so much for sharing this detail!

If you would have done it legally you would have had to pay 20 % UK VAT due at entry. Therefore it's +10 % without and -10 % with tax evasion.

Cartier adjusts pricing to be more or less equal worldwide. Of course there are currency fluctuations.
 
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I always lough when I see this thread. Cheap + Cartier - what a combination

I would believe you get the 19 % back but you need to pay the import duties (customs + "use tax" in the US) unless you cheat on taxes.
People either don't know or forget that for most states in the US, a sales or 'use' tax needs to be paid for out of the area transactions. There's no legal way to avoid sales tax. Thanks for bringing this up!
 
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I love how most people are contemplating what the price would be.
If you want to know the actual price call the boutique at the airport terminal. And reserve your item a week in advance.

Buying your item at the airport is in my opinion the and most hassle free way to get the best price without having to go through the hell of vat tax refunds at the airport before your flight

(trust me I’ve done this many times)
Its almost like the agents are working slow and not co operating so you’ll just give up and skip the whole vat process so you won’t miss your flight.

shopping at duty free is so easy.
Just have to make sure your item is there. I always call my sa at Cdg airport 2 weeks in advance prior to my departure date to make sure I get what I want.
 
I was wondering if anyone could help me out on this as I am getting conflicting messages from different SAs?!?!

I am flying out next weekend and wanted to reserve a JUC sm ring in WG. I spoke to one SA on the phone a few days ago and they said the ring is hardly in stock but I could pre-order and pay it at the airport and then collect it at Harrods when it is available (for the price at the airport). They also said I could call in less than a weeks time and see if they have in stock to reserve.

I just call the store now to see if I could reserve and they didnt have it in stock, then i double checked with the SA on the phone to see if i could pre-order/pay at the airport and collect it at Harrods and they said that wasnt a service they provided?! Anyone know what rules on this, please let me know!
Were you able to pre-order and pay at the airport to collect at a boutique? I am hoping to do something similar.
 
Were you able to pre-order and pay at the airport to collect at a boutique? I am hoping to do something similar.

You can reserve if they have it in stock. I wasn’t able to pre-order as they didn’t originally sell the JUC ring in WG in Heathrow. It’s best to call them to ask imo, I assume the rules have changed a bit since as the price at the airport isn’t net VAT anymore.
 
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Do European prices include sales tax in the list price? Or do you pay an additional sales tax on top of the list price? For example, the ecrou bracelet on the Portugal website (where I'm traveling soon) is 7300 euros, which translates to almost $8,100. However, on the US website, the same bracelet is $7,250 (not including sales tax). I know that in Europe, you can get back around ~12% in a VAT refund, which if sales tax IS included in the list price, would bring the overall price down to about $7,100 ($8100 - 12% = $7,100). But if sales tax is NOT included in the list price, then the bracelets would be roughly the same price.
 
Do European prices include sales tax in the list price? Or do you pay an additional sales tax on top of the list price? For example, the ecrou bracelet on the Portugal website (where I'm traveling soon) is 7300 euros, which translates to almost $8,100. However, on the US website, the same bracelet is $7,250 (not including sales tax). I know that in Europe, you can get back around ~12% in a VAT refund, which if sales tax IS included in the list price, would bring the overall price down to about $7,100 ($8100 - 12% = $7,100). But if sales tax is NOT included in the list price, then the bracelets would be roughly the same price.

Tax is included in the price in Europe. The tax refund % depends on the individual country, E.g Germany is 19%, France is 20%. You should also factor in fees incurred when going through the refund process which is ~5%. Also mention prices vary from country to country (I noted that prices in Portugal are higher than Germany) so best to check on the country’s website.
 
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