Cheapest country to buy LV

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I live in Mexico but constantly travel to the US and recently was in France. After analyzing prices in those 3 countries, I found that the cheapest way to get my Keepall 45 in Monogram Macassar was to buy it in France (it cost me 1100 euros) which is a little cheaper than the american price and a lot cheaper than the mexican price, and with the VAT return, I thought, would be even cheaper. I did get my Keepall (and accomplished one of my dreams!) but then at the airport (Paris Charles de Gaulle, terminal 2E, which is one of the most common and busy ones) there was this huge line of about 50 people at the tax return thingy and you had to wait like more than an hour to get in front of line. After this I still had to go through customs and security and reach my gate and shop, so I did not get my VAT return because of the lack of time even though I actually was on time for my flight. Maybe in other airports or terminals throughout Europe it's much easier or less crowded, but I advise everyone to keep my experience in mind so that you have enough time to do all the important stuff plus getting your 19.6% tax back.
 
France is the cheapest , I live in Ireland and we are the same price as UK but the Euro equivalent however the UK VAT is I think 17% where as the Irish rate of VAT is 23% so perhaps if someone from outside the EU was shopping here it would work out cheaper ??? :woohoo:
 
I live in Mexico but constantly travel to the US and recently was in France. After analyzing prices in those 3 countries, I found that the cheapest way to get my Keepall 45 in Monogram Macassar was to buy it in France (it cost me 1100 euros) which is a little cheaper than the american price and a lot cheaper than the mexican price, and with the VAT return, I thought, would be even cheaper. I did get my Keepall (and accomplished one of my dreams!) but then at the airport (Paris Charles de Gaulle, terminal 2E, which is one of the most common and busy ones) there was this huge line of about 50 people at the tax return thingy and you had to wait like more than an hour to get in front of line. After this I still had to go through customs and security and reach my gate and shop, so I did not get my VAT return because of the lack of time even though I actually was on time for my flight. Maybe in other airports or terminals throughout Europe it's much easier or less crowded, but I advise everyone to keep my experience in mind so that you have enough time to do all the important stuff plus getting your 19.6% tax back.

If you shop at the Lafayette department store you can get your cash refund on that same day. At the airport all you have to do is have your tax document stamped and you're good to go. You just have to hand your credit card in for a guarantee just in case you were not able to get your tax document stamped at the airport because no stamp no refund.
 
Newbie here! I also travel a lot and bought my first (self bought) LV item in Rome a few days ago. Now you can actually get the form stamped at the airport and if the line is long, fill out your CC details and drop the form in a special mailbox. When we were there we waited 10 minutes behind about 10 people to get our forms stamped, unfortunately I decided to take my form with me since I was meant to go to Paris after wards and figured I would do it there. Unfortunately I caught the flu and didn't go to Paris. Hopefully there's a few months grace period to submit the form. I can always mail it in though...

Oh the company I used was Global Blue, not sure if Lafayette use them or another refund company. But I have also heard this is the way to go in Paris. I plan to purchase my first bag next time I visit (next few months). My first trip there, the staff at the main store on the Champs-Elysees were so rude to me, I think because I was wearing casual clothes... shame...
 
Newbie here! I also travel a lot and bought my first (self bought) LV item in Rome a few days ago. Now you can actually get the form stamped at the airport and if the line is long, fill out your CC details and drop the form in a special mailbox. When we were there we waited 10 minutes behind about 10 people to get our forms stamped, unfortunately I decided to take my form with me since I was meant to go to Paris after wards and figured I would do it there. Unfortunately I caught the flu and didn't go to Paris. Hopefully there's a few months grace period to submit the form. I can always mail it in though...

Oh the company I used was Global Blue, not sure if Lafayette use them or another refund company. But I have also heard this is the way to go in Paris. I plan to purchase my first bag next time I visit (next few months). My first trip there, the staff at the main store on the Champs-Elysees were so rude to me, I think because I was wearing casual clothes... shame...
Really shame. I wear jeans almost all the time and I have a big collection of designer bags because that is where I put my money on. I know some SAs tend to be like that here in Greece too and imagine one bag is worth more than their salary. I don't like people to be pretentiously polite, and I don't like when they are overdoing it but a normal behavior would be nice, especially when you go in as a client.
 
Well having said that, the girl who helped me in Rome (she wasn't wearing a name tag, weirdly) was lovely. Made me feel totally at home and not judge-y at all of my questions, letting me try on different items (jewellery) to find which I liked. When I seemed unsure between two things, she said to me, honestly, I think the second is better the other looks too big on you since you have a small wrist... as an ex SA (expensive clothing) I appreciated her honesty and it was what I was thinking anyway!

I bought the Save It cuff in Mono. Which I normally dislike Mono but on this I think it's okay since it's a small item, not a bag.

Anyway, IIRC the tax refund I'm entitled to is around 35-40euro, as the tax in Italy is 12% and she said not all of it is refunded. Feeling a little bit guilty now but I'm sure that will go away if I look at my pretty new cuff :p
 
Yes Lafayette uses Global Blue. The company usually deducts around half of the VAT refund as their commission but still cheaper than the prices in my home country.

I also heard about this tax bracket wherein you can refund more if you purchase a bigger amount. I'm not sure if it does apply to all countries with VAT refund.

By the way, Its very convenient to shop at Lafayette because not only do they have LV but other brands as well. Its a one stop shop.
 
Hi, there!
does anyone know if LV is cheaper in Hong Kong compared to Canada??
I"m thinking of buying a Alma BB
I'm confused by how to compare the price, because the website has everything very similar priced after considering exchange rate...
 
Value added tax, it's just a sales tax on goods. I think it's 19.6% in France and is already included in the price.

You'll be able to claim the VAT back so bring your passport and ask the SA for the forms.

It may be cheaper to pay in Euros as the conversation rates on charge cards tend to be lower.
Good information
 
I believe france is the cheapest too. We just got back from a carribean visit where we stopped in st barts - the price of louis vuitton in st barts is higher than the prices of the same products in canada (thats once you add in the canadian sales tax- which ranges across provinces but is approx 13%). I asked the SA helping me why the euro pricefor the bag i was looking at wasnt the same as the euro price online - and he told me it was because there was a markup in st barts. I couldnt believe it! I always found lv so much cheaper in france and assumed the same would be true of french st barts. Definetly not the case for us canadians. I didnt end buying prefering to buy at home with my favourite SA rather than paying a premium in st barts.
 
I believe france is the cheapest too. We just got back from a carribean visit where we stopped in st barts - the price of louis vuitton in st barts is higher than the prices of the same products in canada (thats once you add in the canadian sales tax- which ranges across provinces but is approx 13%). I asked the SA helping me why the euro pricefor the bag i was looking at wasnt the same as the euro price online - and he told me it was because there was a markup in st barts. I couldnt believe it! I always found lv so much cheaper in france and assumed the same would be true of french st barts. Definetly not the case for us canadians. I didnt end buying prefering to buy at home with my favourite SA rather than paying a premium in st barts.

Unfortunately there is logistics involved in getting these items to these places and this all has to be added on to the initial bag price be it transportation and storage, import duties and tax, the exchange rate. The cost of setting up, running mad maintaining the store. Employing staff etc. Although in this case the currency is Euros they still need to get the items from France to an island the other side of the Atlantic Ocean
 
Hi, there!
does anyone know if LV is cheaper in Hong Kong compared to Canada??
I"m thinking of buying a Alma BB
I'm confused by how to compare the price, because the website has everything very similar priced after considering exchange rate...

Canada is cheaper than HK. i just came back from there 3 weeks ago. i bought an epi cosmetic case there for $3600HKD which is approximately $500cad. The same case in Canada is $425.
 
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