Think about it...either the bags could be priced the same either before or after taxes but not both -- tax rates aren't the same all over the world. So, if a NYC resident pays (let's say) $1,000 for a bag including tax and a Paris resident pays $1,000 for the same bag, its cheaper to buy it in Paris and bring it home because YOU GET THE TAX BACK. Its not a question of cheaper necessarily, its a question of what kind of effective discount you get for doing your own importation.