Beware Louis Vuitton Paris scam
 

Just got back from Paris and wanted to relay a scam we came across. Several Chinese women along the Champs Elysees asked us to help them buy Louis Vuitton wallets. I think they tend to target Asian tourists (They spoke to us in Chinese first and then English). They say that the store limits them to only 2 wallets per person, but they'd like to buy more to take home, so would we help them out and they'd give us the money. Seemed a little weird, especially when they pulled out cash. Decided we'd check the store for ourselves before making any commitment and learned from the salespeople that they've been having problems with these Chinese women. Sometimes they give out counterfeit money and if you get caught with it, the purchases are non-refundable. Am not sure if they're using the wallets to re-sell or what, but it's an illegal operation.<BR> We were approached by 4 different people along the Champs-Elysees for this Louis Vuitton scam. So be careful!

Doesn't sound like a very intelligent scam. How do they stop you from just walking off with their money?

Yeah -- does LV have a back door? ;-)

&gt;&gt;How do they stop you from just walking off with their money?<BR><BR>I guess they don't care, since it is fake anyways...

Am I missing something here? <BR>"if you get caught with it, the purchases are non-refundable."<BR>So they allow you to make the purchase of the wallets and then they discover that the money is counterfeit. After this discovery they inform you that your purchases are non-refundable? If you already have the wallets, who cares if it is non-refundable? Again, am I missing something?

Not to long ago, the NY Times (or was it the Journal I can't remember), had an article about this. LV limits the number of items Asian tourists can buy because they sell them back home on the black market. I read that the tourists are indeed asking people on the street to go in and buy items for them.

So if you're caught you have to keep the item? And LV gets to keep your counterfeit money? This does not make sense.

Either the Chinese scam artists aren't the sharpest tools in the shed, or Luis Vuitton likes to collect counterfeit money. And why does LV care what happens to their wallets/bags whatever once they are bought? Let's see, I buy a bag for $900, and I take it to China and sell it for...$1000? Are Luis Vuitton bags more expensive in China than what the black marketeers charge? If they are because of taxes, etc. why wouldn't LV be just as glad to sell them in France for resale in China? LV doesn't get the taxes anyway, and more bags would be sold if they can be sold without taxes....<BR><BR>This whole thing just makes my head hurt. Anyway, so I'm Chinese, I go into LV today and buy 2 wallets; tomorrow I go in and buy 2 more. Heck, I go back this AFTERNOON and buy 2 more. To Caucasians, all Chinese look alike anyway so how will they keep track of who bought what? Or I go in just before lunch, buy 2 wallets, when the salesgirl goes to lunch, I go back in and buy two more.<BR><BR>I need a martini, this is all too much for me.

&gt;&gt;How do they stop you from just walking off with their money?<BR><BR>I guess they don't care, since it is fake anyways...

I wouldn't be surprised if they're reselling the wallets - just check out Canal St. in NYC. (Where I purchased a lovely faux LV bag)

Worried about Elvira and her martinis, I just googled for LV and "black market". <BR>It's NOT a scam. LV does limit sales.<BR>Here's an article from AP. <BR><BR>"There isn't enough for everyone at Louis Vuitton"<BR>http://www.canoe.ca/CNEWSFeatures010...eather-ap.html

Did you buy your counterfeit bag with counterfeit money?

Mel: wouldn't you like to know.

Elvira, <BR>Speaking of Martini, there's this great ad on Italian TV where George Clooney shows up at someone's door, behind which a party is obviously going on. He knocks. A beautiful woman answers. He smirks with a come-hither look as if to see, "it's me, George Clooney." She says (in english), "No Martini, no party." Next shot, he turns up with a case of Martini. Same woman opens the door, takes the case, and slams the door in his face. Punch line around Italy now is: "No Martini, no party." <BR>

I don't know about the Chinese, but I got approached a few times by Korean women who asked me if I was Korean, then asked if I would buy them bags. I spoke back in French, English, Spanish (anything but Korean) and moved on.<BR><BR>I know Koreans love name brand stuff (esp Louis Vuitton...it's a name that they all know), and many want to legitimately buy presents for relatives back home (there are usually lots of them!) Or maybe they're buying them to knock off styles...Koreans are infamous for their fakes (and I'm not talking just about their bags either!)

Susan, did you post this same scam info about a month ot two ago? If you didn't then someone else did, with exactly the same sequence of events and details, including the opening sentence. Interesting.

I was approached on the Champs Elysee in the same manner as Susan. Smelled a fish and politely declined.

Just to clarify my original post-- LV asks for your passport when you make a purchase (for customs reasons) and you get a receipt, but they also have a copy of your passport info. I believe this is the way they can track you down if it turns out the currency used to purchase the goods is phony. <BR> Didn't realize this would generate such a headache for people, but it did happen and this is the first time I've posted it.

Folks,<BR>Here is the story,<BR>LV is a victim of it's own success. The factories can't keep up with the demand, so some of the major stores were told by home office to ration purchases, depending on the stock at any given time. The rationing effects everybody, not just Asians, but since Asian tourists prefer LV above anything else, they would like to take home few more items after traveling thousands of miles. So they will ask people in line to purchase extra items and are willing to pay the purchaser extra money. Yes, the LV line is very expensive in Asian countries since it's so popular, so they could pay somebody to purchase items for them and still get a bargain. And yes the stores do require passport # when you make a purchase for items they deemed in short supplies.<BR>So, yes the original post was somewhat right, but no it's not a scam run by Asian people.

This story was already reported by the NYTIMES a year ago. It is not a counterfeit-money scam, but as Lori and Louis V have stated.<BR><BR>Louis Vuitton is limiting how many items can be purchased because Asian tourists were buying mass quantities and taking them back with them and either reselling them or just making purchases for familiy/friends. LV didn't like this practice because: 1) it left their stores in Paris empty and therefore enraging people who would come in for a purchase only to find it was out of stock. 2) LV is extremely expensive in Asia and Bernard Arnault of LVMH didn't like anyone undercutting his market.<BR><BR>I think if Asians were trying to pass counterfeit money in Paris, it would have been reported in the press.<BR><BR>Where is the story, Susan????????

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Ironically, there is seldom a line at the large LV store in Brussels and last time I was there, no limit on reasonable purchases. (I bought my husband a Palm Pilot case there; I went in with our dog and the LV salesman thought I was there to buy her an LV collar and leash. No thanks.)<BR>If these LV and designer goods hunting Asians were shrewder, they'd hop the Thalys up to Brussels where the designer shops are concentrated in a few blocks. Instead of going all over Paris, they'd find Gucci next to Versace next to Chanel next to Dior next to LV next to Hermes (break for a few Belgian stores and the Hilton) then Delvaux next to Armani. On a single block of the Ave. Louise, you find Cartier, Longchamp, Lancel, Descamps, Max Mara, Ferent, and several others. They could do all their designer shopping in a single day, head back to Paris and actually do some sightseeing!<BR>BTilke (Brussels)

Hi , ...for me what is amazing is,<BR>what is so special about a Louis<BR>Vuitton bag?<BR><BR>Aren't we all a little brainwashed ,,,??<BR><BR>Just a thought.

Graziella - I'm with you. I never could understand what is so great about LV merchandise. If they were giving it away (for nothing) I wouldn't take a pocketbook. I might ??? take the wallet though, but only b/c you can always use an extra wallet and it would be hidden (inside my Coach, Dooney & Bourke, or Vera Bradley bags) where no one could see how ugly it is.

So goes another urban legend.

So there are counterfeited euros ALREADY????

So, whereas the rest of the world raises prices in response to rising demand relative to fixed supply, Louis Vuitton responds by keeping their items at the same price, but institutes a 'limit one per day per customer' policy. And here i was thinking that 'corporate generosity' was an oxymoron.<BR><BR>Something is missing here. I might just believe it as a money laundering scam, where counterfeit money is laundered into saleable goods. If this were the case, then I can see why they would choose Louis V - maximum sales value of good, in respect of a single 'transaction' of counterfeit money.

I'm with Graziella and Elsa on this one--I just don't think that the quality of the bag is so much better than my Coach, which is 1/3 to 1/4 th the price. I also don't think that there is as much of a shortage as they would like for the typical consumer to think--I believe the supply/demand issue is a carefully orchestrated PR plan to keep people buying. For those customers who must have the highest prestige items, there will always be the need to feel that not "everybody" can get their hands on the bags, scarves, watches or whatever item is being purchased strictly for prestige value. Think about it--does anyone here REALLY think a Louis Vuitton bag or a Rolex watch are the best looking, best made products in their respective category?

I am not a label person but I have to say that LV is very well constructed. My husband years ago, in the 70's, purchased a really gorgeous purse while on business there. I had that purse for about 25 years. It held up very well. Went with most of my clothes because it was so neutral. I would have preferred that there not be an insignia on the purse but oh well....

Perhaps their items are of high quality, but I find them plain ugly. Plus they have their logo all over the stuff. I would feel like I'm holding an advertisment.<BR><BR>Anyway, I don't buy the "fake money" bit of the story. If people were waiting in front of Vuitton with their pockets full of counterfeited money, and asking random strangers to buy items with this fake money, how long would it be before a police offer would come and offer them a free ride to the police station?

Well, I have to admit I find this interesting because we just finished shopping for a car, which was when I first heard the term 'grey market.' I'm wondering if this is what is going on here?<BR><BR>That said, how do you tell the difference between an actual grey market operation, and a clever sales ploy on the part of the company? The publicity certainly can't be hurting them.<BR>

Clair you must not know the full line of LV..not all is ugly....but then again you do not buy it and you probobly shop at Monoprix for wardrobe...

I love my black Epi leather LV bag that I got in Paris a couple of years ago.<BR>While I was shopping for my bag, there was a very elegant Chinese couple shopping for bags also.If all Asian shoppers were so quiet and nice as these two, I do not understand the fuss here, money is money,why not let people buy as many bags as they want? It is only good for LV that people are walking around with their products,no?<BR>Anyway-the point of my story here is that the inference that Asian tourists/shoppers are some kind of "scam artists" is quite rude and racist to me.<BR>I wonder what Asians think of the Western tourists that shop in Hong Kong,or Tokyo.<BR>

OK, so this started out as a potentially helpful thread, warning fellow travelers against what the poster beleievs to be a scam. Why did it need to morph into yet another fashion police attack on the personal tastes of others? I am an LV girl and yes, I actually love their stuff. Would you walk up to me and tell me you hate my bag/backpack/cat carrier/luggage/whatever? What is the point of insulting someone else's style and/or taste? Personally I do think LV is far nicer than Coach or Dooney (which weigh about 12 pounds empty, btw), but I certainly wouldn't have jumped on anyone for using them...

Kimberley, I agree that it is best to keep a thread on topic.<BR><BR>While I don't know for sure that what is happening here is a grey market operation, it should be pointed out that someone who runs a grey market for goods isn't running a scam. They aren't doing anything illegal, but they are doing something that the producer/manufacturer of the goods usually doesn't like. Specifically, a grey marketer buys goods not for his or her personal use but for resale. <BR><BR>The producer doesn't like this, because the grey marketer has not been 'authorized' by the producer to sell their goods. Consequently, the grey marketer is not following the producer's agreements with its vendors re sales territory, pricing, etc. To not follow agreements is not illegal, it is not a scam, but it might have certain implications for whoever buys the good FROM (as opposed to FOR) the grey marketer. For example, if the producer or manufacturer normally offers a warranty on the product, they may choose not to honour this warranty if they believe that the good was purchased from a grey marketeer. For example, if someone in Hong Kong buys an LV bag from a grey marketer who originally bought the bags in Paris, and a defect is discovered in the bag, the Hong Kong buyer cannot return the bag to the Hong Kong store for a refund. I'm not sure that the bag would be totally nonreturnable, but if it is, it might have to be returned to the authorized dealer who sold the bag to the marketer - the Paris shop. Not very convenient for someone living in Hong Kong.<BR><BR>IF grey marketing is in fact what these Asians are practicing at the LV store in Paris, then it is the clerks in the Paris LV store who are spreading misinformation, by implying that the grey marketers are criminals, i.e. passing counterfeit currency, when this is not the case. <BR><BR>

Whatever it is, it happened to us....and i remembered reding this thread. I told my wife the Japanese couple was trying to scam us...she asked me how...i couldnt remember...lol.

I read about Japanese women trying to get others to buy them items in the Italian Fendi stores because they are limited to them, as well.
About LV purses...be aware that not all LV are made in France...they have some of their things made in the USA, Portugal and Italy, as well. Check the stamp on the bag to see where the piece was made.