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????????