I am looking for good prices on designer handbags like Gucci, Fendi, etc. There is a business called "Luxury Goods Outlet" at several locations in Italy and I am wondering if anyone knows it. I want to know if it's a retail store or a wholesale distributer. Or does anyone know of any place I can find them? Thanks!

You will rarely get this season's style at lower prices, unless they're counterfeit or several seasons old or stolen goods.

Just buy quality not quantity.

Like in the US luxury goods outlets don't have the latest styles at the start of the season - what you may find is the less popular newer stayles at the end of the season (the most popular new styles will have sold out) or styles from the season before. Great quality - but if you must be trendy you'll have to pay full price.

I agree about the newer styles not being available..but if you are looking for GUcci, Fendi, etc outlets...why waste your precious time in europe. There are outlet malls here in the US..Orlando and NY state for 2..Premium Outlets..you can call the stores direct and ask if they have a style you want and they'll be happy to ship.

Whoops ..hit reply too soon! With the crappy exchange rate you might be better off buying at home.

Gucci in Italy is about 1/2 the price they charge here in the US, especially for their small leather items. I've bought lots of handbags w/wallets, tons of shoes, etc., and most of the time the styles have not yet reached the US stores (we're about 6 months behind). Men's items are the same deal.

And always well within your duty-free allowance of course, right???????

Malbino - Is that half price at the *current* exchange rate?

Because it seems to me that things that used to be relative bargains are no longer since the decline of the dollar against the Euro.

And since hotels, meals, entry fees and everything else are also more expensive, what little money I used to spend on shopping ends up getting spent on essentials.

Hi jaime, I don't know where as I have not been to Italy except for the coast after the French Border, but the NYTimes on Sunday featured, "What's doing in Rome." Tho there is no mention of Gucci, here's what it reads.
"For bargain hunters willing to travel 20 miles from the city center, the new Castel Romano Outlet, Via Ponte di Piscina Cupa, www.mccarthurglen.it, offers scores of terrific shops in a pleasantly kitschy mail setting: A faux Medievil castle entrance leads to an ersatz-old-Roman-borgo interior. Versace, Bruno Magli and Fretti are amoung the labels represented.

I put one c too many, it's http://www.mcarthurglen.it. There are 150+ boutiques.
Here in Boston at our Gucci, sometimes they have half off sales when the season changes. I bought a beautiful luggage color leather bag that is timeless.

Do NOT agree that Gucci is 1/2 price of what it would cost in the US. I have shopped at Gucci on Via Condotti, as have members of my family. Years ago, you could rely on an average 1/3 savings. Hearing from close friends, with the advent of the euro and the fall of the dollar, the savings have become 1/6. Believe me, I have been shopping at the best stores all over Italy--Ferragamo, JP Tod, Prada, Battistoni, Brioni, Corneliani, etc. The prices are cheaper than in the US, but not as cheap as they once were. You can do better by hitting the sales at Barneys, Saks, or the boutiques on Madison Ave. Sadly, going to Europe to shop is not as tasty as it once was. If you REALLY want to get great bargains on clothing, shoes, and handbags, head to Buenos Aires. The low prices will make you weak in the knees, my darlings. Ciao.

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34465954
Here's a recent thread re the outlet mall near Florence. If you type "outlets AND italy" into the text box at the top of this page, you'll pull up many more. Reviews seems pretty mixed.

Although I enjoy shopping for bargains at home, it's time-consuming and I couldn't justify spending a day of my precious vacation in Italy at a mall. But to each his/her own!