Louis Vuitton/Prada/Gucci - cheaper in Paris/Madrid/London
 

Hi!

im off to London, Paris, Madrid and things in between tour next month. My wife's birthday falls on 27th, when we will just be back in London.

I was thinking of getting her a designer handbag or clutch and was wondering where it would be cheapest (relatively speaking :) the Indian mark up on most goods is about 30%-40% so its cheaper to buy in Europe !

would love suggestions !

cheers.

Louis Vuitton never goes on sale. Prada might put some things on sale but usually it is only the items that are not so popular. I don't know much about Gucci, I stop buying their products when Tom Ford stop designing for them.

In Paris, I buy my purses at Galerie Lafayette and in London there is a big beautiful Louis Vuitton store on Sloane Street.

You are a very sweet husband and your wife is very lucky!

Goddess,

Thanks for you kind words, ill print this out and show it to the wife when she thinks im being an ass.

i didnt think they went on sale, i meant if the prices vary between Lon/Paris/Madrid.

I spoke to someone who works for Ferragamo some time ago and they mentioned that their India prices were about 30-40 % higher than their Italian stores, due to lower volumes and higher rents.

Ill def check out Galarie Lafayette :)

Yes of course the prices vary. Expressed in your currency, they vary by the second, depending on the state of the pound, the euro and the rupee.

No-one with a brain would risk predicting how those three will move against each other in the next 48 hours, never mind next two weeks.

Rather than depend on people's memories, you need to go to the UK and French websites of the brands concerned, find out the current price of the products you want (as cafegoddess says, for these brands there's rarely a significant price difference between outlets in a given country, and there's unlikely to be a significant difference between Paris and Madrid either), and then note what the rupee price is at home. Then decide when you're over here whether the sterling or euro price is better than the price at home on the day you're making the purchase. You might imagine, given the state of the rupee, it can't possibly be - but remember that the pound has depreciated at least as fast as the rupee over the past year.

Global brands have widely different strategies for pricing in India - partly because India's import and sales taxes, though usually extraordinarily high, vary a lot by product, and are different on bags from what they are on clothing. They certainly DON'T all start off with higher Indian prices: Marks & Spencer, for example - though not a brand you're interested in - now charges, before tax, substantially lower prices in India than those it charges in the UK.

Remember whem you're doing the comparison that the prices you're seeing in Europe include VAT (typically 15% of the price quoted) and that as long as you organise this - which means keeping the recipt and getting to the airport in good time - you can get the VAT refunded when you leave the EU.

In practice, this is always easiest to organise if you leave the EU from the country you bought the goods in

Flanner, thanks for a detailed explanation. I tried the sites before i posted the query here. In some cases the UK was cheaper than buying from France (Gucci) and France was cheaper than the UK for Prada. Couldnt find anything from LV. The difference is about 15%-20%. Hence the post.

I get that pricing is a mix of various aspects but considering how much people travel it would be an interesting indicator so i dont end up missing a deal.

As for how global brands price and the thing about duties. I get it, a friend of a friend runs a high end store which retails Fendi etc. I know from him that their markup on certain items is at times 45% and he recommended buying from Europe.

As for Marks & Spencer, their pricing is a great indicator of how overpriced their goods were in general, if you look at their launch pricing where it was a high end premium brand to now where its like a mid segment brand with no real focus...

anyway, thanks for input !

I aggree with overpriced M&S overseas. Probably LV would be better valued in France than in UK but again as curreny flactuates ever so quick you may also get a deal at high street. I do not bargain at home although we are known as bargainers in Turkey, at Clarcks in London I always bargain and it works....

Good Luck,

Murat

If I were you, I'd concentrate more on choosing a specific handbag (size, color, style, design, materials, etc.) and less on what you might save in any given country on any day of the year. In fact, the best way to treat a special lady is to take her shopping with you and let her pick out her own bag without any regard for price.

I would normally not recommend buying clothing or accessories at an airport. But I will tell you that I was pricing an Hermes watch two years ago. I checked prices at Hermes in New York, Hermes in Paris, and at Hermes shops at JFK and ICN.

The highest price was in the Paris Hermes.

The lowest: ICN (Seoul airport)

The difference between the prices was the equivalent of hundreds of dollars.

So, as surprising as it seems, you might want to look into a couple of airport shops if you have the time.

I have been buying Louis Vuitton, in Paris, regularly since my first purse in 1980 , a birthday gift to myself, 2 days before my 25th birthday. And I've ALWAYS gotten it cheaper there no matter what the exchange rate was doing.

Throughout the decades, I've purchased purses, carry-on bags and even a couple of hardsided suitcases; Bisten and Triomphe. The Bisten one I bought in Copenhagen and the Triomphe one at the Monte Carlo store which had the same prices as France.

The Danish purchase was a bit more than what it would have been had I bought it in Paris, but I used to live part-time in Copenhagen and couldn't get to Paris on that trip. It's always been cheaper to buy it in France.

The last purse purchased was in 2006 at the St.Germain des Pres store, in Paris. It was a red, epi leather, model: Passy, and I saved quite a bit.

In a few weeks, I'm back off to Paris and hope to buy the Neo Cabby GM purse (black denim with the LVs on it and trimmed in black leather and with a shoulder strap). I've wanted that bag for some years now.

So, I went on the website, last week...louisvuitton.com and clicked on France to get the price in Euros. It's 1,250 Euros minus the detaxe of 12%. The detaxe will be minus 150 Euros. So: 1,250-150=1100 Euros. Then I went on xe.com and did the money conversion and it comes out to around $1419.55 after the detaxe is deducted.

Then I went back on the website and clicked on U.S. and got the U.S. price. The U.S. price is $1,680.00 plus I added 8.25% L.A. tax (until the governator raises the sales tax to 10%). So, that's $1680. plus $138.60 =$1818.60. Now, $1818.60 minus $1419.55,( the Euro price)= a savings of $399.05, possibly a little more if the dollar goes up a little. So, say a plus/minus $400. savings to round it off. a Happy Travels!

So, I really hope to get this bag. And since my plane ticket is on frequent flyer miles and for 8 days I'll be staying at friend's apartments in both Italy and Paris and not having to rent one or stay in a hotel for this trip, I really hope to get my new purse!

As for Gucci and Prada. I'm not into Gucci, but we have a big Gucci store at our huge outlet in Cabazon. My best friend gets her Gucci there as Gucci has sales. And as for Prada, I have two purses, bought many years ago, but bought them here in L.A. and really marked down.

However, Louis Vuitton NEVER goes on sale as they don't believe in marking their prices down. So, that's why, when in Paris, I buy Vuitton and save on it there. Happy Travels!

Correction: Delete..."a Happy Travels!". I thought I'd deleted it in editing. Happy Travels!

WOW.

thanks, i was planning on checking things out everywhere and take a call then. should be cheaper than buying it in India.

awesome info. thanks everyone !!

Louis Vuitton most certainly does go on sale.

Thingorjus

Cries-When? I've never run into it on sale. Is that only in France or something? I know that Hermes gets marked down, in Beverly Hills, but it's only available at markdown prices to the workers unless things have changed. I had a friend who's worked there forever and for years waited to be able to buy the once a year markdowns. Happy Travels!

Cries - i would LOVE to know when LV goes on sale... i have most certainly never seen that happen in Singapore or Dubai (or maybe it is open to their VVVVVIPs only?) :)

3sica-Yes, maybe only a small group gets to benefit from the markdowns. Like some of the design houses that, don't put items on sale, but offer items at markdowned prices only to their employees or as in some upscale stores, mant years ago, their regular customers would be contacted to get markowns which I used to get at some places around L.A. Happy Travels!

Correction: "many", not, "mant". Happy Travels!

Hermes holds sample sales in Paris and in NYC. I do not have any dates for this year, though.

hermes is out of my league... I will just to stick to LV... my next dream is Chanel...i just love the quilted designs...
Guenmai, there is one particular shop that I would love to visit in Paris, I only have the address... maybe you can enlighten me?

72.Avenue Ledru Rollin 75012 Paris

Is this it:

Baby the Stars Shine Bright..(BTSSB)???

3sica- That one I don't know and it's been a while since I've been in the 12th. Years ago, I used to go to that area, but can't remember what it was for. Maybe shopping? Happy Travels!