I wanted to mention that during my last trip to Paris, I was saddened to see so much begging. Several times we saw families begging from hotels, many people and their kids and pets begging at various posts throughout Paris hotspots. <BR><BR>One thing that still perplexes me - just in front of the Arch de Triomphe a young woman and her friend came up to my sister telling her that they had just left the Louis Vuitton store and wanted to buy a handbag, but the vendeuse said that she could only buy one and would need someone else to buy the other. Of course the question would be, why couldn't her friend buy it. It smelled of trouble/scamming to me so I advised my sister to steer clear. What could they have been up to?

We were approached by a Chinese couple claiming the same &amp; that Chinese could only buy one bag as well. I don't know what the scam was but we didn't stick around to find out. Interestingly enough they were both sporting Prado handbags, not LV.

We were in Paris in January 2003 and were approched by two oriental women in the area of the Arch de Triomphe and given the same story about the Lousi Vuitton store - we said no and walked on. I am really kicking myself for even stopping in the first place. It was a prime set up for something bad but I don't know what...

There actually was a problem (a couple of years ago? I forget when) with Chinese and Japanese tourists buying up LV and other designer good and then reselling them at home for huge profits at the height of the Euro designer mania in Asia. There was an article about it in the New York Times and in fact, some Asians were paying non-Asian tourists to go in and buy stuff for them. <BR>Which doesn't mean that the people you encountered weren't trying to pull off a scam of some kind. Or maybe there still is a lot of demand, but it seems odd these days. I often wondered why these Asians didn't pop up to Brussels on a day trip where they could buy the same stuff (with the advantage that all the top designer shops are clustered next to each other), with none of the lines or purchase restrictions.

Last year we stayed in the 8th,<BR>George V to be exact. You would find<BR>many women lined up from Asia with cash in hand on the street corners pleading with Americans to please go into the Hermes and Louis Vuitton stores and<BR>buy the scarves and handbags for them.<BR><BR>I found it quite interesting to just watch them in action. I finally asked<BR>the consierge what the story was. I was<BR>told that many of the high end shops<BR>in Paris refuse to sell more than one<BR>scarf or handbag, etc. due to the fact <BR>that they are known for there black<BR>market tactics. <BR><BR>Have no idea if this true or not, but<BR>depart this Friday and will be staying<BR>at the George V again, It will be interesting to see if they are still<BR>in full force as they were last year.

Hmmm, well, maybe it was legit, but mercy, they were a long way from the Louis Vuitton store. Thanks for the info gang.

Haven't been approached like some of you others, but what I heard is that they're trying to pass counterfeit money.<BR><BR>If you take them up on it and make the purchase and get caught, you're on the hook for using their counterfeit money, not them. And if the purchase goes through and the counterfeit money goes undetected, they get a free Louis Vuitton handbag.<BR><BR>Anyway, that's what I heard...

Whatever the reason these people have, if it seems strange to you, then it's most likely not in your best interest to give them attention.

Hi Maria,<BR> <BR> Did you look at their faces, their clothes? Were they emaciated, ragged, dirty? If the answer is &quot;no&quot;, you can bet that they are making good money and not paying taxes.<BR><BR> I'm told that in New York one can make about $40,000/yr panhandling. Paris shouldn't be too different.