Tips for Luxury Shopping in Parisfeatured
I didn’t come to Paris expecting to buy a new Louis Vuitton handbag.
My last Louis purchase was in Aruba two years ago. I planned that one. I planned for that one – I called the bank beforehand to authorize a large purchase in a foreign country, I scoured the locations page of the LV Web site to ensure the store I was planning on visiting was an actual Louis Vuitton boutique, I poured over handbags until I’d figured out which one I wanted and familiarized myself with the US pricing. I went into that trip knowing I wanted to buy a handbag to take advantage of the duty free shopping in Aruba, I did all of the requisite research long before we left and I had a seamless shopping experience (well, as seamless as it can get when your bank declines the charge onto your debit card despite the aforementioned phone call pre-authorizing the purchase).
But I didn’t go to Paris expecting to buy a new Louis Vuitton handbag. We all hear about how expensive of a city Paris is and I’d figured that buying a bag in Paris would be more expensive than buying it in the Caribbean (where you’ll save a few bucks on the price, but you’ll hit the real savings in the duty free shopping and not paying a sales tax).
Shopping for Louis Vuitton in Aruba
So on the evening before our last day in Paris, when I was looking up the flagship Louis Vuitton boutique on the Champs-Élysées, I wasn’t expecting to read about how travelers from the United States often find incredible deals on luxury goods when they’re visiting Paris, especially Louis Vuitton. But the more I read, the more I wished I’d done my research before we left. Between the fall in value of the Euro and the VAT refunds on large purchases (more on that below), if I wanted to buy a bag (this year’s excuse: YOTTO – You Only Turn Thirty Once), I’d save a pretty penny. And the only thing I like more than treating myself is getting a great deal treating myself.
And in the end, we figured it out. We had a fantastic shopping experience, we got amazing deals and we got our refunds processed quickly and easily. Are you looking to make a big purchase in Paris? I’ve got a few tips for you.
The Earlier The Better
It’s not uncommon for lines to form outside of popular stores. At the flagship Louis Vuitton boutique on the Champs-Élysées, it’s not uncommon to see a few dozen people waiting in line outside the store in the afternoon. Once you get in the store, you’ll have to flag down a salesperson to assist you with your purchase, which can take a bit of effort.
Paris is a city of limitless possibilities and sights when you’re touring, and there’s always something better to do than wait outside a store in line. Go early in the day and avoid the lines. Not only will you save the rest of your day to enjoy the city, but you’ll also up your chances of walking away with what you want – it’s not uncommon for popular styles to sell out.
Know What You Want…and What You Should Pay for It
I want a Louis Vuitton bag.
I want a crossbody Louis Vuitton bag.
I want a Louis Vuitton Odeon bag.
Having an idea of what you want will help you be most efficient with not only your time, but the time of the associate helping you. Narrowing down what you’re looking for before you enter the store will also help save you from distractions that could lead to spending more than you’ve budgeted for your purchase and save you from buyers remorse if you find yourself making a rushed decision.
I knew I wanted a shoulder bag in the white canvas. I made a list on my phone of the styles I was interested in and what their US prices were. This allowed me to focus on trying them on and feeling for the best fit and it allowed me to quickly identify where I’d find the best deal.
The VAT Refund Is Your (Best) Friend
Aside from the savings you’ll find on the goods themselves, the real savings on big purchases in Paris is from the VAT Refund.
VAT (or Value-Added Tax) is a consumption tax that’s tacked onto the price of an item (usually, it’s already figured into the sticker price of the product). If you’re visiting from a non-EU country and you spend more than €175 in a single store in a single day, you’re eligible to have that tax refunded to you. Certain items aren’t eligible for a VAT refund (food, tobacco, weapons, for instance), but designer handbags? 100% eligible.
My Delightful MM bag retails for $1390 in the US. At the Louis Vuitton store in Paris, the bag retails for €990 ($1047.67), so without the VAT Refund, I’d already saved $342.33. But because my purchase was eligible for a VAT refund of €118 ($124.87), that brought the price of my bag down to $922.80, a savings of $437.20 from the US price. Tack on Chicago sales tax? I saved over $600 on what I would have paid at home. Not bad, huh?
…but Only If You Follow the Rules
VAT refunds sound awesome, right? They are. But like most awesome things in life, they don’t come easy. There’s a process you need to follow and you need to follow it pretty strictly to ensure your refund is processed.
1. Make sure you bring your passport with you when you’re shopping. Most shops will fill out the VAT paperwork for you and if you don’t have your passport, you’re SOL. The woman assisting me in my purchase at Louis Vuitton filled out my paperwork for me while I sipped on a glass of (complimentary) champagne, handing me a pen when she needed my signature somewhere. It doesn’t get much better than that.
2. After your paperwork is filled out, keep it in a safe place – you’ll need it when you exit the country.
3. Don’t pack the items you’re claiming a refund on (more on this a couple points down).
4. When you get to the airport as you’re leaving the country, you’ll need to find the customs office. First, you’ll scan a barcode on that paperwork your sales associate had graciously filled out for you at a kiosk to validate it. Then, you’re supposed to have a customs agent stamp the form before you drop the pre-paid envelope into the designated box. The reason you should not pack your purchase in your checked luggage is because the customs agent may ask to examine your items – in order to claim the refund, your items must be at hand and unused. In our case, we were at Charles De Gaulle before customs even opened, so we validated our forms at the kiosk, put them in the envelopes and in the designated box and were on our way. We then packed our items into our suitcases and checked them.
5. Your refund will either be issued to you via check or direct deposited as a credit onto the card you charged your purchase on. I had my refund show as a credit on my statement within a month.
Always Choose Euros
When our Eurotrip began and I was buying a magnet in the Harrods shop at Heathrow, the woman ringing up my purchase asked me if I wanted to be charged in dollars or pounds. I didn’t even know this was an option and I excitedly told her dollars, thinking I was saving myself from having to whip out my currency converter to know what I was really paying (with the assumption that the charge in dollars and the charge in pounds would even out to the same price) and I’d escape the dreaded foreign transaction fee.
Not true (on both cases).
Even if you opt to be charged in dollars, if your card doesn’t offer no foreign transaction fees, you’ll still find one tacked onto your statement (generally around 3%). And when stores offer this, they aren’t doing it to be nice – they’re inflating the conversion rate, which will eat into any savings you’re getting. On big purchases, these add up, so when they ask you dollars or [whatever the local currency is wherever you are in the EU], always opt to be charged in the local currency.
Have you ever found a really great deal while traveling? I’d love to hear about it!
