I think this is a valid question OP so ignore the naysayers. To “save money” you will want to take advantage of the VAT refund which means you need to bring your passport with you when shopping and say at check out that you want to make sure you have the VAT paperwork—do this at the start of the transaction. Keep your receipts and unused goods for the airport (note that you will need to carry your goods with you and they can’t be in checked luggage). You get to the airport earlier to give yourself plenty of time to process the VAT refunds at the kiosks.

Before you leave familiarize yourself with the VAT in your country of travel (e.g. understand at what purchase price your VAT refund would kick in)

It is possible to search some of the luxury brands international websites from the US, which can be helpful in determining what items might be offered at a discount compared to US prices. I just did a quick Louis Vuitton comparison and the US location bag was priced at $2850 (pre sales tax) and in France the same bag was priced at 2300 euro or $2465 with todays exchange rate, so that’s already a more than $300 savings before you factor in the VAT refund which could be around $250. So your $2850 LV handbag in the US would cost you $2215 if purchased in France.

That said not all luxury goods abroad are priced with that much of a differential so it’s worth while to do some research in advance and to go in with a plan.

I recently got back from Paris. The American customs agent said you can only bring in $1800 or something like that without paying bc taxes. Also, when you are shopping, bring your passport. It just match the name on the credit card you used. I used my husbands cc and my passport and it almost didn’t work.

Anonymous wrote:I bought in Japan, not France, but the mechanics are the same:

I purchased a Goyard bag at the Goyard boutique in Tokyo. I paid the Japanese price (which was set in yen for the Japanese market, not in USD). The JPY/USD exchange rate happened to be favorable due to the strong dollar, so I saved a bit of money there. I also got the tax refunded (you can do this in Europe too), so I saved about $200 on that. In NYC, where I live, the base price of the bag is $1650, plus I would pay 8.8% sales tax on top of that. Between the exchange rate and the tax refund, I paid about $1400 total in Japan, so I saved about $400 off of the NYC price. I would assume that for French-made goods the savings would be a bit higher if you bought in France because there are no import taxes factored into the price. Plus you get the sales tax refund.

You can also purchase in the NYC boutiques and ship to home (for me, VA) and pay local sales tax. Try to do it on a weekend with sales tax relief in your area and maybe you get an extra bump. Local stores don’t have sales on those relief days, but out of state….not so much.

Anonymous wrote:Gucci is an Italian brand.

Still in the EU and owned by a French company.

Louis Vuitton is 30-40% cheaper because it’s a French brand and you get the VAT refund when leaving. If you like caudelie skincare that’s about 50% cheaper. Happy shopping!

Gucci is an Italian brand.

Anonymous wrote:LV will take care of the paperwork for you, make an appointment

What does this mean?

LV will take care of the paperwork for you, make an appointment

I bought in Japan, not France, but the mechanics are the same:

I purchased a Goyard bag at the Goyard boutique in Tokyo. I paid the Japanese price (which was set in yen for the Japanese market, not in USD). The JPY/USD exchange rate happened to be favorable due to the strong dollar, so I saved a bit of money there. I also got the tax refunded (you can do this in Europe too), so I saved about $200 on that. In NYC, where I live, the base price of the bag is $1650, plus I would pay 8.8% sales tax on top of that. Between the exchange rate and the tax refund, I paid about $1400 total in Japan, so I saved about $400 off of the NYC price. I would assume that for French-made goods the savings would be a bit higher if you bought in France because there are no import taxes factored into the price. Plus you get the sales tax refund.

I don't really buy thousand + dollar bags, but I did buy some clothing and even though it's technically available in the US, it was about 30% cheaper in France (BA+SH was the store I liked most and their price points were around $300 for dresses). Could have gotten a VAT refund, except we drove to Switzerland to fly out and I decided not to try to do it via mail. Skincare and stuff wasn't much cheaper, and in the past 10 years everything is so global it's hard to find things you can't find here or online.

I did find a furniture store that was really cute and cheaper than the US, but that would be more expensive by the time you import it. Le sigh.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s my first trip out of the US and I don’t understand what to expect when buying souvenirs in France. I’d love to buy a handbag, nice perfume, skincare items, and gifts for family.

How much am I really saving if, for example, I want to buy a $1000 USD designer handbag?

Not much, if anything. People always talk about buying euro goods for cheap in euro, but when I do the math looking at prices there vs here, it never adds up. Companies take this stuff into account when they set their prices in different countries. Maybe in 1970, but with full information and open markets, not so much.

Hmm. Not my experience with brands like Hermes and Gucci. The prices were lower plus I got a VAT refund. I wasn’t even born until long after 1970 too. This is experience from as recently as late 2022.

Anonymous wrote:You can save a lot on French brands in France by avoiding the import taxes as they jack up prices for items sold overseas.

I found that some designer clothes were half what they cost in the US.

What brands?

You can save a lot on French brands in France by avoiding the import taxes as they jack up prices for items sold overseas.

I found that some designer clothes were half what they cost in the US.

Anonymous wrote:It’s my first trip out of the US and I don’t understand what to expect when buying souvenirs in France. I’d love to buy a handbag, nice perfume, skincare items, and gifts for family.

How much am I really saving if, for example, I want to buy a $1000 USD designer handbag?

Not much, if anything. People always talk about buying euro goods for cheap in euro, but when I do the math looking at prices there vs here, it never adds up. Companies take this stuff into account when they set their prices in different countries. Maybe in 1970, but with full information and open markets, not so much.

It’s my first trip out of the US and I don’t understand what to expect when buying souvenirs in France. I’d love to buy a handbag, nice perfume, skincare items, and gifts for family.

How much am I really saving if, for example, I want to buy a $1000 USD designer handbag?