HOW TO BUY AN AUTHENTIC LOUIS VUITTON PURSE IN THE USA

If you want to purchase a new and authentic Louis Vuitton (LV) purse, there are only two ways you can do it here in the United States:

Purchase one from an authorized LV store in the United States

Go to any Internet Search Engine (especially the one started with G), type in "LV purses", the official site of Louis Vuitton should pop up (with their official name displayed on the site name), select "USA". On the top of the new screen, selects "STORES". Locate the store (sorted by STATE) that is closest to you. Travel to that store and purchase your authentic and new LV purse.

The disadvantage is that you have to pay sales tax. The advantage is that you can actually see the purse before you purchase it. Sometimes, it is extremely difficult to visualize the actual size of a purse by just looking at a picture even if the size is listed. You can always look at the web site to find the purse you like and call the store to confirm that they do have the purse you want before you travel there (if far away). Sometimes they may even save one for you to look at.

Purchase one from the offcial LV web site

The key here is "official". When you are on the official LV web site, on the first screen (see above ), you should see "E-SHOPPING" on the top of the screen. Click on the link and you will go to the official LV e-store. There is ONLY one official LV web site for purchasing authentic LV purses, ALL OTHER ONES YOU FIND ON THE INTERNET ARE PHONY!!! Look at the pictures very carefully, have a ruler on hand so you are able to estimate how big the purse is. Select the purse you want to purchase and you'll need to set up an account with the store before you can purchase it.

If you live in a state where an official LV store is present, you will have to pay your state's sales tax. If you live outside of such a state, you only need to pay for shipping. The only exception is if you live in Tennessee, even though there is no official LV store there, they do have a warehouse in Tennessee, therefore, Tennessee residents will have to pay sales tax. The advantage of ordering from the official LV web site is you may avoid paying sales tax (see previous). The disadvantage is that you don't get to see the actual purse and it is easy to make a mistake especially it is very difficult to see the width of a purse.

Seasoned internet or ebay shoppers may disagree with me because they believe they can find a good deal if they just look hard enough. That is what I thought at first. Not too long ago, I was looking for an authentic new LV purse. I did not want to pay the extraordinary price of $ 1,328 for an LV Alma Multicolor Black purse, so I started looking around for good buys.

I found this very legitimate site that was selling "authentic LV purses". They even had a ironclad guarantee that "All of their purses are genuine and authentic or your money back". I looked at the pictures of all of their LV purses. They look just like the ones posted on the official LV web site (I think they probably copied them from the LV site). I actually called them before I made the purchase and talked to a lady who had a British accent. She guaranteed that all their LV purses were authentic and actually gave me tips on how to tell the fake ones! According to their site, the only reason they could sell the LV purses so much cheaper was that they bought their purses directly from Europe or stores outside of the U.S.

I was convinced and happily paid $475 plus shipping for a new and genuine LV Alma Multicolor Black purse. The purse even came in a dust bag with the LV logo on it (though it was made of some kind of paper) and there was a serial number inside the purse. I didn't see any certificate with it and I called the site and they assured me in many official LV stores the certificate didn't come with the purse either. I read all of the guides including the one posted on ebay regarding ways to tell an authentic LV purse from a phony one. The LV purse I bought passed every single criteria except that I couldn't find 32 colors of LV logo on it. However, I did count 12. So I thought it was probably very difficult to count so many colors on one single purse.

According to their site, the only reason they could sell the LV purses so much cheaper was that they bought their purses directly from Europe or stores outside of the U.S.

One of my friends saw my beautiful LV purse and she even bought a phony one. You can tell hers is the phony one if you just put both purses side by side. I have a friend from France, and even she believes my LV purse is genuine. Several months later, my genuine LV purse started to sag for no apparent reason. I thought it was because I put too many things in my purse.

According to their site, the only reason they could sell the LV purses so much cheaper was that they bought their purses directly from Europe or stores outside of the U.S.

To make a long story short, I went to St. Louis and visited the official LV store there and asked to see an Alma Multicolor Black purse. Wow, when the two were side by side, there was have no problem in seeing that my purse was a phony. The material of the authentic purse was much more supple, the black background was a clear black, the colorful LV logos appeared so much more vividly on the black background and the dust bag that contained the purse was made of cloth. The sales lady took one look at my LV purse and regretfully informed me that it was a fake. It ruined my day completely.

According to their site, the only reason they could sell the LV purses so much cheaper was that they bought their purses directly from Europe or stores outside of the U.S.

When I came home, I tried to do the best thing I could and it was to try to return the purse to the site from which I bought the purse. I checked on the internet to find everything I could about the site. To my chagrin, they had received several complaints about their selling fake LV purses but they denied all of the complaints. I called them and they gave me a hard time for refunding the money.

They claimed they were selling "irregular" LV purses and that was why they could sell them so cheap. I finally had to threaten them with filing a complaint with the Manhatten State Attorney. I also filed a charge back with my credit card company and did get my money back.

I would like to share the followings with all potential LV purse shoppers:

Louis Vuitton never reduces the prices of their purses and they have no sales. I do not know of any LV outlet stores.

Louis Vuitton does not sell irregular LV purses. They destroy them.

Louis Vuitton purses always sell for the same prices anywhere in the world.

It is almost impossible for any internet stores to sell any new and authentic LV purses at prices lower than that of the official LV web site. THEY CANNOT BUY THEM ANY CHEAPER THAN YOU AND ME. If they advertise any LV purses cheaper than the official prices, they are either stolen goods or fake purses.

If you really want an authentic and new Louis Vuitton purse, there are only two ways to buy one (see above).

I heard if you buy a fake Louis Vuitton purse and try to bring it into the U.S.A., if customs catches it, they will not only confiscate the fake purse but can also fine you.

I hope this will help all you who are trying to find a bargain LV purse. Just remember: THERE IS NO FREE LUNCH!