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:
(1) 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 closer to you. Travel to that store and purchase your authentic and new LV purse. The disadvantage of this method is 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 look at its picture even they have its size listed. You can always look at the web site to find the purse you like and call the store to confirm they do have the purse you want before you travel there (if far away). Sometimes they may even save you one for you to look at.
(2) 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 ONE YOU FIND ON THE INTERNET ARE PHONY!!! Look at the pictures very carefully, have a ruler on hand so you can be able to estimate how big the purse is. Select the purse you want to purchase and set up an account with the store before you can purchase the purse from them. 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 those states, 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, Tennessean 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.
Now I know a lot of 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 though at first. Not too long ago, I was looking for an authentic new LV purse for my wife because our anniversary was coming up. I did not want to pay the extraordinary price of $ 1,328 for a 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 their purse are genuine and authentic or your money back". I look at the pictures of all of their LV purses. They look just like the one 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 in how to tell the fake one. 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 the U.S. Wow, I was convinced and happily paid $475 plus shipping for a new and genuine LV Alma Multicolor Black purse. I was so proud of myself and I gave the purse to my wife on our anniversary and assured her that this was an authentic LV purse and told her not to be afraid to show off the purse. The LV purse even came in a dust bag with the LV logo on it (though it was made of some kinds of paper) and there was a serial no. inside the purse. I didn't see any certificate came 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 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. One of our friends saw my wife's beautiful LV purse and he even bought a phony one for his wife. You can tell theirs is the phony one if you just put both purses side by side. My wife has a friend who comes from France, even she believes my wife's LV purse is genuine. Several months later, my wife's genuine LV purse started to sag for no apparent reason. We thought it was because she put too many stuff in her purse. Well, make a long story short, we went to St. Louis and happened to visit the official LV store there and happened to ask to see an Alma Multicolor Black purse. Wow, when the two were side by side, you could have no troubles in telling my wife's purse was a phony. The material of the authentic purse was much supple, the black background is a clear black, the colorful LV logos appeared so much vivid on the black background and the dust bag that contained the purse was made of cloth. The sales lady just took one look at my wife's LV purse and regretfully informed us it was a fake. It ruined our day completely. When we 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 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 of 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 out there:
(1) Louis Vuitton never reduce the prices of their purses and they have no sales. I do not know of any LV outlet stores.
(2) LV do not sell irregular LV purses. They destroy them.
(3) LV purses always sell for the same prices in anywhere in the world.
(4) It is almost impossible for any internet stores to sell any new and authentic LV purses at prices lowere 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.
(5) If you really want an authentic and new LV purse, there are only two ways to buy one (see above).
(6) I heard if you buy a fake LV purse and try to bring it into the U.S.A., if custom catches it, they will not only confiscate the fake purse but can also fine you.
I hope this will help all your desperate husbands who are trying to find a bargain LV purse for their wives. Just remember: THERE IS NO FREE LUNCH!
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