AUSTRALIA OR INTERNATIONAL: WHERE ARE THE BEST PRICED LUXURY HANDBAGS?

TIPS & ADVICE

Australians can sometimes get a raw deal pricing wise on international fashion. But is that the case with the price of luxury handbags as well?

With the market value of pre-owned handbags correlating to their value when new, we like to keep our finger on the pulse of the prices of the luxury boutiques both in Australia and worldwide. We’ve set out a comparative snapshot below of the Australia vs international prices of a few of our favourite boutiques – Chanel, Louis Vuitton and Celine.

chanel bags

CHANEL

Bad news if you bought a brand new Chanel handbag in Australia a few months ago… as you likely paid significantly more than you would for it now. In April this year Chanel issued a worldwide price correction to try to bring consistency internationally with the pricing of its most popular bags.

This correction meant that France boutiques saw a significant price hike, while Australia and Asia received a price reduction. Take a Chanel Classic Flap bag in large size – this bag when new costs $6,900.00 at Chanel boutiques in Australia prior to April whereas now that same bag costs $6,200.00.

So give or take a few dollars, the price of a new Chanel handbag in Australia in the popular styles (including the Classic Flap) is now the same as internationally. A number of Chanel’s other handbags are going to receive the same price correction worldwide, with that to kick in sometime by the end of the year.

louis vuitton handbags

LOUIS VUITTON

Taking a look next at the Louis Vuitton boutiques, we checked in to see how our favourite classic, the Speedy Bandouliere 30 Monogram Canvas fares in pricing around the world:

Australia - $1,120.00

France – 970 euro (roughly AUD $1,368.00)

Hong Kong – HKD 8,050 (roughly AUD $1,300.00)

USA – USD $970.00 (roughly AUD $1,214.00)

So based on our current dollar, it's actually a better idea to buy your Louis Vuitton in Australia.

celine bag

CELINE

Lastly onto the much coveted handbags of Celine, we took a look at what the Micro Luggage Tote (leather tri-colour) costs internationally:

Australia - $3,400.00 France – 2,350.00 euro (roughly AUD$3,330.00)

Hong Kong – HKD 23,500.00 (roughly AUD$3,770.00)

USA – USD $3,100.00 (roughly AUD$3,850.00)

The price in France is a touch better than in Australia, at least with our current dollar, but our prices here still fare quite a bit better than Hong Kong and the US.

So when comparing international pricing using the Aussie dollar as the base currency, the pricing generally isn't any better overseas. Music to our ears!