Guides    The International Edit

International Shopping 101: Your Guide to Buying Bags from Sites Outside the United States

If you live in the US and the idea of ordering a bag from a site outside the country makes you a bit nervous, I can’t blame you. Bags are already expensive, and figuring out how a retailer deals with duties, international shipping and foreign purchase fees when you’re not well-versed in the rules can be a little bit daunting; no one wants to accidentally spend hundreds of dollars more than they expected if it’s not necessary. Because some of our favorite online retailers are in other countries, though, we did some digging in order to demystify the process.

International shopping has advanced by leaps and bounds over the past few years. Almost all luxury retailers include a bag’s import duties (which are what a buyer would owe to US Customs for importing a product into the US) in the prices listed on their website, and almost all of them do it without charging you more for the bag than you’d pay in the US. Many also offer free or very affordable shipping and returns, which help make the whole thing feel like you’re ordering from a company a few states away instead of on the other side of the globe. If you got burned buying a bag from an international retailer a few years ago, whatever problem you had is much less likely to happen today.

As for foreign purchase fees, it all depends on the credit card you use with your order–that’s not something retailers set. Most cards have a fee of around 3%, but there are cards available that won’t ding you at all–it depends on the specific terms and conditions of your account, and contacting your bank for more info is your best course of action.

Foreign purchase fee aside, we’ve assembled the official shipping, returns and duty policies of the Internet’s largest US-friendly international retailers below. If we’ve missed your favorite, please let us know!

SSENSE
Shop SSENSE Now

Location: Canada.
Shipping to the US: Free standard shipping on any order, free express shipping on orders over $200.
Duties: Included in prices displayed on the website.
Returns: Free US returns for a limited time, including duties.

Alexander McQueen Small Padlock Satchel, $1,995 via SSENSE
Alexander McQueen Small Padlock Satchel, $1,995 via SSENSE

farfetch.com
Shop farfetch.com Now

Location: Worldwide; farfetch.com’s products ship from the 300 independent boutiques around the world that list their inventories on the site.
Shipping to the US: $10 for products shipping from boutiques in the US, $17 for products shipping from boutiques in the UK and $24 for all other locales, although the site does occasional promotions with free worldwide shipping.
Duties: Included in prices displayed on the website.
Returns: Free within 14 days, including duties and pickup by the courier. Refunded amount excludes the original cost of shipping.

$2,395 via farfetch.com
Givenchy Tapestry Nightingale Bag, $2,395 via farfetch.com

MATCHESFASHION.COM
Shop MATCHESFASHION.COM Now

Location: London.
Shipping to the US: Free.
Duties: Included in the prices displayed with products on the website.
Returns: Free, including duties, when returns are requested within 14 days.

Chloé Hudson Tassel Bag, $1,944 via MATCHESFASHION.COM
Chloé Hudson Tassel Bag, $1,944 via MATCHESFASHION.COM

mytheresa.com
Shop mytheresa.com Now

Location: Germany.
Shipping to the US: $25 flat rate via DHL.
Duties: Included in the prices displayed on the website.
Returns: At the shopper’s expense and not including duties, which can only be refunded as store credit.

$2,150 via mytheresa.com
Saint Laurent Monogramme Leopard Calf Hair Shoulder Bag, $2,150 via mytheresa.com

Net-a-Porter
Shop Net-a-Porter Now

Location: London, but with a warehouse and shipping facility for US orders in New Jersey.
Shipping to the US: Free three-day delivery.
Duties: All orders ship from within the US, so duties don’t apply (and neither does your credit card’s foreign purchase fee).
Returns: Free US returns.

Fendi Bag Bugs Baguette Bag, $2,100 via Net-a-Porter
Fendi Bag Bugs Baguette Bag, $2,100 via Net-a-Porter

yoox.com
Shop yoox.com Now

Location: Italy.
Shipping to the US: $9.95 flat rate.
Duties: Included in the prices displayed on the website.
Returns: $6.95 within 20 days, deducted from the amount of your refund, but including duties.

Valentino Gryphon Finger Clutch, $894 via yoox.com
Valentino Gryphon Finger Clutch, $894 via yoox.com

The Corner
Shop The Corner Now

Location: Italy.
Shipping to the US: Free on all orders.
Duties: Included in prices displayed on the website.
Returns: $6 within 20 days, deducted from the amount of your refund, but including duties.

PB 0110 Leather Satchel, $900 via thecorner.com
PB 0110 Leather Satchel, $900 via thecorner.com
guest

22 Comments
Most Voted
Newest Oldest
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments