The Prixette Journal
Some of the best prices on designer shoes and bags sit in another country. European boutiques, in particular, often list European-made goods below US prices, and their export prices can drop further once VAT comes off. But a cross-border order has more moving parts than a domestic one, and the savings are only real if you account for all of them before you click buy. This is the checklist we use.
1. Work out the landed price, not the sticker price
The number on the product page is the beginning of the math, not the end of it. Before comparing an overseas price with a domestic one, walk through four questions:
- Is tax being removed? European prices include VAT — a consumption tax of roughly a fifth of the price in many countries. Reputable retailers deduct it automatically at checkout when shipping to the US. If the price does not change when you set your delivery country, ask why.
- Will US import charges apply? Shipments above the US duty-free threshold can attract customs duties and processing fees on arrival, and the rules and thresholds for low-value shipments have shifted in recent years — check the retailer’s shipping page for how they currently handle US orders rather than assuming.
- Who collects those charges? The best cross-border retailers ship DDP — “delivered duty paid” — meaning the checkout total is final and the retailer settles customs. Others ship DAP/DDU, where the carrier bills you separately for duty and a brokerage fee before delivery. A price that looks $100 cheaper can lose most of that edge at the door.
- What is the real exchange rate cost? If you pay in a foreign currency, your card may add a foreign-transaction fee. If the retailer offers to charge you in dollars instead, the built-in conversion rate is often worse than your card’s — paying in the retailer’s local currency with a no-fee card is usually the better path.
2. Get the size right the first time
Returns are the expensive part of cross-border shopping, so the cheapest return is the one you never make. Designer footwear is usually cut on European or Italian sizing, and conversion to US sizes is approximate at best — a chart may map an EU 39 to roughly a US 8 for women, but individual brands and even individual lasts run large or small against that mapping.
- Anchor on a brand you own. Your size in a brand is far more reliable than any general conversion chart. If you take a 38.5 in one house’s pumps, start there for that house — not from your US size.
- Read the retailer’s fit notes. Good retailers note when a style “runs small — take a half size up” and often list the measured heel height and insole length. Insole length in centimeters is the most objective number available; compare it against a shoe that fits you.
- Mind UK sizing. British brands sometimes list UK sizes, which sit about one size below US women’s sizing and differ for men — a separate conversion from EU sizing. Confirm which scale a listing uses before assuming.
- Bags have their own checks. Verify dimensions in centimeters against a bag you own, and confirm the exact size name — many designer bags come in three or four sizes with nearly identical photos.
3. Understand the returns path before you need it
Cross-border returns work, but they are slower and sometimes costlier than domestic ones. Check four things in the returns policy before ordering: the return window and when it starts; who pays return shipping and whether a prepaid international label is provided; whether duties you paid are refunded or must be reclaimed (under DDP, good retailers refund them; reclaiming duty yourself from customs is possible but tedious); and the condition rules — designer returns are routinely refused for missing dust bags, tags, or security seals, so keep every piece of packaging until you are certain.
4. Know your seller
Everything above assumes a legitimate retailer. Cross-border listings are also where counterfeits and gray-market goods concentrate, so match the seller to the price: an authorized boutique, a major luxury e-commerce platform, and a parallel importer are all different propositions. Look for a real street address, a working phone or email, and a coherent returns policy. A price dramatically below every other retailer in the market is information — sometimes it is a genuine markdown or a favorable exchange rate, and sometimes it is the first sign that something else is off.
The short version
Compare landed prices, not stickers. Size from a brand you own, not a chart. Read the returns policy before you order, not after. And judge outlier prices in the context of the whole market — which is, of course, the view Prixette is being built to give you.