5 Reasons YSL is Cheaper in Paris in 2024
If you are traveling to Paris, France and plan to go shopping at YSL, you may be wondering if is it cheaper in Paris? The short answer is yes, YSL is cheaper in Paris! It is cheaper in Paris on average by over 30% versus the US, London, Dubai, and Singapore. This is because of the Euro exchange rate, the EU VAT tax refund, no sales, import, or duty tax, and finally the bi-annual sales (Soldes) that are standard in France.
1. Price Differences
YSL pricing in Paris, and the US isn’t the same. For example, the YSL LouLou Small Bag in black quilted Leather in the US is priced at $2,950 while in Paris, the exact same bag is priced at €2,400.
On average, YSL does price increases twice a year, however, they tend to raise their prices by a higher percentage in the US compared to the EU countries.
YSL has to play a balancing game, because they don’t want to price Parisians out of the market, but they have to stay up to date with things such as inflation and competition. With that being said, one of the main reasons YSL is cheaper in Paris is that the same bag has different pricing in Paris vs the US.
2. Exchange Rate fluctuation
Over the last few years, the EURO has gone in value, allowing the USD to become more valuable. Before traveling, I highly recommend that you take a look at the exchange rate between the EURO/USD. This is great news for those traveling to Paris to go shopping at YSL, because the USD is stronger than ever before. 5 years ago this was not the case, the Euro was valued 25% higher than the USD. That was very significant when comparing items prices in Paris.
3. European VAT Tax Refund – 12% off Discount
When you go shopping in Paris, France, you receive a tax refund of 12% if you purchase any goods over €100.01. Meaning that if you purchase a YSL bag in Paris, you will get an additional 12% refund on your credit card in 30–90 days after leaving Paris! On large purchases such as an YSL bag, this can really add it. Here is an entire article on a step-by-step process for the VAT tax refund in Paris.
4. No Sales tax or import tax in Paris
One of the reasons that YSL is able to keep their prices low in Paris is because there is no sales tax or import tax. YSL is headquartered in France, they avoid having to pay import tax to countries in the EU.
On the contrary, if you purchase YSL in the US, the Import tax, duty tax is built into the price in addition to a sales tax is added at the end. In NYC, this is an additional 8.875% and California is an additional 7.25%.
5. France offers “Soldes” twice a year
In France, by law, there are only 2 times a year when you can put your products on sale. Once in the summer and again in the winter. They are known as the Summer and Winter Sales in Paris (Soldes in French). During this time can YSL offers additional discounts on their bags, accessories, and clothing. So if you can plan your trip to Paris around these sales dates, you’ll be able to snag an even deeper discount.
YSL Price calculations in Paris Vs Other Countries
Now for the fun part, let’s take a real life example and calculate the price difference. Let’s use the YSL LouLou Small Bag in black quilted Leather as our example:
| Location | Price | Sales Tax / Vat Tax | Price Difference Compared to Paris |
| Paris Pricing | €2,400 ($2,237.43) | – $288 (12% Discount) | – |
| US Pricing (NYC) | $2,950 ($3,211.81) | + $261.81 (8.875%) | $974.38 |
| UK Pricing | £2,230 ($2,690.49) | No Vat Tax Refund | $453.06 |
| Singapore Pricing | S$4,100 ($3,033.95) | None | $796.52 |
| Dubai Pricing | AED10,550 ($2,872.70) | None | $635.27 |
This averages to over a 30% savings in Paris versus other parts of the world.
The YSL Small LouLou bag is Cheaper in Paris compared to the US by $974.38
The YSL Small LouLou bag is Cheaper in Paris compared to the UK by $453.06
The YSL Small LouLou bag is Cheaper in Paris compared to Singapore by $796.52
The YSL Small LouLou bag is Cheaper in Paris compared to Dubai by $635.27
In conclusion, Paris is the cheapest place to buy YSL bags compared to the US, UK, Singapore and Dubai. The US is the most expensive place to buy YSL bags. Are you convinced yet to travel to Paris to go shopping?
Sincerely Petite in Paris,
Diane
