I've heard about the VAT (Value Added Tax) refund for European tourists on luxury goods, but never had a reason to fill my brain with specifics until a few months ago. Right before I left for my Europe trip, I made up my mind to buy a Chanel reissue bag overseas because it's cheaper. According to my calculations, the savings should be around $800-1000 (comparing US price + state sales tax vs. European price - VAT refund) for the bag I had in mind. The only uncertain and possibly non-straightfoward part of this process was the VAT refund.

I did most of my research over at tPF in the Chanel Shopping forum. The ladies are full of knowledge and so helpful. Anything you'd want to know about the VAT refund rate (varies by country, usually 10-14%) to current bag prices to boutique inventory can be found throughout their many threads. Other sites that I found to be helpful: Global Blue's refund calculator (lets you enter purchase amount to determine tax refund by country) and Chanel Prices (lists worldwide current prices.)

Looking at the current exchange rate and the VAT refund % for the countries on my itinerary, I would save the most money by buying in Italy, then France (slightly less), then finally England (much, much lower.) If we had visited Italy before France, I would've bought my bag in Rome because the refund rate is 1-2% higher than in Paris. As it was, I didn't want to pass up on the opportunity to buy in France only to find out that the bag isn't in stock in Italy.

Another thing to think about beforehand is whether you want your refund back in cash or on a credit card. Cash refunds are 1-2% less but you get the money back immediately at the airport, whereas credit card refunds are higher but take a few weeks to process. I was greedy so I chose the credit card route, but then later read horror stories from people who never received their refund. It took about 5 weeks, but my refund did eventually show up on my credit card statement. Lets out big sigh of relief. If I were to go through this process again, I would choose to get cash back just for the peace of mind.

The VAT refund process consists of two steps. 1) When you make a purchase, the store will give you VAT refund forms that are filled out. This is also when you have to decide between cash or credit card refund so they can specify that on the paperwork (can't change your mind later.) 2) At the departure airport, have the refund forms stamped at the customs office. Then either drop it off at a designated mailbox (for credit card refunds) or stand in another line to get cash back.

Sounds easy enough, right? So our plan was to just arrive at the airport early in case of long lines at customs. But... right before we left for our trip, a friend (hi A!) asked if we have a direct flight back to the US from Rome? No, we have a layover in Germany... I think for an hour. Then she asked if I plan on putting my new bag inside checked luggage or carry-on? Carry-on. Bag is too expensive to not be with me at all times. Turns out, VAT refund forms must be stamped at the last port of departure out of the European Union. So if put my bag in my checked luggage, Rome would be the last port, but if I carry it with me, the last port is Germany. CRAP. An hour isn't enough time! So I turned to my BFF, Google, and read about people getting their VAT refund forms stamped at the first airport by showing their boarding passes with the short layover time. There were also others who were turned away by customs because it was not their last stop in the EU. Sigh. Nothing we can do now because our flights were already booked. So we decided to just go to the airport in Rome early and try out luck with customs. If that doesn't work and there isn't enough time in Germany, then apparently you can bring the VAT refund forms to the French embassy (or whichever country the purchase was made in) and have them stamped and mailed from there. Since I live in the DC area, the embassy idea could work as a last resort.

So many lessons learned! This is what happens when I don't put in any effort to making planning decisions, so I have no one to blame but myself. It's definitely a good idea to consider direct flights out of the EU and be picky about departure airports (if you can) because some are easier to navigate through than others. I was told (from a department store employee who works in their VAT office) that CDG airport in Paris has clear signs posted everywhere telling you where to go find customs and refund offices. They also have kiosks to scan the forms if you don't mind using a machine instead of waiting in line to speak to a person. I told him we were actually flying out of Rome and he grimaced, saying that airport isn't as easy to navigate. My advice would be to google your departure airport and familiarize yourself with their VAT refund process (where to go first, locations of customs/security/cash refund desk, hours, etc) as best as you can.

For refunds at FCO airport in Rome, I found this post and accompanying comments to be extremely helpful. Of course after reading other people's negative experiences with the refund process, I started feeling overly anxious. What if we can't find this supposedly hidden customs office and can't speak Italian to ask someone? What if we get stuck behind a huge group of Asian tourists at customs? Should we not bother sleeping tonight and just go to the airport extra early? DH just laughed at me before falling sleep. My worries were for naught (thank goodness.) There's no point in arriving before airline check-in counters open (usually 3-3.5 hours beforehand) because boarding passes are needed at customs. When we arrived at FCO, we didn't go very far before we saw a sign that was clearly labeled with VAT refund directions in multiple languages (!) near security:

There was also no line at the customs office, probably because it was 6am. I asked the customs officer if we can get our forms stamped now because we have a short layover in Germany. No problem, he said. Whew. He didn't even ask to see my new bag (VAT refunds are supposed to be for unused items only.) After he stamped my forms, I took a photo with my camera, just in case my refund doesn't go through and I need evidence to file a dispute. Then I sealed the envelope and dropped it in a VAT refund mailbox a few yards away. I don't recall seeing the cash refund booth nearby, but I wasn't paying extra attention since I had chosen the credit card route. It may have only been open during "normal" working hours whereas the customs office was open 24 hours.

Once we landed in the US, there was another series of steps before we could actually leave the airport. Immigration, pick up luggage, then customs. I declared my bag, so I figured there's a good chance I'll be questioned. I was a bit surprised at the amount of questions, but much more so at the actual questions that the immigration officer asked. I felt like the questions weren't going to trip anyone up, even if they had an elaborate story ready (granted, this was my first time not breezing through the airport, so I have no prior experience to pull from.) What is this number? What did you buy? Oh. That's a very expensive purse. Do you have it with you? What is your job? Did you buy it in Paris? What brand is it? Did you save a lot of money? That's a lot of money to spend on a purse. The grilling was more intense than what I'd imagine my parents putting me through, lol... and this was just the first hurdle! So I braced myself for round 2 of questioning at customs.

Yep, as I'd guessed correctly, I couldn't exit and was waved towards customs. This officer wasn't as nosy and just took out a calculator and said I had to pay 3% tax on the amount I declared. Afterwards, I learned from DH/SIL that everything is at the customs officer's discretion, ie: waiving items, charging between 3-9% tax on goods, etc. Supposedly leather products are to be taxed at a higher rate, so apparently we "lucked out" with our 3% tax.

I don't know how my experience compares to others who've arrived at IAD, or how it compares to IAD's reputation. I remember the consensus among my parents' friends was that customs at SFO is stricter than at JFK, so if they could, they'd try to book flights through NY, haha. This was about a decade ago, so who knows how much truth there is to that... anymore.

Was all the worrying and hassle worth saving money for? You bet. I ended up "saving" ~$950, which was in line with my initial estimate. Would I buy another expensive purchase from overseas in the future? Only if I win the lottery.