Cost of Importing a Coach bag

I've seen a couple of luxury bags resellers online, where they make it possible for Filipinos to buy coach bags(and other luxury brands)locally.

I choose not to buy from them for a couple of reasons:

1.)Not entirely sure WHERE they get them.
2.)Fear of getting ripped off.
3.)I want my bag to smell like it's from the U.S (hehe)
4.)Because I have access to their online sale.

If you actually look at the cost and the hassle of importing these bags, you'll see that if you have them imported on your own, it would be cheaper than buying it from local resellers for the obvious reason that it's their BUSINESS. They need to earn to, just like anybody else.

Plus consider the fact that you need a U.S or Canada billing address to back up your Credit card or Paypal account. So if you don't have the means to buy it directly, your only choice is to buy it from local resellers, just be careful not to purchase counterfeit items.

Lucky for me, my cousin has graduated from the coach hype and allowed me to abuse her coach factory account. I log in her account, then put my great finds in the cart, then she logs in and pays for them with her Paypal account (which has a verified U.S billings address). She'll have it sent to her address in California then sends them to my chosen courier who can ship it to the Philippines. We tried to ship it from coach directly to my chosen courier, but coach cancelled my orders for that very reason, as they DO NOT ship to couriers, (they need a home address.) On top of that, I had to put my orders in the cart again, was lucky they weren't sold out yet. You can bet I'll never do that again!

Below is a computation of importing a $150.00 bag via AIR CARGO:  (about 2-3weeks to arrive)

FYI:Coach online sale ships your goods for free (within the U.S) when your order reaches $150.00, anything lower than that will add another $6-$10 est standard shipping fee (5-7 days via UPS ground)

Sample computation:
$398.00 coach bag discount brings it down to $150.00
$150.00 x 8% sales tax(California state tax, cannot escape from it) = $12.00
$150.00 + $12.00= $162.00
$162.00+ $10.00=$172.00-Shipping from my cousins house to a chosen shipping company(Ex. Johnny air cargo)= $10.00 est.

Computation of Shipping fee from the U.S to the Philippines using Johnny Air Cargo:

• $6.00 per POUND lbs., minimum of 2 pounds, no exceptions. If item is only weighed in at 1 pound with box and all, you will still be charged their minimum of 2 pounds.
• $5.00 Handling fee
• 12% VAT (VAT is applied to shipping cost only, not the price of the item)

In my experience, one bag (a large coach satchel), plus the weight of the box, weighs around 3 pounds.

$6.00 x 3 pounds worth of goods w/ weight of box= $18.00
 + $5.00 Handling fee=$23.00
 + 12% VAT=$25.76 total shipping cost for a 3 pounds worth of goods

$172.00+ $25.76 (that is if it ONLY weighs 3 pounds) = $197.76

$197.76 x P44.00= P8,701.44 Total
I've searched a very popular local website sulit.com, and found that a $150.00 bag is sold here for about P10,000-P13,000. While I'm pretty sure the cost of importing can go lower using sea cargo (1-2mos to arrive), or having a family member or a friend in the U.S hand carry it home to P.I, these re-sellers have a reason to sell it for a higher price, even if they bought it at a huge discount. So whenever I see a local reseller selling them quite high, I don't blame them. But I wouldn't buy from them either, just because I know how much they're really worth, and because I have access to the coach sale.

So is it worth the hassle of importing coach bags or other luxury items? If you have access to the online sale, and you get to save a couple of hundreds or thousands from how much they are selling it here, then by all means, import them! It would also give you peace of mind that the item you are buying is authentic. But one thing to consider is, how long are you willing to wait for your goodies?

Should you choose to buy them locally, how well do you know the brand to spot the authentic and the fake ones.