You may be wondering why I’m dedicating a shopping guide to Louis Vuitton Hawaii. For people that don’t know, Hawaii actually has discount pricing on a lot of luxury brand names. First, I thought this was a scam because why would luxury goods be “cheaper?” Surprisingly, this is absolutely true. Outside of Europe, Hawaii is the next best place to buy luxury goods. On top of that, Hawaii’s tax is much lower than the mainland U.S. Here in Los Angeles, our sales tax is 9.5%, but in Honolulu, it’s only 4.5%. So, since we were in Oahu for the week, I decided to collect as much information as I could about all the brands that have the special Hawaii pricing and share it with all of you. As the first part of this series, I’m going to start with Louis Vuitton in Waikiki.

The Louis Vuitton Waikiki store is located on the main strip and it resides in the old historic Gump’s Building. I visited the store twice during our stay. The first time was to scope out what they had in stock and the second time was to actually purchase something. I’ve noticed that the stock in Hawaii seems to be more abundant than in the U.S. With that being said, their stock does go fast especially when people know it’s cheaper to buy in Hawaii.

The first time I visited the store, I was looking at the white Damier Neverfull with the pink lining. There was only one in stock and the sales associate told me I should decide soon if I wanted it because they only get a limited amount and won’t know when they’ll have it next. I told him that I needed to go home and think about it. Also, I still wanted to shop at some other stores in case I found something more that I liked. The next day, I texted him asking if that purse was still available. He said I was lucky because he sold the one I was looking at yesterday and fortunately two more came in their shipment today. Who knows if their shipment brings them these Neverfulls every day or not, but I was more shocked that he sold the one from the day before. I didn’t think it would actually be gone so fast. Either way, I got my bag and I was happy.

IS IT REALLY 10% OFF?

I’ve actually been to the Louis Vuitton Waikiki store a couple of times over the years, but this was the first time I purchased something. After writing this blog post, I noticed something strange about the pricing. Not all the “leather goods” are 10% off like the sale associate confidently told me. I compared the prices to what I saw in the store to what was online and I was shocked. Some of the purses rang in only at a 3% discount! Even my Neverfull wasn’t a full 10% discount, it was only 9.7%. So, if you know what purse you want, make sure you research the price ahead of time and do the math when you’re at the store. You still would be getting a deal, but it might not be as great as you thought.

CAN HAWAII PRICES BE MORE EXPENSIVE?

[Updated: 4/19/21] For at least the past decade, I’ve always known Louis Vuitton in Hawaii to ALWAYS be cheaper than the Mainland U.S. So, when I recent reader emailed me about Louis Vuitton’s new By The Pool Collection, she asked if I’ve ever heard of Louis Vuitton being more expensive in Hawaii? She mentioned that a friend of hers order the By The Pool Mini Pochette from the Hawaii store and she was quote $715 + Hawaii Tax. The online price clearly shows that it retails for $690 + Local Tax.

I was shocked! I immediately started doing research and asked a Louis Vuitton sales associate in Honolulu how much the Mini Pochette was and the SA quoted me the same $715 price. I asked the SA why this was and I got no response. So, I called into their corporate line and they said that it could be because the By The Pool collection is a limited release so they might have priced that one item higher. I inquired about other products in the same By The Pool collection, but those items had the typical Hawaii discount. It’s strange that the Mini Pochette was the only one I found to be more expensive.

At the end of the day, the Mini Pochette would still be cheaper due to the tax benefit, but again, I was shocked. Also, if you can find this bag, you should just snag it since it was confirmed to be sold out everywhere. Lastly, a  big thank you to my reader for pointing this out and letting us be all more aware!

UPDATED LOUIS VUITTON PRICING

Once you’ve finished this blog, make sure you visit my updated January 2022 Louis Vuitton Hawaii Pricing Guide.

LOUIS VUITTON HAWAII ITEMS

// BY THE POOL MINI POCHETTE //

Source: https://us.louisvuitton.com/. Screenshot by author.

// BY THE POOL MARSHMALLOW //

Source: https://us.louisvuitton.com/. Screenshot by author.

// BY THE POOL KEEPALL BANDDOULIÈRE 45 //

Source: https://us.louisvuitton.com/. Screenshot by author.

SERVICE AT LOUIS VUITTON WAIKIKI

I’ve read from other blogs and reviews that some of the Louis Vuitton sales associates (SA) can be snooty and unhelpful. In my personal experience, I don’t think I’ve ever really been super impressed by their customer service. The service I received wasn’t bad per se, but it wasn’t the most amazing either. The SA that I was assigned to seemed like they didn’t want to help me and just wanted to do the bare minimum. I understand that I just came from the beach and probably didn’t look like a million bucks, but still, you never know if someone is going to buy something or not.

So, I asked to see what Neverfulls they had and the SA quickly asked, “Which one?” In my mind, I’m thinking shouldn’t you show me which ones you have in stock? But the SA wanted me to specify which color, size, design, etc. I mean I don’t know what I like until I see it, right? The only time I felt the SA was more helpful was the next day when I came in and I was going to actually buy something. I brought a friend that wanted to buy something too. Suddenly, it’s all smiles and jokes. Regardless, the SA seemed to be in a better mood that day and actually took the time to show me other new items that they just received that morning. I ended up only purchasing the Neverfull but appreciated that the SA went a little extra this time around.

// LOUIS VUITTON NEVERFULL MM //

• Louis Vuitton Hawaii Price: $1,390 + 4.5% Hawaii Tax
• Mainland U.S.: $1,540 + Local Tax
• Discount: $150 (~9.7% discount before tax)

Source: https://us.louisvuitton.com/. Screenshot by author.

// LOUIS VUITTON CAPUCINES PM //

• Louis Vuitton Hawaii Price: $4,950 + 4.5% Hawaii Tax
• Mainland U.S.: $5,100 + Local Tax
• Discount: $150 (~2.9% discount before tax)

// LOUIS VUITTON MINI DEAUVILLE //

• Louis Vuitton Hawaii Price: $1,750 + 4.5% Hawaii Tax
• Mainland U.S.: $1,920 + Local Tax
• Discount: $170 (~8.6% discount before tax)

// LOUIS VUITTON DOUBLE ZIP POCHETTE //

• Louis Vuitton Hawaii Price: $1,140 + 4.5% Hawaii Tax
• Mainland U.S.: $1,260 + Local Tax
• Discount: $120 (~9.5% discount before tax)

// LOUIS VUITTON FÉLICIE POCHETTE //

• Louis Vuitton Hawaii Price: $1,410 + 4.5% Hawaii Tax
• Mainland U.S.: $1,530 + Local Tax
• Discount: $120 (~7.8% discount before tax)

// LOUIS VUITTON COASTLINE WEDGE SANDAL //

• Louis Vuitton Hawaii Price: $875+ 4.5% Hawaii Tax
• Mainland U.S.: $925 + Local Tax
• Discount: $50 (~5.4% discount before tax)

// LOUIS VUITTON MEN’S MULTIPLE WALLET //

• Louis Vuitton Hawaii Price: $610 + 4.5% Hawaii Tax
• Mainland U.S.: $670 + Local Tax
• Discount: $60 (~9.0% discount before tax)

// LOUIS VUITTON MEN’S SLENDER WALLET //

• Louis Vuitton Hawaii Price: $430 + 4.5% Hawaii Tax
• Mainland U.S.: $475 + Local Tax
• Discount: $45 (~9.5% discount before tax)

// LOUIS VUITTON MEN’S COMPACT 6CC WALLET //

• Louis Vuitton Hawaii Price: $440 + 4.5% Hawaii Tax
• Mainland U.S.: $485 + Local Tax
• Discount: $45 (~9.3% discount before tax)

// LOUIS VUITTON MEN’S LV INITIALES 40MM REVERSIBLE BELT //

• Louis Vuitton Hawaii Price: $570 + 4.5% Hawaii Tax
• Mainland U.S.: $590 + Local Tax
• Discount: $20 (~3.4% discount before tax)

// LOUIS VUITTON FRILL BLOUSE //

• Louis Vuitton Hawaii Price: $1,160 + 4.5% Hawaii Tax
• Mainland U.S.: $1,220 + Local Tax
• Discount: $60 (~4.9% discount before tax)

// LOUIS VUITTON LAVALLIERE COLLAR SHIRT //

• Louis Vuitton Hawaii Price: $3,200 + 4.5% Hawaii Tax
• Mainland U.S.: $3,350 + Local Tax
• Discount: $150 (~4.5% discount before tax)

Source: https://us.louisvuitton.com/. Screenshot by author.