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Shopping at Louis Vuitton can feel intimidating, especially for a first-time customer.
The French luxury house, founded in 1854, is known for its handbags, luggage, and signature LV monogram. Even though these pieces are widely recognizable — and worn by celebrities like Emma Stone and Zendaya — many come with price tags in the thousands. For a purchase that expensive, it can be helpful to know what to expect before you shop.
Business Insider spoke with three former Louis Vuitton employees about the most common mistakes they saw customers make. Here's what they said.
Louis Vuitton shoppers shouldn't expect to find discounts at its stores.
Shelley Alvarado, a former sales associate and keyholder manager at a Louis Vuitton location in Topanga, California, said customers would often come into the store and ask if any items were on sale.
"I think that people assumed that there would be sales, and there wasn't a sales section at all. Louis Vuitton never went on sale," Alvarado told BI.
According to Louis Vuitton's website, that is still the case. The brand does not offer discounts on its products.
Waiting too long on limited-edition items is risky.
Eddison Brown, a former Louis Vuitton client advisor in Los Angeles, said he would encounter customers who waited too long to purchase special collaborations and limited-edition drops, ultimately missing their chance.
"If you want something that's a limited drop, you have to be adamant about purchasing that right away because it'll be gone before you know," Brown told BI.
He also recommended building a relationship with a client advisor. These are employees who develop one-to-one relationships with customers, and can be a resource for information about upcoming products.
Choosing price over practicality is a big mistake.
Given the high price of luxury bags, it can be tempting to choose the less-expensive option. However, Dominique Danielle, a former Louis Vuitton employee in the Philadelphia area, said that sometimes meant customers ended up with a bag that didn't actually fit their needs.
"Customers would default to a less expensive option or bag without considering whether it actually fits their lifestyle," Danielle told BI.
Some customers, she said, later returned bags after realizing they couldn't fit everything they needed to inside. She recommended being open to an associate's advice rather than assuming a different size suggestion was an attempt to upsell them.
Thinking a bag will look brand new forever is unrealistic.
A Louis Vuitton purse isn't necessarily supposed to look the same years after you buy it. For instance, Danielle explained that the untreated cowhide trim on bags like the Neverfull and Speedy naturally darkens with use.
"The idea of it is to get darker and show the wear and show just the journey of the bag," Danielle told BI.
Brown also said that aging can add character to a bag, especially when it's passed down through generations.
That said, customers should not treat expensive bags as indestructible.
The former employees all told BI that a high price tag doesn't mean customers should skip proper care and maintenance.
"Making this investment doesn't eliminate the need for care. It actually requires more of it because you have something that's precious and delicate and expensive," Danielle told BI.
Danielle emphasized the importance of storing these luxury items in their dust bags when not in use. Brown also recommended being mindful of exposing bags to rain or severe weather.
Feeling intimidated by the luxury environment is unnecessary.
All three former employees said customers sometimes seemed intimidated by the luxury environment or worried about how associates perceived them based on their appearance.
"I think that they assumed that the salespeople were judging them right when they walked into the store, which wasn't the case at all," Alvarado said.
To help shoppers feel more comfortable in the environment, Brown encouraged them to browse and ask associates any questions they had about any item.
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Cheyenne Elwell is a Seattle-based contributing writer at Business Insider covering lifestyle, food, travel, and culture. Her reporting explores how the places people live and travel shape identity and community. She has written for The Spruce Eats and Wisconsin Public Radio, among other national outlets. Read more at bakedbrewedbeautiful.com and follow her on Instagram at @bakedbrewedbeautiful.
