Overseas Direct Purchase Clothing Cheaper Than Domestic Lowest Price... Up to 18.3%

Korea Consumer Agency, Price Survey Results of 8 Products

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] As overseas direct purchasing becomes more active and clothing purchases increase, it has been found that some imported brand products are cheaper through direct overseas purchase than the lowest domestic prices.

On the 3rd, the Korea Consumer Agency announced that a survey of prices for eight products from four brands?Lacoste, Maison Kitsun?, Ami, and Stone Island?showed this result. The Consumer Agency compared the prices of these products on domestic official online malls and overseas shopping malls from September 6 to 10. The results confirmed that even after adding local shipping fees, international shipping fees, customs duties, and value-added taxes, the average price of overseas direct purchase was 7.7% to 18.3% cheaper than domestic purchase prices.

For Lacoste, applying discount codes provided during discount periods on the overseas official mall made prices up to 28.9% cheaper than domestic prices. Even when comparing prices before discounts, overseas direct purchase was 11.1% cheaper. Maison Kitsun? and Ami were up to 11.7% cheaper when purchased via direct shipping from overseas shopping malls such as Matchesfashion or Farfetch compared to domestic prices. Stone Island products exceeding the duty-free limit were 7.7% cheaper when directly shipped from the overseas official mall than domestic prices, and products within the duty-free limit were 11.5% cheaper when using a shipping agency. While domestic prices were the same across sizes, overseas direct purchase products showed price differences by size.

The Consumer Agency advised that this survey compared optimal conditions, and since purchase conditions such as customs duties and value-added taxes may vary, overseas direct purchase prices could be more expensive, so consumers should carefully consider these factors. They also urged consumers to refer to overseas direct purchase information on the International Transaction Consumer Portal operated by the Consumer Agency.