Buying luxury goods in Russia. Any good online stores?

[dreamspace]

I'm guessing that there's going to be some serious sales in the near future, so I'm wondering, what are some good Russian websites to buy clothes etc. from?

 

[Shpirt]

Why do you feel that there will be some serious sales in the future? Just curious...

As for online shopping In Russia - hoe in the world would you be able to ensure that 1. What you are buying is authentic, 2. What you get in the mail is what you thought you were buying or 3. That anything you buy will actually be shipped to you at all? Finally - if there is a dispute - what do you believe can be done (other than a complain to your credit card company) ?

I only ask because this is a huge yet untapped market - but I am a bit scared to jump in also.

 

[dreamspace]

Well, during the last Financial crisis, lots of high-end items went dirt cheap.

Since the ruble is dropping so fast, you may catch some nice items at good prices, before the stores adjust the price.

 

[Shpirt]

Also - it's been my experience that for the most part - luxury goods like cars and watches, etc. are actually more expensive in Eastern Europe and especially Russia. This is due to the fact that Russia has a large oligarch class who doesn't care about money at all - and are not looking for bargains. An average Russian - who has not profited through corruption and or mob- ties can not afford a Rolex and a Bentley - so there is no real reason to have any good sales going on... Do you think that the average Ivan wears Kiton or Brioni to his job?

I know for a fact that cars like Mercedes and BMW are cheaper in US then most other countries. Same with luxury watches and jewelry - I can only assume that same goes for luxury clothing

 

[Shpirt]

Oh I see - I didn't catch the story.

 

[MikeDT]



Well, during the last Financial crisis, lots of high-end items went dirt cheap. 

Since the ruble is dropping so fast, you may catch some nice items at good prices, before the stores adjust the price.

When I visited Moscow briefly during the Autumn, I noticed that some western lux. high ticket items were priced in Euros, and anyone buys would exchange Rubles to Euros at the prevailing exchange rate.

 

[P12OFIT]

There has been a serious run on electronics, so much so that Apple has temporarily disabled their online sales interface in Russia until they have time to adjust their prices accordingly. I am not sure we will see the same scenario with the clothing industry (partially for reasons posted above) but it is not a bad idea to see what is out there.