We occasionally hear visitors to our showrooms commenting that our prices "appear" to be higher than European online shopping sites.  So I thought I'd spend a few minutes and spill the beans on offshore online shopping in order to clear up this (not-so-common) misconception. 

First and foremost when browsing these online shops, you must remember that the retail price (in Euros) is only a part of the equation, no pun intended.   When you make a purchase from an offshore e-commerce site, there are always additional charges that must be taken into account when tallying the total cost: handling, shipping, import duties and taxes.  

But first of all, there is conversion of the currency to consider. If you are paying in Euros but banking in Canadian Dollars, you can figure on adding 40% to 50% to the price in Euros for conversion.  So,  a dress that retails for 120 E. actually costs you $165.00 (at 40%).  Don't forget...