Polène! I went home for three months came back and there were 1000 Polène boutiques in my neighborhood (actually: one, where a Comptoir des Cotonniers used to be — a downgrade, in my opinion.) But: Is Polene cheaper in Paris? Let’s do some math!

First, of course, we need to load up our shopping carts. Let’s grab: the Tonca (Edition Duo Camel, $540), the Nodde Hobo (Edition Smooth Cognac, $650), and the Numéro Dix (Edition Onda Black, $720) (seen in that order below). Total: $1910, plus $60 shipping. Fair enough.

As the brand’s T&Cs elaborate (rather confusingly), all Polène products are priced to include sales tax in the U.S. Indeed: See these two carts here. The one going to a test NYC address (on the left) shows a message that your original total price of $1970 includes “$160.59 in taxes.” (And that, yes, is 8.875% of the adjusted, pre-tax price, $1809.41.) With a delivery address in Delaware, you can see the message about taxes has been changed to note that you’re not paying anything.

So! For these three pieces, you’re paying $1970, wherever you are in the U.S. — unless you’re buying them in the New York City shop, where you’ll save the $60 in shipping.

However! And a very big however. According to Polène’s website, U.S. buyers may have to pay customs and fees for purchases over $600 (obviously, many Polène purchases will cross that barrier). Also, it advises that “these fees should not exceed 30% of the total amount of your order.” Should not!!! But could!! Now: Having done a quick tour through Reddit and TikTok — and having personally mailed literally hundreds of packages heading from France to the U.S. — it seems that these fees are applied sporadically, if at all. But the language, policies, and application of the fees seems vexatiously uncertain: Worst case scenario, that would add over $600 to the cost of the bags…or enough for a ticket to Paris (depending on season/carrier/luxury seat assignment/etc.)

Now! Let’s head to the French shop, where prices are the same as on it French version of the website. To recap, in the U.S. shop, we have three items: the Numéro Dix (Edition Onda Black, $720), the Tonca (Edition Duo Camel, $540), and the Nodde Hobo (Edition Smooth Cognac, $650), for a total of $1910.

In France, the Tonca is 390€, the Numéro Dix in Onda Black is 520€, and the Nodde Hobo is 490€, for a total of 1400€ — a sizable difference. At today’s conversion rate, that’s $1525.

Two complicating factors!

#1: Longtime American shoppers in Europe pretty much automatically calculate their VAT refund as they shop. VAT refunds apply to most purchases over 100.01€ at a single shop, for most Americans (not including students or others in France permanently or on a visa). (Here’s an extremely comprehensive explanation of how VAT refunds work, if you’re interested!) If you go to through the VAT refund process (and again, reference this post to see how to do it — it’s easy), you’ll get 12% back of your purchase price. Twelve percent off 1400€ is 1232€ (or $1343.)

#2: We cannot forget foreign transaction fees. Unless someone hands you 1232€ in cash, or you have a very generous sponsor, you’ll probably be making that purchase with a foreign (i.e. U.S.) credit card, which will add a small percentage to your purchase — many hover around 3%, so we’ll use that, too. A 3% bump on 1232€ is 1268.96€ — and that, in US dollars by today’s conversion rate, is $1401.

As a reminder, our final purchase price in the U.S. was $1910.

Our final math — and our answer to the question of is Polene cheaper in Paris: Yes. At today’s conversion rate, we’d save $509 by shopping in Paris versus in the U.S. — or 26.64%, just a tiny bit below the roughly 30% savings we’ve seen throughout our various inquiries, listed below.

Is Polene Cheaper in Paris? is part 5(!) in an ongoing investigation. Please also see Is Louis Vuitton Cheaper in Paris?, Is Chanel Cheaper in Paris?, Is Sézane Cheaper in Paris? and Is Diptyque Cheaper in Paris?