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Hi guys,

You would be surprised. But I bought a sweater from Armani Exchange ABC Achrafieh branch after I have searched well the other stores. Ok, the sweater looks great, and I was expecting it to be expensive, so I bought it for $172. Of course, it's an Armani after all! But really, to be fairly consistent with the brand, it's an Armani Exchange Lebanon only after all!

So I went home and my friend asked me to send a picture of the new Sweater on WhatsApp. I browsed Armani's Exchange global website to find it only for $69.9 on sale. Can you believe it? More than double the price! Lol. I mean OK, if I order it online I will be paying shipping and customs' charges, I know, but I am damn sure it's not gonna get close to $172.

What are your comments? I was really shocked, and I am now considering to buy it online and ship it to my US Borderlinx address so it gets dispatched via DHL to Lebanon.

Oh well, went to the local store again, they didn't accept a refund, so they gave me a coupon of $172 that I can use before new year's eve. Now I have a new problem, I need to make sure to spend it well at their local store with getting ripped less! :(. Dunno what to buy, perfumes maybe?

Anyway, just wanted to share. How do you guys do your online shopping? DHL's charging me ridiculously high through Borderlinx as well.
Based on lebanese customs website, you'll be charged 10% vat + 5% customs + 5050L.L per MIT (and i don't know what the hell is MIT !)
MohammedSF wroteBased on lebanese customs website, you'll be charged 10% vat + 5% customs + 5050L.L per MIT (and i don't know what the hell is MIT !)
MIT dollar
Lebanese clothes achieve normal international prices during a 50% sale. They achieve international SALE prices at 70-80%. Wait for the sale to buy. The people who buy during non-sale periods do it on purpose (fully knowing they are overpaying and loving it) to be the first to wear this cloth item; during sale there will be many friends who would be wearing it at the same time... and heaven forbid you be called a copier if you happen to wear some piece that a person you know wore the same 2 weeks before.

It's just like super expensive restaurants; most of them don't have better food. The only reason for someone to go there and willingly overpay is because he/she doesn't want to mix and mingle with people of lower status. I could somewhat understand it in the extreme case though like we avoid wazwaz restaurants that attract the low life degenerates of the local hoodlums with their aggressive male attitudes and stare-down contests.
rtwo2008 wroteLebanese clothes achieve normal international prices during a 50% sale. They achieve international SALE prices at 70-80%. Wait for the sale to buy. The people who buy during non-sale periods do it on purpose (fully knowing they are overpaying and loving it) to be the first to wear this cloth item; during sale there will be many friends who would be wearing it at the same time... and heaven forbid you be called a copier if you happen to wear some piece that a person you know wore the same 2 weeks before.

It's just like super expensive restaurants; most of them don't have better food. The only reason for someone to go there and willingly overpay is because he/she doesn't want to mix and mingle with people of lower status. I could somewhat understand it in the extreme case though like we avoid wazwaz restaurants that attract the low life degenerates of the local hoodlums with their aggressive male attitudes and stare-down contests.
rtwo2008: the issue is that Armani's Exchange global site is selling the item for 69.9 dollars on sale, while the shop here in Beirut is selling it for 172 dollars. Can somebody explain this *huge* gap?

It's not like going to an expensive restaurant. It's more like the global restaurant is a fairly good one, and their direct or indirect representatives in Lebanon are obviously stealing money from people.
its very simple, we have no government everyone just sells anything at the price they like no one to protect the consumers, i used to sell computer and phone accessories and trust me all the stores have at LEAST 150% profit on any item, a 3000ma powerbank costs 5$ and stores sells them for 30$. an "original" laptop charger costs 8$ yet it's being sold for 50$+.
yea customers here are ripped off as if the minimum wage is 3000$. food prices are wayyyy too high fast food restaurants prices are even higher than in the USA its really funny, but it's the consumers fault in the first place, Lebanese people are uneducated customers and showoffs they just blindly pay and don't care, so dealers always try to push the limits and no government to protect.
@automata
It is your fault from the beginning to go shopping in "Malls" in Lebanon.
I never bought any kind of clothing, shoe wear or anything like that from a Mall.
They are way overpriced, the cheapest store in them, is still overpriced.
Clothing is just clothing, Armani,Gucci,Prada or whatever.
You will wear it and then you will throw it or give it up.


172$ for a sweater?
You're telling me you Willingly paid 172$ for a sweater?
You want me to hang myself or something?

Anyway,you should pay a visit to Bourj Hammoud area/Dora/Dekwaneh.
And see the difference in the pricing.
That's really bad customer service.
It's standard in Lebanon: you do not get an automatic cash refund. But for a place that sells sweaters at $172 (and twice the online price) I would expect a higher standard, you know?

As for me, to answer your question, I don't shop :) I buy myself a timberland pair of shoes every 5 years (they last forever) and inherit some stuff from my brother, and that's all I need :)

OK, seriously, I shop rarely, and surely would not pay $172 for a sweater. The sweater that I'm wearing right now, I bought it in Germany last year for like $20 - it's comfortable and looks ok. Sure it's polyester, not cotton, but it does it's job well.

Anyway, I hope you're happy with your sweatshirt. But you seem to want to exchange it now. If you're happy with it, just keep it and write it down as a lesson for the future, to check prices online before paying big amounts.
reality bites when you see someone wanting to have have an armani and yet looks at the price tag. the armani brand suffers of such...
BashLogic wrotereality bites when you see someone wanting to have have an armani and yet looks at the price tag. the armani brand suffers of such...
Not true. First of all, Armani created sub-brands for price discrimination and market segmentation, some of which are expensive while others are not. I am buying Armani Exchange which is the most affordable between all these sub-brands. Next, I urge you to have a constructive argument next time you answer. There is a clear difference between someone wanting to buy an Armani Exchange, and another wanting to buy an Armani Exchange at more than double the price!
automata wrote
BashLogic wrotereality bites when you see someone wanting to have have an armani and yet looks at the price tag. the armani brand suffers of such...
Not true. First of all, Armani created sub-brands for price discrimination and market segmentation, some of which are expensive while others are not. I am buying Armani Exchange which is the most affordable between all these sub-brands. Next, I urge you to have a constructive argument next time you answer. There is a clear difference between someone wanting to buy an Armani Exchange, and another wanting to buy an Armani Exchange at more than double the price!
the guys have a point.
if you really care about money, you wouldn't pay that much for a sweater.
I wonder if the same philosophy applies to the russian nouveau riche. The want to buy a Ferrari. They cant get it st a market price yet they can instantly buy it at double the price. They drive around with feeling of joy and "boyhood", do they feel that they were ripped off? Nope, they only feel more like kings since they really threw away the money for show off.

The same applies in lebanese clothing market. I remember the days when people used to travel to turkey every autumn to buy latest model leather jackets st s price rate of about 100, then return and sell it for double. Did anyone feel that they were ripped off.. nope. A case of demand and I supply, elementary economics 101.
are those traders ripping of, i tend to disagree, they are merely supplying a demand for those who are able and willing to pay for it. If someone has an issue, that some one clearly isn't the targeted consumer for their services.

With all the craziness and ripoff in Lebanon, one thing is true, its an open liberal market. Anyone can trade as they best see fit. Other countries have over exaggerated restrictions. Such liberty helped lots of people to survive the damaged employment economy during the decades of war.

Is it fun nope, i don't have a leather jacket and i drive a 15 year old vw golf.