Louis Vuitton Odor Exchange After Overseas Purchase

Hello, this is Ijjingne. While moving, I found a Louis Vuitton wallet I had not been using. I opened it without thinking, and suddenly a strange smell hit my nose. It smelled like ammonia or ginkgo, a strong unpleasant odor. I wondered if it had been stored badly, then remembered posts from a few months ago saying Louis Vuitton was exchanging products because of an odor issue.

Victorine Wallet Monogram KRW 730,000

The wallet responsible for the smell was the Victorine Wallet. It is a compact wallet with card storage and a coin pocket inside. It is pretty, and because my mother barely used it after buying it, the condition was very clean. On the way to exchange it, I felt a little sad. I should have used it more instead of saving it. I really saved it until it became a smell problem.

This was a quick shot on the way to exchange it. I had heard that if exchange was possible, they would exchange it based on the product's current price. At KRW 730,000, that is a fairly large amount for a wallet, so I was quietly excited. Since I noticed it on the weekend and had nothing else planned, I decided to go right away. For reference, I had everything except the receipt.

I went to the Lotte Department Store Incheon branch, where I usually go.

I went in and explained the situation. After a short wait, I had to verify the purchase. I gave my personal details, but they could not confirm it. This product had been bought overseas at a Guam store, and it seemed the buyer information may not have been entered properly at the time. They tried phone number, name, email, and address, but no purchase history appeared. Even if the wallet is authentic and all components are present, they said an exchange for the odor issue is not possible if the buyer cannot directly verify the purchase.

For reference, if the item was a gift or the person visiting for the exchange is not the buyer, it may be possible to connect the buyer with the seller by phone. Some places ask the buyer for personal details by phone and accept it. It seemed possible at Lotte Incheon.

So I was worried about what to do. The smell was definitely strong, but I wondered if I had to give up. Then the seller said that for an overseas purchase, I probably submitted a passport at purchase and asked for the passport number. They said it might be possible to verify by passport number, but the store could not check it directly. They would need to email headquarters and wait for a reply, so it would take time. They said to allow one to two months. I gave the passport number, and about one month passed.

Because I was curious about the situation, I contacted the seller exactly one month later. Thankfully, it was confirmed as an overseas purchase, and the process moved on to checking the smell. At that point, I felt like it was done because the odor was obvious to anyone. During that month, I looked up many odor-issue reviews, and some said the smell was too faint for exchange. But when I smelled mine again, I thought there was no way they could refuse it.

I visited Lotte Incheon again after a month. The seller welcomed us warmly and said they would go check the product, so we looked around at similar wallets. I had seen other blog posts saying staff were unfriendly to customers coming for odor exchanges, but our seller kept trying to find a way and took good care of us, which I appreciated.

My mother started eyeing bags too. Five minutes after the seller went inside, they confirmed it and said exchange was possible. Yes, that smell was severe no matter how you smelled it. In the end, we brought home a Mini Cluny and a card wallet.

If this post makes you think of a Louis Vuitton item sitting somewhere, go check its smell. I found mine by chance and, although the process was not smooth, ended up with an unexpected benefit. If you have trouble with the odor issue, an overseas purchase, passport-number lookup, or identity verification, leave a private comment and I will share what I learned during my exchange where I can.