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Cut Your Luggage Costs
The Travel Tightwad · July 5, 2002

Tim Dawson doesn't like to travel with flimsy luggage. His tastes run to the high-end, ballistic nylon designer baggage by manufacturers such as Tumi, which he says serve him well on his frequent trips. "It's got a solid reputation," says the Frazer, PA, financial analyst, "but it's also expensive."

So you can imagine Dawson's surprise when he found two Tumi bags at Neiman-Marcus at 45 percent off the list price recently. "I paid $298 total plus tax. It was not a discontinued model, and it came with a full warranty," he recalls. But now he wonders—could he have done even better?

Maybe. Buying luggage is a lot like finding a cheap airfare or a reasonably priced rental car. It's part research, part knowing where to shop, and part luck. The only difference is that these days, despite all the advances of the dot-com revolution, there's still a significant off-line component to buying luggage. Instead of checking the Internet first, you want to log on last in order to make sure you're getting the best deal.

Take Bill Wolfe, a frequent traveler based in Beaverton, OR. He likes to shop for his luggage at Costco, which offers a house brand called Kirkland. "I own both the carry-on and coachman size bags," he says. "The coachman has a zipper expansion, which is great for the return trip when nothing fits the same as it did heading out. My biggest gripe would be that they're so popular that I encounter several every time I have to pick up my bags at the carousel."

Kicking the proverbial tires is important to air travelers such as Wayland Eheart of Urbana, IL. "You have to make sure the handles are attached by large heavy straps sewn over a large area of the bag," he says. "For example, all zippers will eventually fail, but big ones will take longer to fail than small ones, so make sure the zippers are really large."

You can't inspect luggage online in that way.

Not that you have to buy your next set of luggage at a retail store and pay full price. Bargain-hunters like Jerry Mandel look for luggage at closeout chains and flea markets. "My philosophy is to buy something cheap if you're going to check it in. The airlines tear up expensive ones as fast as cheap ones and usually replace the ones they broke with a better quality than what you bought," he adds.

Once you've found what you like, turn on your PC and fire up your Web browser. That's what Terry Behal does to find "new luggage in the box at unbeatable prices." He clicks on eBay for those deals. San Francisco communications consultant Alicia Nieva-Woodgate prefers eBags.com. "They have an amazing selection and their customer service is really, really good. They're polite, helpful, and knowledgeable—and the savings is great," she says.

Other popular sites include Amazing-Bargains.com, ebates.com, and overstock.com.

A word of warning: Some of the sites might bring you full circle—back to a bricks-and-mortar store. John Ortman, who manages a wholesale business in Quito, Ecuador, clicked on Pathfinder to find his next set. But the site referred him to a retail dealership in Irvine, CA, which sold him his luggage at a savings of $60. "It was a deal," he remembers.

And a final cautionary note from M. Carl Gehr, a software developer in Cincinnati: Don't let price alone be your guide. "Consider the cost of ownership," he says. "The initial price may be higher than the other options, but the total cost might actually be less." His luggage of choice is made by Briggs & Riley, which he admits is expensive, but comes with a lifetime warranty, even if the problem is caused by normal wear and tear or airline mishandling.

Christopher Elliott is a travel commentator based in Key Largo, Fla. All e-mailed questions may be edited, condensed or republished at the site's discretion.