Suitcases and luggage have a huge range of price points – and getting a deal involves understanding the differences in features, quality and durability.
The most expensive cases are 10x the price of the cheapest.
My focus is on that ‘sweet spot’ where you get a great value deal on your luggage, while avoiding those cheap and nasty cases that can break while you are on holiday (a nightmare situation!).
This page explores the most important rules of thumb for getting the best luggage deals.
Here is what is covered below:
- Last Year’s Models Have the Best Deals
- Calculating the Value of Luggage on a Per Trip Basis
- How to Spot and Avoid ‘Pump and Dump’ Horror Brands
Luggage Deals: Buy Last Year’s Models for Value Branded Luggage
This tip for getting a great deals on your luggage applies to the branded suitcases.
Think Samsonite, Tumi, Antler and other top-tier brands.
I’ll use Samsonite for the main examples, as I use their cases regularly and appreciate the quality.
Big brands are expensive compared to average luggage. Their market includes wealthy (or at least comfortably off) people that enjoy the latest fashions, colours, and styles for their suitcases. These people typically change luggage every few years.
This is why new ranges appear, and older ones disappear from the listings.
Here is an example, from mid-2023.
Here is an example, from mid-2023.Proxis cases from Samsonite look stunning and come in a range of colours which are not available for their older lines. They are also expensive, the latest suitcases listed there top out at over £700!
Compare this to their super-light cases that were the latest models 7 to 8 years ago. These suitcases are fantastic. They have a real ‘wow’ when you lift them for the first time while your brain tries to work out how it is possible to be so light.
Instead of selling them on the main Samsonite website, they appear in the (official) Samsonite store at Amazon.co.uk.
They are also half of the price of the newer lines – starting at £250 (does change with the discount level, so keep an eye).
Samsonite are not the only brand you’ll find with this dual strategy. Here are some others with official Amazon stores that work in parallel with their own (premium priced) websites.
- IT Luggage
- Antler
- American Tourister
Calculating the Value of Luggage on a Per Trip Basis
Cheap luggage has a serious flaw.
By the time you complete one trip, it is starting to look tatty. Two trips put it into the battered category. By the time you are packing for the third time, you’ll be starting to doubt whether your suitcase will survive.
Another trip to the local recycling centre to bin that cheap, nasty suitcase.
Expensive luggage – especially brands with a 5- or 10-year warranty – last much longer. The downside with them (unless you find some amazing deals) is that the upfront cost can be high. As much as we’d love the latest brands and styles, not everyone has £500+ handy for a new suitcase.
I like to think about this conundrum in terms of my price per trip.
That £80 suitcase might last 4 holidays, making it £20 per trip.
That £300 suitcase might last 25 trips, which makes it £12 per trip.
Find a case with a sweet spot of durability to price, and you can get your per trip costs down to £8 or even lower. Add the fact you won’t be embarrassed by that tatty old case while you travel.
Some brands specialise in hitting the sweet spot-on a per-trip basis.
My tips include Tripp Luggage, American Tourister, or IT (for soft-shell super-light).
Of course, if you can find a bargain with the big brands, all the better.
Luggage Deals: The Pump, Dump and Replace Cycle of No Brand Suitcases
Head to any major online luggage retailer and you’ll find top-rated bags and spinner suitcases with gibberish sounding names.
Some are collections of capital letters – for example HGGRIX. Others are slightly odd sounding brand names – think NiceBagSuitcase. Both these names are made up (don’t want to get in trouble!), though I’m sure you get the idea.
These brands follow similar patterns:
- They are often sponsored listings.
- 5-star reviews, some of them detailed.
- Few (if any) negative reviews.
- Super-cheap compared to similar items.
When your suitcase arrives, the penny will quickly drop. These are often terrible quality, heavy and made of the cheapest materials. The chances of these bags lasting for more than a few trips is small.
Next, you go to give feedback to warn others that all is not as it seems…
…And the listing has gone.
Strangely enough, a new brand has appeared, selling identical cases… and the feedback / comments are all 5-stars and all positive.
And repeat.
Forewarned is for-armed with these brands. You’ll have no back-up, nobody to complain to and will be stuck with needing that trip to your local recycling centre.
For a real luggage deals, go for a ‘sweet spot’ brand, or make a multi-year investment and by a quality case which will last you for many years to come from a big brand.
These pages will point you in the right direction:
- How to Get Cheap Samsonite Cases
- Antler Luggage, the Complete Guide
- Is Level8 Luggage Any Good
- Worst Possible Places to Exchange Travel Money
- Fighting Back Against Dynamic Airfare Pricing
