special orders?
- Thread starter maggiemoo
- Start date
Maggiemoo, I can only speak of my own S.O. experience.
The owner of my store offered me a special order,and I had a few weeks to make a decision. She told me she would call me once she talked to Hermes about my choice of a glazed 28cm rigide,Graphite, Porosus Croc,Kelly (P/H)
I was told it could be up to 12 months.
Her store only gets so many SO in a year.
The owner of my store offered me a special order,and I had a few weeks to make a decision. She told me she would call me once she talked to Hermes about my choice of a glazed 28cm rigide,Graphite, Porosus Croc,Kelly (P/H)
I was told it could be up to 12 months.
Her store only gets so many SO in a year.
I asked for a specific bag last year...the order went to the podium, what I asked for wasn't on offer, so my SA Special Ordered it.
So far, it's been almost a 12 month wait.
So far, it's been almost a 12 month wait.
my manager goes the same route as gf´s manager- if something i want is not available via podium he uses a so quote for it.or with some requests he so it dirctly as he knows the chances of podium are off anyways. but every store only has a very limited amount of special orders they can do per season so these go to preferred loyal clients.
In my own experience, the offer of a SO is not such a hard thing to obtain.
Maybe something to do with the fact, that within three hours of where I live, there are 9 Hermès boutiques. 4 stores within an hour and a half.
A few days ago I got offered a SO over the telephone from a SA I only talked to on one previous occasion. (I still need to go to the store to place it though)
A week earlier I got a SO offer in another boutique, one that I've been only once before, buying a bracelet and a silver ring.
Obviously I'm pretty lucky, just did'nt realize it until now!
Maybe something to do with the fact, that within three hours of where I live, there are 9 Hermès boutiques. 4 stores within an hour and a half.
A few days ago I got offered a SO over the telephone from a SA I only talked to on one previous occasion. (I still need to go to the store to place it though)
A week earlier I got a SO offer in another boutique, one that I've been only once before, buying a bracelet and a silver ring.
Obviously I'm pretty lucky, just did'nt realize it until now!
well, the SA said the bag would be made to my specifications ("so that it is exactly the way i want it"), to be ready by autumn 2008. whether this is called SO or podium order i don't know... main thing is, the bag will be to my heart's desire and, i agree, that IS lucky.
well, the SA said the bag would be made to my specifications ("so that it is exactly the way i want it"), to be ready by autumn 2008. whether this is called SO or podium order i don't know... main thing is, the bag will be to my heart's desire and, i agree, that IS lucky.
So are these special orders more available in France?
PO's are also offered more readily when there is a podium approaching and the store has quota available. You see many people being offered orders at the podium in Jan and June/July all the time.
transcendent - SO's form part of the store's quota, so therefore stores with a larger bag budget will have more access to Special Orders - therefore "Flagship" stores, and of course, Paris, will generally have more Special Order opportunities, but bear in mind, they also have MANY more customers. I was offered my first PO or SO (so a bag that could be ordered at the podium, OR I could choose a Special Order of a bag in a certain unavaible combination) by a TINY store with a small client base...
I would agree with Lilach that being affered an "order" is most likely usually a Podium Order - Special Orders usually pertain to something not readily available (colour or leather), or a change in design, that type of thing. It usually is a request of the client (in other words, it's not offered by the stores willy-nilly), which then becomes a "Special Order".
HTH?
transcendent - SO's form part of the store's quota, so therefore stores with a larger bag budget will have more access to Special Orders - therefore "Flagship" stores, and of course, Paris, will generally have more Special Order opportunities, but bear in mind, they also have MANY more customers. I was offered my first PO or SO (so a bag that could be ordered at the podium, OR I could choose a Special Order of a bag in a certain unavaible combination) by a TINY store with a small client base...
I would agree with Lilach that being affered an "order" is most likely usually a Podium Order - Special Orders usually pertain to something not readily available (colour or leather), or a change in design, that type of thing. It usually is a request of the client (in other words, it's not offered by the stores willy-nilly), which then becomes a "Special Order".
HTH?
My experience is a bit different ( it may make a difference that I live in the UK) and it works like this:-
You can (theoretically) order a bag as a Special Order but may not be able to for the following reasons;
Twice a year the stores build up a list of Special Orders which are then sent to Paris for consideration and manufacture. The lists are sent in February and July so if you ask for an SO just after the lists have gone there is no new list 'open' for your request to go onto. Never assume that you have a right to a Special Order. The numbers are limited and obviously the stores will retain many of them for their well-known and reliable customers. If you show interest and are keen and polite you will eventually be invited to place a special order. If you ask for something off the wall - asking for colours and leathers that aren't in production anymore - you will be warned that you're wasting your time basically! If you order a Birkin, expect to wait a fair few years....
But also twice a year the store's manager will go to Paris to see the next season's collection and buy for the local clientele - if you know what you want and make your wishes known before the buying trip occurs then your store could come back with just what you want - but these items will be almost without exception from the new seasonal range.
It's complicated and the landscape of what is available is always changing because of the rarity of the goods.
You can (theoretically) order a bag as a Special Order but may not be able to for the following reasons;
Twice a year the stores build up a list of Special Orders which are then sent to Paris for consideration and manufacture. The lists are sent in February and July so if you ask for an SO just after the lists have gone there is no new list 'open' for your request to go onto. Never assume that you have a right to a Special Order. The numbers are limited and obviously the stores will retain many of them for their well-known and reliable customers. If you show interest and are keen and polite you will eventually be invited to place a special order. If you ask for something off the wall - asking for colours and leathers that aren't in production anymore - you will be warned that you're wasting your time basically! If you order a Birkin, expect to wait a fair few years....
But also twice a year the store's manager will go to Paris to see the next season's collection and buy for the local clientele - if you know what you want and make your wishes known before the buying trip occurs then your store could come back with just what you want - but these items will be almost without exception from the new seasonal range.
It's complicated and the landscape of what is available is always changing because of the rarity of the goods.
From what I have been told, the special orders are placed twice a year in February and July and that would be a limited number for each boutique. (Only 10 SOs from my local boutique each time, only for their loyal customers) If you are offered for a special order, you can choose different colors, leather, hardware, lining, piping color, tricolor, bicolor, stitching of your own choice. Then the boutique will check if the colors and leather you choose are available, if they are available, after they place an order for you in Feb or Jul, the bag will arrive within 5-7 months. But if the colors and leather you choose are not avaible for offer, then it can take up to years.
I heard that you can order the bag in tricolor on the choices they already have, but that wouldn't call as a special order.
I heard that you can order the bag in tricolor on the choices they already have, but that wouldn't call as a special order.