Hermes and Budget - the Oxymoron

[Daydrmer]

I don't think I've had to make a comment on my budget or what I'm comfortable spending. I'm usually shopping with particular items in mind and I go in knowing the price. I'll only ask to see items that are in my price point, especially in fine jewelry or RTW, and I think my SA eventually took note of what I'll spend where.

They’ll point out new items that may be pricey but more so in a “we just got this in” way while walking by and keep it moving.

 

[carrie8]

I have no filter. I blurted in the past very loud 'how much did you say?!' or 'that's crazy' and some other things. I am at SA 2, the previous one had a promotion. Last time I was saying in the boutique that I was ready for adoption by the H heir so that I could shop every week

 

[cravin]

I agree with many of the above posts.

For myself, the first day I met my SA I honestly told him I would not be a big spender nor would I stop by often. He didn't seem to mind and just said: let me know when you want to swing by!

We generally do not discuss price since I usually look up the price online prior to purchasing. However, on occasion when I see something that I like at the store, I will be honest on what I'm willing to pay for. I think I saw a silk top and told my SA something along the lines of, if it's around $1500 I'd be interested. He took a look at the tag and said something like: it's $2700, ooo, yea, no no, let's not go with that. I have certain limits on what kinds of items I'm willing to pay for such as RTW but that does not reflect on my willingness to spend overall, for example, he knows that I'm willing to buy a birkin even though the price is way above that silk top haha.

For luxury in general, SAs in all stores probably think or know that prices are at a premium level. I don't really think it bothers them to discuss about price and what we're willing to pay for.

Very similar to us. When we met our new SA, I was very honest with him. I told him we like the RTW, no interest in the jewelry, love the bags, etc. I also told him about my relationship with my first SA that didn’t include “the game” though I’m sure I worded it more professionally. Sort of setting the expectations.

Very glad that I did because he has been amazing to work with. He now sources pieces he thinks my wife will love, has helped me with MTM RTW, and is a pleasure to work with. I was looking at a leather wrapped desk lamp and he looked it up for me. He saw the price and quietly said “it’s the same price as a bag.” and we just moved on. Other things, he will text me and say “I think she will love this and it’s relatively reasonable, what do you think?” I appreciate his help a ton.

 

[Veritybelle]

I would not explicitly refer to my budget with my SA. I expect H to be comfortable with that opacity, having mastered the art of opacity itself!

I rarely just pop into the store to browse randomly, so when I see my SA I generally have specific items in mind already. I can see sometimes she feels me out though, by offering me two "surprise" items in a métier at very different price points and I hope that my shopping patterns show that for items within my spend comfort level, I will choose the one that best fits my need - that is an important component of the value proposition for me, more than just the price itself.

 

[880]

Very similar to us. When we met our new SA, I was very honest with him. I told him we like the RTW, no interest in the jewelry, love the bags, etc. I also told him about my relationship with my first SA that didn’t include “the game” though I’m sure I worded it more professionally. Sort of setting the expectations.

Very glad that I did because he has been amazing to work with. He now sources pieces he thinks my wife will love, has helped me with MTM RTW, and is a pleasure to work with. I was looking at a leather wrapped desk lamp and he looked it up for me. He saw the price and quietly said “it’s the same price as a bag.” and we just moved on. Other things, he will text me and say “I think she will love this and it’s relatively reasonable, what do you think?” I appreciate his help a ton.

@cravin, I love the leather wrapped desk lamp, but I thought it was almost twice the price of a QB
Needless to say, I also passed

 

[Midge Maisel]

What I've said to my SA is "that's more than I want to spend." Which is kind of the point. I'm afraid to set hard and fast budget rules because I might end up breaking them, but just making it clear that I don't want to spend more than x on this particular day or item seems to do the trick!

 

[cravin]

@cravin, I love the leather wrapped desk lamp, but I thought it was almost twice the price of a QB
Needless to say, I also passed

Not that bad. It was “only” $9,100. I am absolutely fine using the regular lighting that I have in my home office 😀

 

[cravin]

With the recent conversations regarding tariffs and H price increases, I wanted to revive this thread because I’m curious.

Now, I know there are folks here that can spend $500k a year without it denting their wealth. For those of you, I am still open to being adopted by your lovely family. For the others, I’m curious.

I can see a path to regular bags being $20k+ in the next five years. Realistically, you’re now at the price point of a good used car, a down payment for many homes, seeding for a solid stock portfolio. Wondering where your cutoff will be.

 

[880]

With the recent conversations regarding tariffs and H price increases, I wanted to revive this thread because I’m curious.

Now, I know there are folks here that can spend $500k a year without it denting their wealth. For those of you, I am still open to being adopted by your lovely family. For the others, I’m curious.

I can see a path to regular bags being $20k+ in the next five years. Realistically, you’re now at the price point of a good used car, a down payment for many homes, seeding for a solid stock portfolio. Wondering where your cutoff will be.

I’m fortunate to have the stuff you mention above squared away. But, I do not ever want to spend the price of a car for a QB. Period. To me, a QB is an accessory, and I have enough. In fact, I’m most comfortable spending a lot less than 20K on a single item. (I’d prefer closer to 10-12K, which is possible in France).

A showstopper coat that I will wear for years into the conceivable future is a slightly different story . My most recent purchase was 16K at FSH, with the Eu/USD at 1:1. But, while I love it, I had already decided to pass at its current 20K US price.

That coat is my most expensive piece of RTW — displacing my Chanel fantasie metallic boucle with shearling collar and cuffs from 2022– and both are single item outlier price points, the exception, not the new upper limit.

With Fall 2025 RTW USD prices, my habit of spending more with my local SA is looking less likely. And, shopping with my FSH SA more appealing (even with customs etc etc etc). And, the fun of a trip to Paris also makes this special. Even my local SA agrees.

I do not foresee my budget drastically changing, though I’m hitting pause to see how the economy/ markets progress. My needs/wants aren’t going to change much either. As prices rise, I assume I will be buying fewer items but better quality.

(ETA: with everything going on in the world, I am grateful to even be able to consider this very first world problem)

 

[lill_canele]

I don't have a hard metric cut off yet, especially with all the market fluctuation and everyone freaking out about tariffs and price increases/changes/adjustments, I honestly don't know haha.
I have taken a pause from H for a good half year (apart from buying the small item here and there), mainly because there were other things I wanted more on my wishlist so those took priority.
Fortunately prices of QBs are not the price of a car....yet. Though to be honest, if and once they get to that point, I would probably let it go and request for one in the afterlife. I do love Hermes but it's not my life. I really want a birkin but I'm not desperate for one. If at the end of the day, I don't get an offer for what I want with a price I'm willing to pay for, then so be it. I'll just go get 10 doggies and a farm with that money, maybe buy them a goyard or LV dog carrier each.

 

[papertiger]

I don't think Hermes and Budget are an oxymoron. IME some the richest people in the world are the cheapest.

My advise if someone has to abide by a budget:
1. Look at H's website before you go so you don't faint when you get to the till.
2. Check the bag prices (H Shopping sub-forum) before asking for one
3. Little H things add-up
4. Don't fall in love with something you can't afford
5. Never go in to an H store and kid yourself you're just browsing.

 

[authenticbbq]

With the recent conversations regarding tariffs and H price increases, I wanted to revive this thread because I’m curious.

Now, I know there are folks here that can spend $500k a year without it denting their wealth. For those of you, I am still open to being adopted by your lovely family. For the others, I’m curious.

I can see a path to regular bags being $20k+ in the next five years. Realistically, you’re now at the price point of a good used car, a down payment for many homes, seeding for a solid stock portfolio. Wondering where your cutoff will be.

I’m up for adoption too! I come with a lovely husband and a cute newborn 😂

But even with the new price increases, I don’t think my budget will change but maybe spending pattern. My budget is very modest (somewhere between 10-20k/year) and is based on a fixed % of my total expected compensation for the year. I have had exceptions to purchase my 2 QBs but I don’t think there will be any exceptions moving forward. So my plan is to hopefully spend on nice things over the next 1-2 years and get an offer I love and buy every 2-3 years so I don’t use my whole budget in one year. Rinse and repeat until I make hella bank or die lol. I still have a lot of time and patience to build up a collection so I don’t mind waiting.

I don’t shop at any other luxury house and tend to be very frugal otherwise (insert me rolling up to Hermes in my banged up 2010 Toyota Camry), so my small purchases here and there at Hermes are really treat myself moments.

That being said, my compensation will probably be up this year despite being on maternity leave due to market conditions (my work is primarily with private equity) 😅 thankful for these blessings 🙏🏻 I thought having a newborn and a new house/mortgage would set my spending at Hermes back further but nothing has changed much. I guess it pays off to live frugally for years.

ETA: in terms of approaching it with my SA, I mostly look up what I want before stepping in the store so I know the price range of what I’m looking at. If I want to try on a couple pieces and I don’t know the price, I’ll tell my SA “I’m trying to stay under $x budget but I’m looking at getting Y item” and my SA is understanding.

 

[ladysarah]

I always have a 'broad' budget in mind when it comes to shopping. As I don't believe pre-spend exists, it has never occurred to me to shop so I can hit a target spend, if that makes sense. It's more like 'oh I'd love to buy this' or that, I check the price, try not to faint and decide if it's worth it. The bags (and certain other items) are worth it in my view, but I always ask the price beforehand, it's usually slightly different from the prices I see here, not sure why.

 

[cravin]

I will admit that Hermes has made me semi-numb to the price of things, but when we purchased the wife’s last QB, it was a Shadow Birkin 25. It came out to $16kish? And I thought to myself at the time “I’m glad she’s so excited but this is ridiculous”. And that was December of ‘23. Then we went to the sale in Jersey City and we saw this stunning coat that was $18k retail and the same “this is ridiculous” went through my head.

I feel like H had the pricing down right when their RTW and whatnot was priced competitively with other brands, but even those items are giving me sticker shock lately.

And my budget limit for a bag will be below $20k. Just like $19.99 vs $20, it’s a limit in my head. Now to convince the wife of this limit.

 

[jbeans]

I have a similar mental budget of <20k for bags and <10k for RTW, +10% if it's something that really excites me. But even with this buffer, the upcoming FW RTW collection is giving me sticker shock. I fell in love with a denim jacket with leather details on the runway, and mentally budgeted 10k for it, just to find out at the resee that it's an eyewatering 16k. WAY past my threshold so I passed. This will probably happen more and more as prices continue to increase for whatever reasons.