Hermes exotic on auction house
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I have purchased crocodile bag from Christies London auction but it was shippment within EU (before Brexit). Now after Brexit it would not have been possible. There are CITES rules preventing Christies from shipping exotics. I think you would have to pick up the bag in Hong Kong and bring it back to California yourself and even then there might be customs rules in your country prohibiting importing exotics.
Everyone seems to have different experiences, but most auction houses will restrict you from even bidding on an exotic if you reside in a country where the bag cannot be shipped, so i would reach out to Christie’s for guidance. Obviously, at a minimum, it is essential to confirm that the CITES certificate is included with the bag. I have never heard of anyone successfully obtaining one after the fact for an item purchased from a reseller/auction house, so having the original is critical to bring the bag back to the US. But to be honest, I find it so much easier to buy exotics from US based auctions (in addition to Christie’s, Heritage Auctions regularly has some fantastic exotics in their quarterly sales - I believe they have a holiday auction in December and a Winter auction in February). Good luck!
Thanks for the tip on heritage actions. I will google.
I know. I’m waiting for one at my local store, being a women I want it NOW! And I knew someone here will be able to give me good advice. Thanks.
Alligator was actually banned in Cali (along with croc), then that law was stayed temporarily, but I would do some serious investigation before even trying to bring gator into the state. The last thing you want is a Kelly you can't legally import.
Thanks. Christie’s HK has confirmed they will not ship internationallY, only pick up locally.
I know its an older thread - Christies do not supply a cites certificate with their exotic bags - hence the reason why they do not ship internationally. I never understood why they do not provide this - especially as many of the bags are new and I am sure the owners will have the original cites!
Based on my observations in recent years, I think the auction hammer prices for non-limited edition or non-himalayan exotic B/K/C are not as high as compared to 5-10+ plus years ago. Most only sold for a little above or about the same as the prices paid at Hermès. I wonder if the difficulties in the import/export of exotic H bags sold at auction houses due to no CITES could be a contributing factor, besides of people’s preference change in recent years due to animal rights topics brought by PETA.
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I think if you look at the auctions the nicest exotics are usually at the Hong Kong auctions ( or in us) where I guess the biggest markets are. It does limit buyers to those countries esp as there is no cites provided - it’s a shame as it limits regions like Europe/ Uk