I started out as #2 but have since become #3 after no QB offers in 2+ years (Madison Ave store). It was better for my sanity. But while my Madison journey has mostly ended, I still purchase from the website or other H stores when traveling.
Hermès Faces Class Action Suit Over Birkin Sales Practices
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I'd say it's legal, and the vibes are certainly similar, but I again think (as with the restaurant table example) there are too many key differences between the two scenarios. In this case, the cost of services/membership is known. It is not variable, based on spending on other things.
Honestly, the most similar/parallel industry I could think of is a casino. 😜 And that's regulated to high heaven!
I'm blindsided by how many people want to advertise to the World that not only would they kill to spend $10K plus on a bag + $10K+ on a lawsuit suit. The class action is liable to cost them more than any amount of fine jewellery and RTW. Also very strange to me (with everything else going on in the World) they're so fixated on, so obsessed with, something that you can pick-up from a reseller/auction house for much less, and there are all manner of other beautiful options by other bag makers.
Case law in tying is not so strict that everyone needs to be subject to it. It is just “more likely than not”. I think there is some sort of tying.
My friend buys in other countries, mainly in Europe. They wouldn’t have offered her a K if she wasn’t a good client outside the U.S. and she also got a newer associate. Not sure she would have had the same result with a senior SA. She bought four bags in China in the past few months or so and it was definitely tying. They showed her a chart of how much she needed to spend in each metier to get the bags she wanted and in one hour she was out with one QB for each trip.
She spends a lot in SLGs - it is not that she is just buying bags. She has all colors of all the wallets, cardholders, bracelets, charms etc. you can imagine. But she put her foot down when they tried to make her buy RTW and jewelry at her home store. Of course a store doesn’t want to lose a client that spends more than a million dollars worldwide a year. When she was about to move to the other store they called her in with a LE bag, and she was very clear that shouldn’t happen again, she only wants to buy what she wants to buy. She is tired of buying other products even if she likes them. Her main interest has always been bags. She prefers the Chinese system.
It is the U.S. and lawsuits are more common here than other places. Plus the system is rather unique that it is so expensive to litigate that most cases end up settling. Sometimes judges tell you before it even start “get x amount from the insurance and let’s resolve this.”
The plaintiffs are not spending a dime. They certainly have no interest in being Hermes clients, and are calling out Hermes on something they do not think is correct. They might make some money out of it, and since they are the main plaintiffs, they will get more money than the rest of the class (if certified and there is a settlement).
Lololololol Hilarious. THAT is def not luxury hahahah. To each their own. She obviously can afford to just fly to China and do it that way.
So are "we" actually mad that Hermes is NOT tying? lol ironic
Again, it seems like people are mad that they are NOT tying. So people would not be pissed if its said upfront you need to spend 20k to get x bag. So people actually want tying.
lol that my friend is 100% true. Luck is really really really the biggest factor shopping in Hermes US.
Thank you. In the UK, people better have £ots and lot$ of money before they even think of court, and the 'no win no fee' lawyers only take on clients they know are going to win.
Sounds like a chancer-racket to me.
Honestly, I would prefer “clear” tying to, like in China.
She doesn’t fly to China or anywhere for bags. She is a very successful young CEO of her own company which has offices in many places around the world, so she goes to these countries often. She built the business and all these offices.
I think Hermes could provide a much more luxurious experience if they relied more on strategic consulting for advice. I have a friend who worked on their finance department in the US and she said it was terrible. She is still friends with her colleagues, but she definitely said their finance department is not of the level of a luxury brand and she has 20 years experience in the field.
If you think they're initiating the lawsuit just for a Birkin and to fuel their obsession from the store... why are they pursuing the avenue that they know full well has already resulted in them being blacklisted from every H store world over, regardless of whether they win or lose?
The financial reports of all the luxury houses seem to say otherwise. (I hope you're not offended. I mean no offense to you personally. Just stating financial reports)
Sometimes to stand out from the bunch, you have to do what others aren't doing.
I have found in working with individuals who have been aggrieved enough to sue a corporation, not including physical injuries, is that these individuals are upset because they have felt disrespected and humiliated. Although I have received stellar service at my local Hermes in the US, I have been left embarrassed and uncomfortable in Ala Moana and FSH. Not humiliated enough to sue. An example of a successful Plaintiff who was motivated by revenge was the Rai v. Taco Bell case in Ventura, Ca. Taco Bell settled with a Hindu gentleman when they erroneously served him a Beef Burrito in the drive through instead of the Bean Burrito that he ordered. He was left traumatized by chewing beef because he is Hindu and sought $144k. He settled for half that amount and he pursued the claim in court because Taco Bell trivialized his claim, showed no remorse, and failed to offer a refund or apologize at the time. He said he sued on principle and not money.
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Saw this comment on the blog:
"The legal principles behind antitrust is to protect consumers (although I admit that it’s used for wrong ends in practice), so it’s hard to understand why any consumer would try to defend Hermes here."
One reson is the negative network effect ("snob effect") of some goods/services - where when more is available/accessible, the less the demand. Because the consumer wants something unique - no bueno if other people also have it.
"The legal principles behind antitrust is to protect consumers (although I admit that it’s used for wrong ends in practice), so it’s hard to understand why any consumer would try to defend Hermes here."
One reson is the negative network effect ("snob effect") of some goods/services - where when more is available/accessible, the less the demand. Because the consumer wants something unique - no bueno if other people also have it.
