Hermes Repair/Refurbish policy - Official Spa Thread

[springsmash]

Hi everyone, great reading all these post.

I was wondering if the Hermes spa would be able to refurbish my slouchy Togo Birkin back to its near original stiffer leather? Anyone has any experience with this? Hoping to get my b40 back to its original shape. Would greatly appreciate if someone could share with me [emoji3]!

I have asked before for my slouchy orange swift birkin 30 , they said there was nothing they could do to get it back to a more structured shape. I wish we could starch leather like we do with cotton. Have you tried using a bag organizer like chameleon insert to bring back its structured shape?

 

[sweilun]

I have asked before for my slouchy orange swift birkin 30 , they said there was nothing they could do to get it back to a more structured shape. I wish we could starch leather like we do with cotton. Have you tried using a bag organizer like chameleon insert to bring back its structured shape?

Thanks for the reply, was hoping the spa could do something about it.

Anyway congrats on scoring a vintage Kelly, do share some photos here!

 

[lipeach21]

Help! How do you get rid of pen ink? I have Epsom leather. Thanks

 

[Iama101]

Hi everyone, I brought my vintage Kelly into the Hermes boutique for spa service. I was told they can't the bag in unless I have a copy of receipt for proof of purchase. It's a vintage bag that I bought off second hand, I don't have the receipt of course. For those of you who have had work done with your hermes bag, is this true? Or the policy has changed? Thank you.

 

[springsmash]

Hi everyone, I brought my vintage Kelly into the Hermes boutique for spa service. I was told they can't the bag in unless I have a copy of receipt for proof of purchase. It's a vintage bag that I bought off second hand, I don't have the receipt of course. For those of you who have had work done with your hermes bag, is this true? Or the policy has changed? Thank you.

What country are you located in? You can try sending it directly to Paris to have it worked on.

To answer your question, This is not True in the US and in France to my knowledge. I just dropped off Vintage Kelly I got off craigslist to a local Hermes to have the handle replaced. The assistant craftsman emailed me today that they have ordered a replacement handle from Paris, so I know that the bag has been accepted to have work done on it. I am not sure if it helped that the Hermes location I went to had a craftsman onsite . Hermes embrace the legacy and quality of their products and celebrate vintage bags so I feel like they would or should be totally fine about accepting Authentic vintage bags they make.

BUT - I have heard that in the Asian market, the SA's or the store policies are stricter about what the accept for repairs -probably because of the high volume of resellers, the competitive buying market and the cultural stigma about used/vintage bags. I have had friends turned away without proof of purchase on an Authentic bag and even for bags they were given by their mothers that they wanted to refurbish.

 

[springsmash]

Thanks for the reply, was hoping the spa could do something about it.

Anyway congrats on scoring a vintage Kelly, do share some photos here!

Hey as an update, I just sent a different vintage Kelly to Leather Surgeon, a well regarded bag repair service that many TPF'ers love and even Chanel in the USA send their bags to get repaired by them . Gerry the owner told me that they have the ability to turn slouchy bags back to a more structured state. They have to see photos of your bag first to see if they can do it but you should look them up and give it a shot.

 

[lipeach21]

Can this be spa'd? I tried using alcohol wipes to get rid of the pen ink from my Calvi and silkin wallet but it seems like it took some color of the calvi and it's not really getting rid of the ink. Can the craftsman repair this? How much would it costs? Thanks

 

[LailaT]

Did they clean the toile? I am so curious about maintaining toile bags as they are so lovely.

Yes. Toile masks dirt well, but I know I got it dirty from use before I took it to the spa, and it returned fresh. A very little line of old glue near the leather did not come out, but I expect it was there for most/all 40 years of the Trim's life. You may enquire about the protective coating that comes on the toile from the factory, and whether an updated version of that is applied at the spa - I'm not sure but think it's likely. Good luck, toile/leather combo is so lovely!!

 

[plastic-fish]

Can this be spa'd? I tried using alcohol wipes to get rid of the pen ink from my Calvi and silkin wallet but it seems like it took some color of the calvi and it's not really getting rid of the ink. Can the craftsman repair this? How much would it costs? Thanks

View attachment 3461485
View attachment 3461486

Hi there. That's heartbreaking... I know I've used a pink eraser on pen ink on my box leathers and it came out but that was within 24 hours of the pen mark. I would caution against ever using alcohol wipes for the exact reason you've shown, color loss and I'm sure it's drying out the leather terribly. You might want to take it to Hermes and hear what they recommend. Good luck, I hope you get some answers.

 

[Iama101]

What country are you located in? You can try sending it directly to Paris to have it worked on.

To answer your question, This is not True in the US and in France to my knowledge. I just dropped off Vintage Kelly I got off craigslist to a local Hermes to have the handle replaced. The assistant craftsman emailed me today that they have ordered a replacement handle from Paris, so I know that the bag has been accepted to have work done on it. I am not sure if it helped that the Hermes location I went to had a craftsman onsite . Hermes embrace the legacy and quality of their products and celebrate vintage bags so I feel like they would or should be totally fine about accepting Authentic vintage bags they make.

BUT - I have heard that in the Asian market, the SA's or the store policies are stricter about what the accept for repairs -probably because of the high volume of resellers, the competitive buying market and the cultural stigma about used/vintage bags. I have had friends turned away without proof of purchase on an Authentic bag and even for bags they were given by their mothers that they wanted to refurbish.

Hi Bobamilkttt, thank you so much for your reply. I am located in Vancouver Canada. My local Hermes store didn't even bother to look at my bag, just told me that without receipt, they can't send the item to Pairs. The SA told me they have small presence in Canada and asked me to try US such as LA, NY, and Beverly Hills. As these places will have craftsmen on site for repairs. With the craftsmen onsite they don't need to send the bag to Paris and can confirm authenticity this way too.

I am going to visit Waikiki next month so I called the store in hope that their policy will be different. But I was told the same thing. They basically refuse to even accept the bag, real or not, without receipt. So now I'm caught in a tough spot, I won't be visiting LA in the short time and if I want to get my bag fixed right now, I may need to consider my local cobbler. I understand once I do that, Hermes will refuse to work on the bag in the future, is that right?

 

[sweilun]

Hey as an update, I just sent a different vintage Kelly to Leather Surgeon, a well regarded bag repair service that many TPF'ers love and even Chanel in the USA send their bags to get repaired by them . Gerry the owner told me that they have the ability to turn slouchy bags back to a more structured state. They have to see photos of your bag first to see if they can do it but you should look them up and give it a shot.

Thanks so much for sharing! Will definetly drop them an email for this! All the best for your repairs!

 

[sweilun]

Hi Bobamilkttt, thank you so much for your reply. I am located in Vancouver Canada. My local Hermes store didn't even bother to look at my bag, just told me that without receipt, they can't send the item to Pairs. The SA told me they have small presence in Canada and asked me to try US such as LA, NY, and Beverly Hills. As these places will have craftsmen on site for repairs. With the craftsmen onsite they don't need to send the bag to Paris and can confirm authenticity this way too.

I am going to visit Waikiki next month so I called the store in hope that their policy will be different. But I was told the same thing. They basically refuse to even accept the bag, real or not, without receipt. So now I'm caught in a tough spot, I won't be visiting LA in the short time and if I want to get my bag fixed right now, I may need to consider my local cobbler. I understand once I do that, Hermes will refuse to work on the bag in the future, is that right?

I didn't know they were so strict on this. But honestly if the bag was bought in the 1990s, who would have kept the receipt for 20 over years. Even if kept, the receipt would have faded to nothing.

 

[ahhgoo]

Hi Bobamilkttt, thank you so much for your reply. I am located in Vancouver Canada. My local Hermes store didn't even bother to look at my bag, just told me that without receipt, they can't send the item to Pairs. The SA told me they have small presence in Canada and asked me to try US such as LA, NY, and Beverly Hills. As these places will have craftsmen on site for repairs. With the craftsmen onsite they don't need to send the bag to Paris and can confirm authenticity this way too.

I am going to visit Waikiki next month so I called the store in hope that their policy will be different. But I was told the same thing. They basically refuse to even accept the bag, real or not, without receipt. So now I'm caught in a tough spot, I won't be visiting LA in the short time and if I want to get my bag fixed right now, I may need to consider my local cobbler. I understand once I do that, Hermes will refuse to work on the bag in the future, is that right?

OMG! It's the Vancouver store?!!! That's very surprising and thanks for the info on change in policy. I was so close to getting a Kelly that needed spa services...guess I'll stick to perfect bags from now on.

 

[icollect]

Hi Bobamilkttt, thank you so much for your reply. I am located in Vancouver Canada. My local Hermes store didn't even bother to look at my bag, just told me that without receipt, they can't send the item to Pairs. The SA told me they have small presence in Canada and asked me to try US such as LA, NY, and Beverly Hills. As these places will have craftsmen on site for repairs. With the craftsmen onsite they don't need to send the bag to Paris and can confirm authenticity this way too.

I am going to visit Waikiki next month so I called the store in hope that their policy will be different. But I was told the same thing. They basically refuse to even accept the bag, real or not, without receipt. So now I'm caught in a tough spot, I won't be visiting LA in the short time and if I want to get my bag fixed right now, I may need to consider my local cobbler. I understand once I do that, Hermes will refuse to work on the bag in the future, is that right?

I just inherited a Birkin 35 in Barenia/Toile that is a bit beat up and needs spa treatment. I am in Atlanta but I am going to NY tomorrow, so I called the Madison Avenue store to see if I could bring it in for spa services, and I was told they would only accept my bag for services if they could not pull me up in "the system" as the original buyer or if I had the original purchase receipt. Otherwise, they will not even touch the bag. She went on to explain to me that without the receipt "they have no idea if the bag is authentic". Really? Okay then. Honestly, I just laughed. That is ludicrous.

edited to add... I really could only laugh. If I could have pulled myself together, I would have said. Wow, okay, I didn't realize that Hermes didn't have that capability. There are people out there whose whole job is authenticating Hermes handbags for auction houses, etc. If it is impossible for Hermes to determine the authenticity of a bag without a receipt, perhaps you need to hire one of those people.

 

[QuelleFromage]

Help! How do you get rid of pen ink? I have Epsom leather. Thanks

View attachment 3456525

H spa got pen ink out of a Birkin clochette for me once. It was Clemence, however. I have also had good luck using Lexol wipes gently, but again only on Clemence and Togo, I don't have much in Epsom. I did hear that a product used for getting haircolor stains off skin would work, but I was too worried to try it.
I would run to spa asap - GOOD LUCK!!.