Hermes ventes privees (sale) Paris June 2024

[DavidFincher]

Hi, I am wondering if anyone in France can advise on how best to establish a relationship with an SA in one of the Paris stores and secure an invite to the private sale (held in January and June of each year). I have been to many sales in the past where you have to line up and did not need an invitation. Now you need an invitation from Hermes and your SA has to put you on the list for the sale. I have just had a bad experience with an SA at one of the Paris stores (I won't say which one). I bought a fair bit of merchandise (nothing huge by Hermes standards but in the thousands of Euros) and asked the SA to put me on the list for the sale. He said he would try. I asked him again today, he said it was not possible to put me on the list for the June sale but that perhaps I could get on the list for the January 2025 sale 😕. I could not get any clear information out of him as to how much I had to spend to get on the list. He told me to write to customer services and ask to be put on the list. I did that, and customer services immediately wrote back and said that my SA had to put me on the list.

Frankly I feel as if my SA is lying to me. He certainly isn't being completely honest and I am tired of these games that Hermes plays. I also had the sense that I was the first customer who had asked this SA to be put on the list so perhaps I need to look for someone with more experience. Has anyone had good luck in establishing a long term relationship with an SA in Paris, and if so at which store? I have told my SA that I would like to establish an ongoing relationship with an SA but I'm not getting much of a sense that he is particularly interested. I think I need to switch from the store I have been frequenting, I have had bad luck at this particular store more than once. I have a sense that in Paris it is much harder to build a relationship with an SA because all three of the stores are bigger than average and so many of the people shopping there are tourists.

By the way I live in France now and have done so for years (I can't figure out how to change this on my PurseForum profile).

Any advice on establishing a relationship with an SA in Paris would be appreciated! Many thanks.

 

[cravin]

Hi, I am wondering if anyone in France can advise on how best to establish a relationship with an SA in one of the Paris stores and secure an invite to the private sale (held in January and June of each year). I have been to many sales in the past where you have to line up and did not need an invitation. Now you need an invitation from Hermes and your SA has to put you on the list for the sale. I have just had a bad experience with an SA at one of the Paris stores (I won't say which one). I bought a fair bit of merchandise (nothing huge by Hermes standards but in the thousands of Euros) and asked the SA to put me on the list for the sale. He said he would try. I asked him again today, he said it was not possible to put me on the list for the June sale but that perhaps I could get on the list for the January 2025 sale 😕. I could not get any clear information out of him as to how much I had to spend to get on the list. He told me to write to customer services and ask to be put on the list. I did that, and customer services immediately wrote back and said that my SA had to put me on the list.

Frankly I feel as if my SA is lying to me. He certainly isn't being completely honest and I am tired of these games that Hermes plays. I also had the sense that I was the first customer who had asked this SA to be put on the list so perhaps I need to look for someone with more experience. Has anyone had good luck in establishing a long term relationship with an SA in Paris, and if so at which store? I have told my SA that I would like to establish an ongoing relationship with an SA but I'm not getting much of a sense that he is particularly interested. I think I need to switch from the store I have been frequenting, I have had bad luck at this particular store more than once. I have a sense that in Paris it is much harder to build a relationship with an SA because all three of the stores are bigger than average and so many of the people shopping there are tourists.

By the way I live in France now and have done so for years (I can't figure out how to change this on my PurseForum profile).

Any advice on establishing a relationship with an SA in Paris would be appreciated! Many thanks.

Here in the US, sale invitations are handled by corporate and the store has no power on deciding who gets invites or not. Don’t know whether it’s different in Paris, but that may be the situation with the SA saying June wouldn’t be possible.

 

[DavidFincher]

Here in the US, sale invitations are handled by corporate and the store has no power on deciding who gets invites or not. Don’t know whether it’s different in Paris, but that may be the situation with the SA saying June wouldn’t be possible.

It’s definitely not the same in France as in USA. You need to get an SA in a French store to put you on the list of potential invitees. Then I think there is some luck involved in actually getting an invitation. I managed to get on the list a couple of years ago but seem to have fallen off it and am having no luck finding a helpful SA in Paris.

 

[papertiger]

Please ask here for advice on Paris store SAs

 

[papertiger]

Hi, I am wondering if anyone in France can advise on how best to establish a relationship with an SA in one of the Paris stores and secure an invite to the private sale (held in January and June of each year). I have been to many sales in the past where you have to line up and did not need an invitation. Now you need an invitation from Hermes and your SA has to put you on the list for the sale. I have just had a bad experience with an SA at one of the Paris stores (I won't say which one). I bought a fair bit of merchandise (nothing huge by Hermes standards but in the thousands of Euros) and asked the SA to put me on the list for the sale. He said he would try. I asked him again today, he said it was not possible to put me on the list for the June sale but that perhaps I could get on the list for the January 2025 sale 😕. I could not get any clear information out of him as to how much I had to spend to get on the list. He told me to write to customer services and ask to be put on the list. I did that, and customer services immediately wrote back and said that my SA had to put me on the list.

Frankly I feel as if my SA is lying to me. He certainly isn't being completely honest and I am tired of these games that Hermes plays. I also had the sense that I was the first customer who had asked this SA to be put on the list so perhaps I need to look for someone with more experience. Has anyone had good luck in establishing a long term relationship with an SA in Paris, and if so at which store? I have told my SA that I would like to establish an ongoing relationship with an SA but I'm not getting much of a sense that he is particularly interested. I think I need to switch from the store I have been frequenting, I have had bad luck at this particular store more than once. I have a sense that in Paris it is much harder to build a relationship with an SA because all three of the stores are bigger than average and so many of the people shopping there are tourists.

By the way I live in France now and have done so for years (I can't figure out how to change this on my PurseForum profile).

Any advice on establishing a relationship with an SA in Paris would be appreciated! Many thanks.

It's definitely at the SA's discretion, but it may not be the SA is playing games, it could be that the list is full for June.

I've been a client in London for around 15 years and I don't get invited to all the sales. I think I used to get invites more regularly when I spent less. It's more a case of being in the SA's consciousness at the right time.

 

[880]

I’m a regular client at FSH, but I have only shopped my local NY sale. (I have neither asked for nor received a Paris invite, and I only go to Paris twice a year — not during sale). Other TPFers have posted that the Paris sale has tended to be more egalitarian than that of NY. But, I don’t think the criteria is spend at all. Because if that were the case, resellers would qualify. I was told that last year 2023 the NY decision was up to corporate. In fact with the Madison opening, many SAs thought H would skip the sale. This year I was told H SAs could nominate, but corporate is still in charge of approvals.

Both years I was told that the sale is considered a perk for loyal regular clients of the house which to my mind is concerned more with the nature and longevity of an SA relationship to his client. H SAs are probably trained to keep any corporate guidelines as to internal workings (who gets a sale invite to who gets a bag) pretty opaque to avoid a flood of complaints. For example if corporate were to give a hypothetical guideline (I’m making this up as an example only: SAs are only allowed to nominate five of their best clients, the SA might not be able to nominate you even with a hefty spend). they may have already done their nominations. If one were to shop regularly and get to know one’s SA and SM, an invitation might be more likely than not. But, it might take more than a year, or it might not happen at all.

ETA: I don’t think your SA was lying to you; I’m not sure another SA would have told you anything differently. But, of course, if you are not comfortable with your store, you have the good fortunate to have two others. Good luck!

 

[DavidFincher]

I’m a regular client at FSH, but I have only shopped my local NY sale. (I have neither asked for nor received a Paris invite, and I only go to Paris twice a year — not during sale). Other TPFers have posted that the Paris sale has tended to be more egalitarian than that of NY. But, I don’t think the criteria is spend at all. Because if that were the case, resellers would qualify. I was told that last year 2023 the NY decision was up to corporate. In fact with the Madison opening, many SAs thought H would skip the sale. This year I was told H SAs could nominate, but corporate is still in charge of approvals.

Both years I was told that the sale is considered a perk for loyal regular clients of the house which to my mind is concerned more with the nature and longevity of an SA relationship to his client. H SAs are probably trained to keep any corporate guidelines as to internal workings (who gets a sale invite to who gets a bag) pretty opaque to avoid a flood of complaints. For example if corporate were to give a hypothetical guideline (I’m making this up as an example only: SAs are only allowed to nominate five of their best clients, the SA might not be able to nominate you even with a hefty spend). they may have already done their nominations. If one were to shop regularly and get to know one’s SA and SM, an invitation might be more likely than not. But, it might take more than a year, or it might not happen at all.

ETA: I don’t think your SA was lying to you; I’m not sure another SA would have told you anything differently. But, of course, if you are not comfortable with your store, you have the good fortunate to have two others. Good luck!

Thank you for your reply 880. Now that you mention it, I am sure that my SA was constrained by what he could say to me. That said, I have had a couple of questionable experiences at this particular Paris store over the years and my gut tells me that it's time to switch to one of the other two.

I miss the Hermes at the Royal Exchange in London. That is a tiny store but it's quite focused on menswear and it was easy to form a good rapport with the SAs there. Oh well, I will keep going in Paris and try my luck at a different store.

 

[QuelleFromage]

Spend is definitely not the top or sole criterion for the Paris sales. If I had to guess, I would say it's relationship.

 

[DavidFincher]

Thank you that is interesting. I have not clicked with an SA yet (despite my efforts). I’m probably going to buy a Hermes watch in the next few weeks, I think I will try a different store this time, I don’t feel like I am getting anywhere at the store I have been using. If I regularly visited a smaller French city with an Hermes I would try to build up a relationship there as I expect that would be much easier than in Paris. I know that people from all over the world come to Paris to score a bag (often with success) but as a local Paris feels annoyingly competitive.

I miss the days when the sale meant an all night line up. I would get in line at 2.30 am and it wasn’t exactly fun but it was always worth the effort.

 

[tmk_fr]

FSH is my home store and when I inquired about the winter sales in November, I was told you ask to be put on the list by the hostesses, not the SA. Being put on the list doesn't guarantee getting selected, however. I don't have a regular SA, but I do have a favorite hostess and she told me at the time of my request that it was too late for the winter sales but that she would add me to the list for summer. Lo and behold, I just got the email for the June sales.

P.S. For anyone who has gone before, do you recommend prioritizing the date or the time when selecting a slot? (i.e. Day 1 afternoon vs Day 2 morning?) It will be my first time going.

 

[DavidFincher]

FSH is my home store and when I inquired about the winter sales in November, I was told you ask to be put on the list by the hostesses, not the SA. Being put on the list doesn't guarantee getting selected, however. I don't have a regular SA, but I do have a favorite hostess and she told me at the time of my request that it was too late for the winter sales but that she would add me to the list for summer. Lo and behold, I just got the email for the June sales.

P.S. For anyone who has gone before, do you recommend prioritizing the date or the time when selecting a slot? (i.e. Day 1 afternoon vs Day 2 morning?) It will be my first time going.

My invitation just came and I grabbed the first available slot. If you have an invite I suggest you get off PurseForum and grab your slot now. Stuff definitely gets picked over so go as early as you can.

 

[tmk_fr]

My invitation just came and I grabbed the first available slot. If you have an invite I suspect you get off PurseForum and grab your slot now. Stuff definitely gets picked over so go as early as you can.

OMG you're right ! In the few minutes I was mulling it over, half of the available slots disappeared 😅 I selected the earliest slot for the last day in the end.
Again, first timer here so I didn't realize I had to be fast 🙈

 

[DavidFincher]

Ahh don’t beat yourself up about it. There will still be stuff. Once I went to last slot on last day and there was less choice but I still got some good pieces. Today I clicked on the link 7 minutes after the email anrrived and I only got slot on morning of the second day. 😂

 

[tmk_fr]

I'm not too worried, I wanted to go for the experience more than anything, since purchases don't count towards prespend anyway. But if I'm gonna to take a day off and wait in line I hope there will be something in stock on the last day for me to see at least! 🤣

 

[DavidFincher]

I'm not too worried, I wanted to go for the experience more than anything, since purchases don't count towards prespend anyway. But if I'm gonna to take a day off and wait in line I hope there will be something in stock on the last day for me to see at least! 🤣

I would be shocked if you don’t find some good deals. And you are right to take the time off work, there are further lines within the sale so it all takes a while.