How do you feel about people who buy from H to resell immediately at higher price?

[Belphoebe]

To be clear: this is NOT a discussion of any specific reseller. Those discussions are for the reseller sticky thread.

This is a more general question. Some of us on the scarf threads are disappointed that people buy from the boutiques simply so that they can resell right away. Some of us don't care, and think more power to them for making as much money as they can.

And to be clear again: this isn't about resellers making a profit in general. Most resellers work hard to find and sell items, and they deserve to be paid for what they do. We are all glad when a scarf or bag unused by someone finds a home with someone who loves it. This question is about people who buy brand-new products right away, to sell at a markup.

Your thoughts?

 

[mistikat]

To be clear: this is NOT a discussion of any specific reseller. Those discussions are for the reseller sticky thread.

This is a more general question. Some of us on the scarf threads are disappointed that people buy from the boutiques simply so that they can resell right away. Some of us don't care, and think more power to them for making as much money as they can.

And to be clear again: this isn't about resellers making a profit in general. Most resellers work hard to find and sell items, and they deserve to be paid for what they do. We are all glad when a scarf or bag unused by someone finds a home with someone who loves it. This question is about people who buy brand-new products right away, to sell at a markup.

Your thoughts?

Sorry if I'm not getting the distinction between resellers who make a profit in general, and people who buy brand new products to sell at a markup.

Both are in business to make money ... kind of the point of being in business. Are we supposed to hate them for that?

 

[Belphoebe]

Sorry if I'm not getting the distinction between resellers who make a profit in general, and people who buy brand new products to sell at a markup.

Both are in business to make money ... kind of the point of being in business. Are we supposed to hate them for that?

Oh, I don't guess anyone is talking about hating anybody, nor is anyone losing sleep over it (except maybe Hermes). But clearly, some people feel there is a distinction:

http://forum.purseblog.com/showpost.php?p=27777349&postcount=553

Others agree with you:

[URL="http://forum.purseblog.com/sh...log.com/showpost.php?p=27789332&postcount=592[/url]

I have my own opinion on why there is a difference, but I'm interested in what others think.

 

[mistikat]

Oh, I don't guess anyone is talking about hating anybody, nor is anyone losing sleep over it (except maybe Hermes). But clearly, some people feel there is a distinction:

http://forum.purseblog.com/showpost.php?p=27777349&postcount=553

Others agree with you:

[URL="http://forum.purseblog.com/sh...log.com/showpost.php?p=27789332&postcount=592[/url]

I have my own opinion on why there is a difference, but I'm interested in what others think.

There have been several threads on resellers. Some PFers dislike them - a lot. Others don't care. I don't care. There are plenty of people, including members here, who buy and flip hard-to-find items for a healthy profit. If people want to do that and they have buyers, more power to them. It happens with every commodity in the world. Why should Hermes be different, and why should anyone be fussed about it? People have the right to choose from whom they will buy ... and if these resellers offend them, I guess they will buy elsewhere.

 

[MASEML]

It doesn't bother me too much that there are people out there that are in the business of reselling at a profit. They've put in the effort to locate, buy and sell - it's a lot of work IMO. I don't think I would ever buy at a significant mark up, but I guess I should never say never. However, I find mark ups no different than the mark ups that wholesalers and retailers pass to customers - it's part of a business model.

One thing that is interesting is I read somewhere on H's France website that items purchased online/from Hermes Sellier are for personal use, and not for reselling. I tried to find the same language on the USA site, and couldn't find it. Anyway, it's something I've never seen before on an Ecomm site. Granted, I dont usually go around reading T&Cs....

 

[Operasoprano1]

It's great for capitalism- bad for people who want to get Hermes on a sale price in consignment.

 

[chicinthecity777]

Oh, I don't guess anyone is talking about hating anybody, nor is anyone losing sleep over it (except maybe Hermes). But clearly, some people feel there is a distinction:

http://forum.purseblog.com/showpost.php?p=27777349&postcount=553

Others agree with you:

[URL="http://forum.purseblog.com/sh...log.com/showpost.php?p=27789332&postcount=592[/url]

I have my own opinion on why there is a difference, but I'm interested in what others think.

Remember they do carry a risk of item not selling or not selling higher to make a profit. You win some you lose some.

 

[Belphoebe]

It doesn't bother me too much that there are people out there that are in the business of reselling at a profit. They've put in the effort to locate, buy and sell - it's a lot of work IMO. I don't think I would ever buy at a significant mark up, but I guess I should never say never. However, I find mark ups no different than the mark ups that wholesalers and retailers pass to customers - it's part of a business model.

One thing that is interesting is I read somewhere on H's France website that items purchased online/from Hermes Sellier are for personal use, and not for reselling. I tried to find the same language on the USA site, and couldn't find it. Anyway, it's something I've never seen before on an Ecomm site. Granted, I dont usually go around reading T&Cs....

It's great for capitalism- bad for people who want to get Hermes on a sale price in consignment.

Remember they do carry a risk of item not selling or not selling higher to make a profit. You win some you lose some.

Fair points all: thanks, everyone. I'm glad I asked.

I promise I don't have a problem with resellers in general. If I need cash for my H someday, you bet I'll need to go through one of them. I'll also need them if I'm to find my grails.

A scarf from a season or more ago is one thing. People need cash or closet room for more things, and resellers provide a service. If they luck out and find a vintage jackpot grail, then sure, they'd be fools not to mark it up for what the market will bear.

Good resellers help weed out the fakes, in their own businesses and here on TPF. They deserve a fair day's pay for a fair day's work just as much as anybody else.

However. When you pay so much money for a scarf, you like to think of it going back to the people who designed it, dyed it, hemmed it, made scarf books, etc. All of which contributes to making more nice things.

When you pay a jacked-up price to an ebay reseller a few days after the scarf hit the store, then yes, those scarf-makers got the reseller's money, but you are paying all that extra money to . . . somebody who walked into a store and bought a scarf before you even had a chance. Which feels like paying a ticket scalper.

People can and will do what they like, of course. But I get why folks get annoyed by the immediate appearance of new scarves on auction sites, or when that exotic B/K you've been waiting for for years goes to a reseller instead.

TL; DR. But thanks for listening.

 

[mistikat]

Fair points all: thanks, everyone. I'm glad I asked.

I promise I don't have a problem with resellers in general. If I need cash for my H someday, you bet I'll need to go through one of them. I'll also need them if I'm to find my grails.

A scarf from a season or more ago is one thing. People need cash or closet room for more things, and resellers provide a service. If they luck out and find a vintage jackpot grail, then sure, they'd be fools not to mark it up for what the market will bear.

Good resellers help weed out the fakes, in their own businesses and here on TPF. They deserve a fair day's pay for a fair day's work just as much as anybody else.

However. When you pay so much money for a scarf, you like to think of it going back to the people who designed it, dyed it, hemmed it, made scarf books, etc. All of which contributes to making more nice things.

When you pay a jacked-up price to an ebay reseller a few days after the scarf hit the store, then yes, those scarf-makers got the reseller's money, but you are paying all that extra money to . . . somebody who walked into a store and bought a scarf before you even had a chance. Which feels like paying a ticket scalper.

People can and will do what they like, of course. But I get why folks get annoyed by the immediate appearance of new scarves on auction sites, or when that exotic B/K you've been waiting for for years goes to a reseller instead.

TL; DR. But thanks for listening.

When you pay a "jacked up" price for a Picasso ... he doesn't get that money. Or for a Schlumberger bracelet at auction. Or anything else once it leaves the original seller's hands, including contemporary limited edition items like sneakers that wind up at resale the second they are paid for in a retail store.

But many people find this is unconscionable and just won't buy from resellers.

I still don't think there is anything awful about it though. But that's just me.

 

[chicinthecity777]

When you pay a jacked-up price to an ebay reseller a few days after the scarf hit the store, then yes, those scarf-makers got the reseller's money, but you are paying all that extra money to . . . somebody who walked into a store and bought a scarf before you even had a chance. Which feels like paying a ticket scalper.

One can always buy from an H store if they can, no question about it. If people buy from a reseller, then there must be a reason that they can't easily buy from a store at its original price. So the reseller fulfil that needs by charging extra. I don't see what's wrong with it.

 

[perlerare]

..........

When you pay a jacked-up price to an ebay reseller a few days after the scarf hit the store, then yes, those scarf-makers got the reseller's money, but you are paying all that extra money to . . . somebody who walked into a store and bought a scarf before you even had a chance.

...........

... + paid for it, + shot some pictures of it, + posted it somewhere online for fees , + will accept a paypal payment for additionnal fees, +will safely pack the scarf +will go to the post office and ship it,
while you are waiting in the confort of your home that this scarf gets to your door step.
The only question is : How much money is that service worth in your books ???

 

[mistikat]

... + paid for it, + shot some pictures of it, + posted it somewhere online for fees , + will accept a paypal payment for additionnal fees, +will safely pack the scarf +will go to the post office and ship it,
while you are waiting in the confort of your home that this scarf gets to your door step.
The only question is : How much money is that service worth in your books ???

This.

There have been a lot of threads discussing resellers and, like anything else, there are good and bad ones. Hermes is perhaps somewhat unique because stock is so limited, there are no guarantees you will get what you want or that the store closest to you will even order the design or item you want.

 

[Belphoebe]

... + paid for it, + shot some pictures of it, + posted it somewhere online for fees , + will accept a paypal payment for additionnal fees, +will safely pack the scarf +will go to the post office and ship it,
while you are waiting in the confort of your home that this scarf gets to your door step.
The only question is : How much money is that service worth in your books ???

This is no doubt a service for many, true enough.

For many other people, though, the "service" actually removes something fun. Those people have only two choices:

Choice 1: Pay extra money, risk buying a fake, AND lose out on the fun of visiting the store, holding the new-season scarves up in the light to see which CW suits you best, seeing whether an Evelyne really suits you, making friends with a SA so maybe they bump you up on the B/K list, etc.

Choice 2: Don't pay the extra money, but risk the chance that the ones you want will be sold out before you can take a trip to the store, because they have been bought by people who didn't even want them.​

All resellers of any kind would be right to remind me of a few things:

1. Tough luck. The handbag or scarf you missed is someone else's gain. It's a cruel world, baby.

2. Scarves and handbags are not puppies. They don't care if they go to "good homes" or not, so why should you?

3. Waaaaah, cry me a river. So you can't buy the exact luxury good you want. You do realize $10K builds a well in Ethiopia, right? Maybe you should go spend your money on that and save some lives instead of buying a handbag.
​

Yes, any one of you is correct to think all these things. And like I said, I don't lie awake at night worrying about it. I got 99 problems, and a reseller ain't one.

But a person putting a jacked-up price on a new-season scarf they just bought will always be different to me from cashing in on that exotic vintage Kelly that someone brought to you because they trust the reselling business you worked so hard to build.

TL; DR again. Sorry for boring anyone who's bored.

 

[mistikat]

This is no doubt a service for many, true enough.

For many other people, though, the "service" actually removes something fun. Those people have only two choices:

Choice 1: Pay extra money, risk buying a fake, AND lose out on the fun of visiting the store, holding the new-season scarves up in the light to see which CW suits you best, seeing whether an Evelyne really suits you, making friends with a SA so maybe they bump you up on the B/K list, etc.

Choice 2: Don't pay the extra money, but risk the chance that the ones you want will be sold out before you can take a trip to the store, because they have been bought by people who didn't even want them.​

All resellers of any kind would be right to remind me of a few things:

1. Tough luck. The handbag or scarf you missed is someone else's gain. It's a cruel world, baby.

2. Scarves and handbags are not puppies. They don't care if they go to "good homes" or not, so why should you?

3. Waaaaah, cry me a river. So you can't buy the exact luxury good you want. You do realize $10K builds a well in Ethiopia, right? Maybe you should go spend your money on that and save some lives instead of buying a handbag.
​

Yes, any one of you is correct to think all these things. And like I said, I don't lie awake at night worrying about it. I got 99 problems, and a reseller ain't one.

But a person putting a jacked-up price on a new-season scarf they just bought will always be different to me from cashing in on that exotic vintage Kelly that someone brought to you because they trust the reselling business you worked so hard to build.

TL; DR again. Sorry for boring anyone who's bored.

Please don't turn this into a discussion of the ethics of buying an expensive handbag; if thats what you want to talk about it's been debated a lot and we can merge this into an existing thread. I thought your specific question was whether or not people approve of someone buying a still-in-store scarf to resell?

And ... I have bought many things from resellers and it was as or more "fun" than buying from the boutique. There is a lot to be said for knowing you are getting exactly what you want, when you want it, and don't have to keep buying things you may not want to obtain it.

I don't know if you are a new to the Hermes world and if you are, that's totally fine. But if so, it pays to remember that Hermes (for good or for bad) doesn't make the buying process easy, even for relatively common items like scarves, as opposed to scarcer things like, say, Birkins. There is a lot to dislike about the way they choose to distribute products, but also a lot to like.

If people want to obtain Hermes items, the options are to go to a store and essentially see what's available that day, build a relationship with an SA over time, which may ease the process of obtaining what you want, or buy from a reseller.

As with anything else, it's the buyer's choice of where to shop.

I'm sorry you find the process of getting what you want so disagreeable, but there are lots of lovely resellers and just casual sellers whose markup is more than fair and not, as you put it, "jacked up."

Hope that helps.

 

[Nahreen]

Personally I'm not in the business of buying items I don't intend to use. I baby my bags and thus would most likely not buy pre-loved in case I would be dissapointed in the quality.

It is up to the buyer to decide what they are willing to pay for an items. If I was ever forced to sell my luxury goods I would want to get as much as possible.