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

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The way it's worked in my store is that they are told which customer wants to buy the bag and it is up to them to approve the sale. It's not a decision the SA can make on their own.


Sorry I should have phrased that better. I meant as in what sort of criteria would somebody have to fill in order to be allowed to purchase the bag. Do they have to have had a purchase history? Look a certain way? Behave in a certain manner? Is it fair that somebody is judged to such an extent before being able to make a purchase for an item that they have the funds to buy? I'm not saying it is or it isn't fair.. I'm merely asking the question as it's something that does make me wonder. X
 
Sorry I should have phrased that better. I meant as in what sort of criteria would somebody have to fill in order to be allowed to purchase the bag. Do they have to have had a purchase history? Look a certain way? Behave in a certain manner? Is it fair that somebody is judged to such an extent before being able to make a purchase for an item that they have the funds to buy? I'm not saying it is or it isn't fair.. I'm merely asking the question as it's something that does make me wonder. X

The criteria vary from store to store, but there are a lot of existing threads on this if that's what you want to discuss. It's kind of off-topic from the OPs original question. Thanks.
 
I don't think people can do it to often or then they'd become professional resellers by default. If the demand wasn't there, the occasional 'suppliers' would soon stop even quicker than those whose livelihood depends on. We have to look at our selves at both sides of the transaction.

I was promised a SO Black K but it never materialised. If I'd bought one, I'd still have it and be carrying it and it would looked well-loved by now. It's a slap in the face when every posh auction house has one for sale from someone who just bought one to keep for 'investment' but the slap doesn't really sting because not only do I have a life, but there is always something new and exquisite round the corner from H. Life's too short to be fretting over scarves and handbags (unless I 'misplace' anything so much as a scarf ring, and then of course the world has ended).

Only speaking for myself, for new, I shop H in-store and on-line but would only consider buying from H lovers/buyers I personally know. Anything else, at a heavy mark-up? Forget it.

It's up to the end users if they want to pay a premium, I hate to even buy a scarf from last season after a price rise :shrugs:
 
I shop at H store and H.com. I'm pretty impatient. If I want a specific H item whether from the current or past season and I can't find it through H, then I'll go through a reputable reseller or ebay but not if it has a crazy mark up. I may wait a bit but not too long for the item to appear at my store/H.com but sometimes it never does. If I buy from a reseller/ebay, I usually have an item authenticated first so there's peace of mind. So no, I don't have a problem with a practice of buying an item to resell if it makes it easier to obtain an item.

There are also people who are not near an H store or can't access H.com so they have to buy through professional/amateur resellers or travel to H somewhere. If the reselling practice gives people options and doesn't hurt anyone then why not?
 
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I have bought a few items that were very likely bought with the intention of reselling (NWT, etc., sold at a premium) so clearly I contribute to the problem, but, no, I don't like it. It is scalping and it annoys me with tickets, too. It is rare that they are just providing a service in getting the item to people who don't have access. Commonly, especially with bags, they are depriving someone of the opportunity to buy it at a lower price and then making the item only available for more money. Hoarding scarce things (even non-essential things like scarves and bags) to sell for profit seems ethically dubious.

I prefer to buy things from resellers that have been used, in part for that reason.
 
I appreciate the honest and civilized opinions. I guess I didn't expect the thread would be changing anybody's minds, but I do at least have more understanding, thank you.

The two points above have been the most informational to me. People have different opinions on StubHub too, and whether it enables ticket scalping, but there's no doubt it does a lot of useful work, and laws against scalping have been challenged a lot lately anyway. It's not an exact parallel, but I did bring up tickets myself, so it's totally fair to make the comparison.

The point about risk makes the practice a bit like a roulette wheel for the reseller, and I get the appeal of that. I'm not a gambler myself, and I will still always wish it weren't employed on brand-new scarves and handbags (as will Hermes, but I guess Hermes didn't ask me to run to their rescue), but the metaphor does make me look at the practice in a different way, at least.

I suppose I have nothing more to offer on the topic other than to repeat yet again that I have nothing against resellers making a profit in general, and I will certainly use them to buy or sell if I have need. If any of you responding is in fact a reseller who does buy new items specifically to resell them, you have been very polite and not taken the question personally. I admire and appreciate that.
You know, the ticket scalping comparison makes me rethink this. Ticket brokers (who sell on StubHub) use automated tools to buy up all the tickets for say, a music concert, meaning that passionate fans who have queued online for maybe hours are out of luck. I really hate this practice. It's not one at a time reselling, it's bulk purchasing. Does it compare to H resellers? Maybe. But even Michael ******* put a LOT of work into his Birkin sourcing business.

On an aside, regarding kickbacks, of course it is not condoned by Hermes, but of course it happens.
 
It would be nice to get a diamond croc Birkin at a lower price- when I shouldn't pay more than it's worth. I've seen so many resellers have them at ridiculous prices. No I will not pay 130K for one. Yes, I may pay 80K or just a little bit more.

There is no sense in paying insane prices for bags when you can get a good deal and get the same product.
 
I have bought a few items that were very likely bought with the intention of reselling (NWT, etc., sold at a premium) so clearly I contribute to the problem, but, no, I don't like it. It is scalping and it annoys me with tickets, too. It is rare that they are just providing a service in getting the item to people who don't have access. Commonly, especially with bags, they are depriving someone of the opportunity to buy it at a lower price and then making the item only available for more money. Hoarding scarce things (even non-essential things like scarves and bags) to sell for profit seems ethically dubious.

I prefer to buy things from resellers that have been used, in part for that reason.


Agree with all of the above.

I will even cut resellers some slack on hoarding the rare pre-loved items. A vastly inflated price for a pre-loved bag may make me roll my eyes and mutter to myself, but it doesn't seem as ethically dubious. Why not? Probably something to do with QuelleFromage's point about how much work did or did not go into acquiring the product (which includes the work involved in building a business with a recognized and trustworthy name), and what other deserving person might have lost out.

An H fan didn't lose out on Grandma Griselda's rare vintage Constance with the diamonds on the clasp when the reseller put a big price tag on it. Without the reseller, the bag wouldn't have been available to anybody for any price.

But as Birdonce and others have pointed out, a new scarf or bag could have gone to someone who really really wanted it, for much less. Papertiger can and does live a rich and fullfilled life without having that SO black Kelly, but it would be nice if she at least were given the chance to buy it at the boutique price.
 
Agree with all of the above.



I will even cut resellers some slack on hoarding the rare pre-loved items. A vastly inflated price for a pre-loved bag may make me roll my eyes and mutter to myself, but it doesn't seem as ethically dubious. Why not? Probably something to do with QuelleFromage's point about how much work did or did not go into acquiring the product (which includes the work involved in building a business with a recognized and trustworthy name), and what other deserving person might have lost out.



An H fan didn't lose out on Grandma Griselda's rare vintage Constance with the diamonds on the clasp when the reseller put a big price tag on it. Without the reseller, the bag wouldn't have been available to anybody for any price.



But as Birdonce and others have pointed out, a new scarf or bag could have gone to someone who really really wanted it, for much less. Papertiger can and does live a rich and fullfilled life without having that SO black Kelly, but it would be nice if she at least were given the chance to buy it at the boutique price.


I think your points are very fair and valid. Reselling from your own collection or vintage finds are not an issue at all to most people. I think it's only when people purchase things because they know they can and because they happen to fit the "Hermes criteria" with the sole purpose of immediately selling it for a huge mark up that can be irritating to some people as it means that normal customers may not get the chance to purchase and end up missing out.

I'm thankful for resellers who source and sell vintage/rare finds and if those items take time to source and were difficult to find then I think they are valid to put a mark up on the item as its only fair that they should be paid for their time. On the other hand purchasing something not because you want it but because you want to deprive somebody else of it and make some money at the same time....

x
 
i have bought a few items that were very likely bought with the intention of reselling (nwt, etc., sold at a premium) so clearly i contribute to the problem, but, no, i don't like it. It is scalping and it annoys me with tickets, too. It is rare that they are just providing a service in getting the item to people who don't have access. Commonly, especially with bags, they are depriving someone of the opportunity to buy it at a lower price and then making the item only available for more money. Hoarding scarce things (even non-essential things like scarves and bags) to sell for profit seems ethically dubious.

I prefer to buy things from resellers that have been used, in part for that reason.


+1
 
I think your points are very fair and valid. Reselling from your own collection or vintage finds are not an issue at all to most people. I think it's only when people purchase things because they know they can and because they happen to fit the "Hermes criteria" with the sole purpose of immediately selling it for a huge mark up that can be irritating to some people as it means that normal customers may not get the chance to purchase and end up missing out.

I'm thankful for resellers who source and sell vintage/rare finds and if those items take time to source and were difficult to find then I think they are valid to put a mark up on the item as its only fair that they should be paid for their time. On the other hand purchasing something not because you want it but because you want to deprive somebody else of it and make some money at the same time....

x


This. I don't find selling from your own collection wrong but I do think it's very wrong to buy bags etc for the sole purpose of turning around selling them to make a big profit. This deprives people from buying said bags cheaper at the boutique. That to me is wrong if it is systematically done.
 
This. I don't find selling from your own collection wrong but I do think it's very wrong to buy bags etc for the sole purpose of turning around selling them to make a big profit. This deprives people from buying said bags cheaper at the boutique. That to me is wrong if it is systematically done.

Agree.
 
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