How much spending to get a B/K/C around the world?

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KH8

KH8

Member
Oct 2, 2014
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#1
I think it could be quite a sensitive topic for many but choosing which country and particularly which store to dive in has been my main struggle....
Everyone's story is different and things definitely change.. but then i imagine if there could be a place to discuss the entry point to get our dream bags... I follow my own rule to only purchase things I really love but then i am very willing to open up my heart to items in other categories (have been eyeing on the tie-set recently)... and I am not sure if the following is correct or not....

London store:
I heard someone buying a watch for over 10k pounds but was offered nth (as a tourist)
I get an impression that they cater to locals and would need several encounters preferably in person or email to get what you want despite the spending but I am not sure about the entry point...

HK store:
It was HKD200k like 3 years ago to be officially offered a bag but recently things seem to be easier and i heard spending takes around the price of a B to get a B (so a double) or a diamond watch could do the magic and you can be a one-off tourist to get a bag instead of long-time customer

Japan store:
Few years ago when the exchange rate is favourable to Japan, you could see B/K sitting on shelf... but now it gets more difficult.... Speaking Japanese seems to help a lot and one could possibly get a B without spending on an extremely lucky day.... my own friend went in Feb and saw a RG C24 GHW sitting on shelf in Tokyo and she just bought it without any spending.... but then... i haven't heard any story of buying sth first and then get offered.... stories go like a straight no (I tried 3 days in most of the stores in Tokyo in March; 4 days in Fukuoka in late April and no luck at all) or lining up at Ginza or bags sitting on shelf and speaking in Japanese and got a bag.....
But Japanese customers are very very loyal to H so my impression is that it can be difficult to compete with locals if i am to play the H game

Italy store:
I read that it s basically Italians only... was in Milan 2 years ago and spent around Euro2500 on RTW and not even a GP was offered (there's a lindy sitting on shelf but staff wouldn't even show it to me)

I understand that there are threads concerning each country's stores but there's no intel about how much spending is required (people do ask but it seems that no one has the info) and intel doesn't have to be monetary... instead it could be like "8 scarves, 1 watch and 2 RTW to get a bag"... that said, any help is appreciated!

Any thoughts?? ^^
 
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#2
Good thread. I've been searching for something similar.

Venice:
I know someone who only wanted a Bolide (not even the shark one), and he was told they'd call if ever they got anything. He got a call the next day telling him that they located a Bolide and asked him to visit the store. But when he got there he was pushed to buy some stuff, and when he wouldn't, they told him the Bolide was already spoken for.

Bad, bad store. All that attitude and it's not even a Birkin/Kelly. You can get a Bolide in an H airport store, for crying out loud! lol
 
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#3
Generally, the spending is the equivalent of the bag price although it may be more depending upon the requested configuration if it's highly sought after in popular colours or sizes.
 
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#10
First K in Paris (FSH store) with no prior history and having bought nothing in H before. Just lined up for the appointment and was lucky with the SA that was assigned to me.
 
#11
Vienna: maybe 500-600EUR before I got on the waitlist for my first H bag, a BBK32 with GHW. When I was allowed my second order (B podium order) my total purchases in that store must have been below 2K Euros.

NYC Madison Ave: first B without any prior spending. Initial SA implied I need to buy something else first, I thanked her and asked someone else... I was lucky that the next SA (only for home goods) was super nice and pointed me to a great SA that I saw at my third visit and who offered me my first B without me spending a cent at an H in the US before

Paris FSH: second B, again no prior spending... I did buy 2 bracelets (regular leather Kelly double tour) in France some years before, but they had my friend's passport, not mine so they couldn't possibly have known

I'm sure it boils down to luck. I did buy many H things before both Bs, but never at the respective stores and only relatively "cheap" (haha with H nothing is cheap) accessories (leather bracelets, belt, agendas, scarf, never solid gold or diamond jewelry, watches, RTW or home goods) that I really wanted, not because of a bag offer. When I talked to the SAs they realized I'm really into the brand. I also don't think you can easily get on the waitlist in Vienna with my purchase amounts. Again I was extremely lucky to find such an amazing SA.
 
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#14
miss argile said:
Sigh, much tougher in Asia, besides what KH8 mentioned earlier re HK and Macau, my friends in Taiwan were told to spend 1M twd (~33000 usd) before getting B/K.
Click to expand...

That's scary!!!!! But there are just too many celebrities to compete with in Asia!!

And I have been talking to my SA in my hometown ... he mentioned that Asia will be getting more bags (very true as I see ppl scoring Lindy, Pico ((me myself) and so on and SAs suddenly become very helpful in terms of bags when in the old days they would give nasty look once they hear anything about a bag) and my SA was really happy about it as he himself has always thought it's, first of all, totally unfair for the price discrimination (his wordings: why the price has to be 50% more when the bags arrive Asia; or why Asians are meant to pay more for the same item) though the same happens for the US as well... and secondly, they have a high target to meet resulting in the notorious H game (Asians imo tend to be more competitive and are very result-oriented so probably the sales targets are set by the stores themselves than as directed by the mother company)

That is why I don't quite understand... definitely NO OFFENSE to everyone who contributed but while I started the thread wanting to evaluate which country's stores to dive in ... ladies here seem to be saying they don't need any spending to get a B or K... yes I understand everything boils down to luck... and surely I don't have a lot in my home country.... (I would exclude Paris for sure as everyone knows that s the only place to do magic)

Or the impression is that in the US particularly, you could have just walk in and get offered? That s a note to jot down definitely!!
 
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#15
KH8 said:
Or the impression is that in the US particularly, you could have just walk in and get offered? That s a note to jot down definitely!!
Click to expand...

I went to the NYC store 3 times (within a week) and only said "walk-in" because I've never purchased anything from there before and was a tourist (who are said to not be offered any B/K in NYC usually). I didn't buy anything other than a bag, but spent some time there talking to SAs. So I basically had to sell them to the idea of selling me a bag lol. But reading other's experiences it is particularly hard to get a B at that store. I'm just saying it's not impossible as I was probably the exception to the rule, but if you think it's gonna be easier scoring in the US it might turn out to be a disappointment.
 
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