How to get seasonal/popular bags?

luxsal

Member
Aug 31, 2020
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Hello all,

I apologize if this is question was already asked. When I started this thread, I tried to find similar questions but was not successful. Sorry for the long post!

I was just in love with the 21p caramel color but when I called my SA (this was after it was launched on the website), she told me all reservation spots are gone and they will likely not have any more spots available. I was just shocked by this. I live in MI where we don't have stand alone boutique but only at Saks and NM. I am very new to Chanel. I follow some Instagram pages and FB page in addition to this forum. I saw some personal shoppers posting some caramel 21p bags for almost 500-1000 US dollars more with some having more than 1 bag. This was very disappointing to me. I don't even understand how Chanel allows this. I don't mean to offend anyone who is a personal shopper but it is just disappointing to me that when I want to purchase a bag at retail + tax, brand new from boutique, it is already gone. I am aware that this can also be due to low stock from the store boutique. I could have called other boutiques but I prefer to try it out the bags in store and if it doesn't work out, pass it for another person who may be more interested. In fact, my SA offered me a mini WOC in gold which is another highly sought after bag. I did buy it first but when I tried it at home, I realized it doesn't go with my wardrobe and didn't look good on me so I returned it. I didn't resell it which I could have done. I saw that mini WOC being solid for 2700 dollars plus shipping and tax by some personal shoppers and resellers!

Anyways, it is not the end of the world for me and I can wait for other seasons. I am sure there will be more bags which I may like more. Does anyone have any tips on how to get these bags? Any thoughts? Are there any websites which will post upcoming collections prior to the launch? It looks like I may have to be more broad minded and try to order from other boutiques. The return process make me nervous which is also why I hesitate. How is the return process if I order from Bergman in NY (For eg.) just in case of quality issues?

I know this is a hot and sensitive topics so please be kind and help a Chanel newbie! TIA!!
 
I wish i had advice but chiming in to say I asked a similar question in another thread and very interested to hear what folks have to say! As someone new to Chanel bags, this has been disheartening.
 
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It’s so frustrating. We should boycott all personal shoppers and resellers. That’s the only way they will stop this is if it’s not profitable for them!
I hear you. It is one thing to sell vintage bags and a lot of personal shopper or resellers sell beautiful vintage bags. Almost of all of them with whom I have interacted with seem to be so nice and helpful even when I contacted them for just questions. They also consign and sell the pre-loved bags which I also understand. Some of them also help to get hard to get items but what bothers me is when they sell these seasonal bags which are currently in boutiques and have about 5-6 bags in stock. And then sell the bags/costume jewelry/SLGs with high markups. I am sure they source through other sellers as well because I know Chanel has restrictions on how many bags you can buy every 60 days. Not sure if Chanel applies this rule in USA too.
 
As far as advice, well I don't think this will be helpful right now, but I have a pretty large collection of classic Chanel bags. I'm probably going to wait until I am in Europe to make any more purchases. I know at least London and Paris tend to have better stock than the US. I always get the best treatment in Paris Chanel Boutiques. No snooty SAs like in the US! I'll just take my money there then (when the borders open).
 
You can look post ISO thread or look in the thread where people post what's at their boutique and try to score it like that.



Good luck
 
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As far as advice, well I don't think this will be helpful right now, but I have a pretty large collection of classic Chanel bags. I'm probably going to wait until I am in Europe to make any more purchases. I know at least London and Paris tend to have better stock than the US. I always get the best treatment in Paris Chanel Boutiques. No snooty SAs like in the US! I'll just take my money there then (when the borders open).
That is interesting to know but way out of my league right now and even in the near future. Haha. Thank you!
 
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As far as advice, well I don't think this will be helpful right now, but I have a pretty large collection of classic Chanel bags. I'm probably going to wait until I am in Europe to make any more purchases. I know at least London and Paris tend to have better stock than the US. I always get the best treatment in Paris Chanel Boutiques. No snooty SAs like in the US! I'll just take my money there then (when the borders open).
I heard that the UK is no longer giving back VAT return!
 
You can look post ISO thread or look in the thread where people post what's at their boutique and try to score it like that.


Good luck
Yes I have seen those pop up on FB! Thank you
 
I have no tips, sorry. That is one reason why I've stopped buying Chanel bags because for whatever reason, their popular bags are SO HARD to get your hands on, and SAs are very unhelpful because a lot of them don't want to go through the trouble of trying to find one for you (since they can spend the time helping other customers who are ready to buy whatever is available right now). At the same time, you see some personal shoppers be able to buy multiples of popular bags and then sell them for super high profits.

I only use personal shoppers who do not mark-up the prices by a lot. I get that they are helping me with a service (in trying to find the bag for me) so it's okay to add like a little bit on top as as service fee, but some of them are clearly just price gouging.

This is the same thing with Hermes bags. So many Hermes customers of Birkins / Kellys are really just resellers, but as a normal person, I cannot walk into Hermes and buy a Birkin or Kelly. I'm in an Hermes FB group and there are SO MANY people who sell fresh from boutique, only opened at the boutique bags for 2x what they bought it for (new Birkins for 20K when retail is 10K).
 
I have no tips, sorry. That is one reason why I've stopped buying Chanel bags because for whatever reason, their popular bags are SO HARD to get your hands on, and SAs are very unhelpful because a lot of them don't want to go through the trouble of trying to find one for you (since they can spend the time helping other customers who are ready to buy whatever is available right now). At the same time, you see some personal shoppers be able to buy multiples of popular bags and then sell them for super high profits.

I only use personal shoppers who do not mark-up the prices by a lot. I get that they are helping me with a service (in trying to find the bag for me) so it's okay to add like a little bit on top as as service fee, but some of them are clearly just price gouging.

This is the same thing with Hermes bags. So many Hermes customers of Birkins / Kellys are really just resellers, but as a normal person, I cannot walk into Hermes and buy a Birkin or Kelly. I'm in an Hermes FB group and there are SO MANY people who sell fresh from boutique, only opened at the boutique bags for 2x what they bought it for (new Birkins for 20K when retail is 10K).
That is ok. Your reply was still helpful! This is so sad and unfortunate. Do you mind PMing me the personal shoppers who dont charge a lot of personal fees? Thank you!
 
That is ok. Your reply was still helpful! This is so sad and unfortunate. Do you mind PMing me the personal shoppers who dont charge a lot of personal fees? Thank you!

Orchmelia on IG is the one I use. There's a whole thread about her in the Chanel Shopping subforum. Be aware that because she doesn't charge a lot, she doesn't really provide the whole "service" aspect. Like you basically tell her what you are looking for, and she'll help you find it. I believe for some bags she might require a deposit that is refundable if she isn't able to find the bag for you. She charges a deposit because I understand a lot of people have asked her to find bags for them and then they back out once she's found it, so this just prevents time wasters. You pay her directly, along with her fee. You should do your own research separate from her, for example on Youtube or Purseforum. She literally just helps you find bags and might answer a few basic questions, but that's it. If you're looking to get good service, you'll probably be disappointed with her, but you get what you pay for (basically a procurement service). I've bought from her several times and it's usually very straightforward, and I get a beautiful bag without having to search for it myself.
 
It not only applies to popular seasonal bags but to also other classic styles as well. There seems to be in general very low inventory in all the stores currently. Before they would receive 6, now they get 2. It is the reality of today's times. I am thankful I have my little collection but feel for the people just starting their Chanel collection as there are more buyers than the popular bags to sell.