Husbands quest to get Wife a bag

Ugh stuff like this drives me crazy. I have never heard that you have to play the whole ‘spend cost of a Birkin to buy a a Birkin’ game in California. Maybe I am delusional and / or lucky as I have been offered bags multiple times without anyone summing my spend up. Honestly, I love my Kelly (that I finally gave into buying), but I would never buy one if I was told I had to buy three more bracelets and a scarf this year to get one. It may be that the SA likes other customers better for whatever reason and offers quota bags to them first. Or OP’s wife’s wishlist is very specific and that bag hasn’t come in yet. Or whatever else. The SF boutique has been just renovated and they are supposed to be getting a ton of inventory of everything, so if the SA is not being optimistic, time to change SAs and explore other avenues of obtaining a dream bag.
I don't think any SA here would be that explicit but sometimes it becomes a spending game because the clients want to put their hands on a neutral color coveted size bag quicker than ever.
 
Would love to see the wishlist too!

A couple other random thoughts before I stop being addicted to tPF for the day...

- I do try to keep an open mind generally with reports of “bad” H SAs because I think we only get one side of the story and it’s easy to be unaware of the true situation. Of course sometimes it’s clear the SA is not the right SA for the poster, but sometimes I think it’s overthinking / lack of information / misunderstanding.

- I think that how much an SA likes a client and therefore offers a coveted bag to one over others...is generally linked to how much the client spends and how long they’ve been a client.

- I’ve found the Palo Alto store to be among the friendlier ones I’ve visited while traveling. That being said this always varies for different people especially depending on when they visited
 
I'd try having realistic expectations, here. You're gonna take her shopping at Hermes... on her birthday... and there's a distinct possibility that she may not get a bag. If her heart is set on getting one then this to me would not be a very good birthday because she can't help but feel some rejection at the end of the day.

I wouldn't leave the happiness of your wife in the hands of an SA who may or may not deliver.

It's hard to get a bag. I feel like that gets consistently understated here by the many who say variations of, "I got one on vacation by buying a twilly and asking nicely." What many DON'T write is how much they've spent over a year+ with no sign of a bag in sight, probably because they're worried they'll be judged or that they sound petulant. Playing for the H game is not all too different from Vegas slots: Some win with little investment but many others either walk away with nothing or they spend well in excess of the ultimate payout.

Just... be prepared for disappointment, is all. I hope I'm wrong and you get what you're looking for, though.
 
Wow thank you everyone for all of your input. First, my wife knows how hard it is to get a bag so she has no expectation of getting one this month. I didn’t realize how many factors play into getting one and thought I could just surprise her with one for her bday or Xmas. She has talked to me about this whole process of building a relationship with her SA and how she can’t wait for the day she gets a bag like it’s some magical experience haha

She’s been working with her SA since earlier this year around summer. Also, my impression of her SA may not be completely accurate (my bias). They seem to get along fine but it just doesn’t seem that her SA tries to be very helpful finding her items she’s looking for. For example, by not following up etc. I understand the ignored texts may be due to the busy holiday season.

Here’s my picture of her wishlist
 

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Three out of the four colors are past season colors and Gold on gold is hard to get neutral color, almost everyone wants it as their first (second or third...) quota bag. You are competing with others including long established clients.

SF boutique recently has just reopened, lots of stocks were trapped in the warehouse prior to the reopening, then quickly sold out to their long awaited clients that have been waiting for their quota bag. Regarding not finding the stuff your wife wants is because they (and other boutiques) don’t do transfer during busy holiday seasons and prior to the holidays they were busy with the store reopening so no transfer either (with some exceptional cases of course...).

My advise is to visit the store and have a word with your wife’s SA, perhaps give them more options with the colors like picking one of the seasonal color, you might end up coming home with one...btw don’t even bother with another store. Good luck.

Wow thank you everyone for all of your input. First, my wife knows how hard it is to get a bag so she has no expectation of getting one this month. I didn’t realize how many factors play into getting one and thought I could just surprise her with one for her bday or Xmas. She has talked to me about this whole process of building a relationship with her SA and how she can’t wait for the day she gets a bag like it’s some magical experience haha

She’s been working with her SA since earlier this year around summer. Also, my impression of her SA may not be completely accurate (my bias). They seem to get along fine but it just doesn’t seem that her SA tries to be very helpful finding her items she’s looking for. For example, by not following up etc. I understand the ignored texts may be due to the busy holiday season.

Here’s my picture of her wishlist
 
Wow thank you everyone for all of your input. First, my wife knows how hard it is to get a bag so she has no expectation of getting one this month. I didn’t realize how many factors play into getting one and thought I could just surprise her with one for her bday or Xmas. She has talked to me about this whole process of building a relationship with her SA and how she can’t wait for the day she gets a bag like it’s some magical experience haha

She’s been working with her SA since earlier this year around summer. Also, my impression of her SA may not be completely accurate (my bias). They seem to get along fine but it just doesn’t seem that her SA tries to be very helpful finding her items she’s looking for. For example, by not following up etc. I understand the ignored texts may be due to the busy holiday season.

Here’s my picture of her wishlist
Okay. 1 and 3 are the hardest but not impossible especially around Christmas (more stock) and because most established clients already have these. Example: I have turned down both in the last two months, though I would have taken the Bleu Nuit if it had had palladium hardware (PHW). RGHW stands for rouge gold hardware, and GHW stands for gold hardware. Birkin 30 means 30 centimeters wide. Birkins come in 25, 30, 35 and 40 cm. Togo is the type of leather. So now you know what the list means. Bleu Nuits are still coming in so are still available. I have one coming in soon from the summer podium order. Gold is always around. But, and this is a big but, these are all very limited production relative to demand so they are hard to get especially in a specific timeframe or, worse, for a specific date. If you want to limit your brain damage, have a wishlist bag to present on the actual birthday and avoid spending an unknown amount going forward at a boutique, go the resale route. For some resellers you will not be charged tax (though you legally owe it) so that may soften the blow of paying a premium. If you do this you might not have to pay the full ask either. No man I know, including my husband, can understand/tolerate all this so your frustration is understandable. But, that’s also a big part of why your wife wants one of these so badly. Good luck.
 
Wow thank you everyone for all of your input. First, my wife knows how hard it is to get a bag so she has no expectation of getting one this month. I didn’t realize how many factors play into getting one and thought I could just surprise her with one for her bday or Xmas. She has talked to me about this whole process of building a relationship with her SA and how she can’t wait for the day she gets a bag like it’s some magical experience haha

She’s been working with her SA since earlier this year around summer. Also, my impression of her SA may not be completely accurate (my bias). They seem to get along fine but it just doesn’t seem that her SA tries to be very helpful finding her items she’s looking for. For example, by not following up etc. I understand the ignored texts may be due to the busy holiday season.

Here’s my picture of her wishlist
Also on the chance you are offered, say a Bleu Nuit with PHW, do you have any idea if your wife would happily snatch that up even though she listed other hardware? You still need to know her order of importance on those things because your odds of success will greatly improve if you have some flexibility. I’m not suggesting you compromise, just that you find a way to figure out if it’s really a compromise. Generally hardware matters least to me except with a few colors. For others, it’s everything.
 
SF is a huge boutique with a lot of established clients. 7k is definitely small amount so I know friends there that spend double and not have that specific of a wishlist. It’s fine with a specific wishlist because you should ask for what you want. I think it’s important to be realistic about the timeframe and not expect a drop in and I will get one of the four within a month. Best of luck!!
 
I think everyone here is rooting for you because we’d all love to hear a happy ending!!

My first impression is that’s not an unreasonable wishlist at all but also perhaps not quite the easiest. Those more familiar with the stock of the particular store would have a better feeling. Also same impression with the length of the history - started this summer isn’t that long, but it also wouldn’t be surprising to have gotten an offer.

The list makes me wonder if your wife only wants GHW (means gold hardware) and only wants Togo leather (and would turn down something in Epsom or other leathers). Depending on how she is ... some of us are very particular... a different hardware or wrong leather is enough to make the bag not so desirable. And then of course a lot of times I fall in love with what the H fairy brings even when they weren’t on my wishlist. I still say visit the store and chat with your wife’s SA is the best action for now.

Personally if my husband is trying to give me a present like this I will be happy no matter what! Sometimes really it’s the thought that counts. I’ve actually gotten present that made me go “wait why” but I still feel very thankful each time. But if they were the price of a Birkin then I’d definitely wish that he hasn’t. It can also be very hard to return the bag if it turns out to not be her liking (someone else mentioned it earlier too and I’d just like to reiterate). I think most of us won’t ever say no to a gift Birkin...but you are definitely looking at a difficult gift (in more ways than one). Hope the magic happens, would love to hear what your experience with the wife’s boutique and SA turn out to be when you can share!
 
This is very helpful and thank you for explaining what her wishlist items mean. I know my wife prefers gold but to be honest, she would be happy with anything if the bag is a color she likes and the size fits her. She has told me she's open to anything as long as it's not a color that's hard to wear often. She is pretty petite - 5'3. I think she's just looking for something she can wear often and get a lot of use out of.
 
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