Is B/K/C not that hard to get anymore?

[Lisa-SH]

I started to be in Hermes "game" two years ago....and of course I've gained all the knowledge and information from here (can't thank enough). And I've bought my 1st Birkin during year 2017 after purchasing some other items, but since then I have acquired more Birkins , Kellys...etc up to recently and each time I did not need to buy other Hermes items that much...i.e. only a few hundreds here and there, or maybe one or two thousands at most. The size of my newly purchased bags from Boutiques are Birkin 30 and Kelly 28 etc.

So can I assume nowadays B/K/C is not that difficult to get anymore in boutiques? Especially the recent experience when my DH and me picked up my dream color Birkin (without buying anything else), I was even being told "pls feel free to return within 30 days if I am not satisfied "....

 

[pinkorchid20]

Not my experience at all, neither of anyone I know purchasing H

 

[Phiona88]

It’s generally much easier to be offered BKC in the future after purchasing your first quota bag. But for newcomers, the game is still hard.

 

[NateSelwyn25]

I think it's a myth that the Birkin and Kelly are rare and exclusive. Look at the secondary market, even assuming 30% are fake, there's literally tens of thousands out there. The Hermes bag game is just that, a game. SAs decide from the moment you walk in when you will be allowed to drop $10K+ for their products. Some do indeed get that chance rather quick. Not harping on people who like the game, it's an adventure like anything else can be. As long as you enjoy playing.

 

[Notorious Pink]

I think it's a myth that the Birkin and Kelly are rare and exclusive. Look at the secondary market, even assuming 30% are fake, there's literally tens of thousands out there. The Hermes bag game is just that, a game. SAs decide from the moment you walk in when you will be allowed to drop $10K+ for their products. Some do indeed get that chance rather quick. Not harping on people who like the game, it's an adventure like anything else can be. As long as you enjoy playing.

Well, the secondary market includes bags from the past, say, 40-50 years. Many of those are well-worn or in unpopular sizes or colors. I think empirically certain things are easier to get, but at the same time the market for boutique purchases has increased proportionally as well.

 

[QuelleFromage]

There's no one size fits all answer for this as it varies market to market and store to store. Resellers would not get above retail prices if the bags were that easy to get overall. If you read the bag offers thread it sounds like it's raining Birkins out there; meanwhile, the Paris thread is full of people who traveled to Paris just to try to get a bag, and are very upset if they don't succeed.

 

[acrowcounted]

I think there is a lot of success bias when looking at this as a person with multiple quota bags at this point. I would argue, from reading history here, that getting one back in the 2005-2008 era was the easiest as it seems they were on shelves sometimes at that time? It also seems to me that the Share Your Offers thread has been more sparsely commented on for the past year; whether that’s due to fewer offers or just less reporting, I cannot say. But as someone else mentioned, once you get a bag from one store, it is seemingly much easier to get subsequent offers, imo.

 

[EmilyM111]

Well, the secondary market includes bags from the past, say, 40-50 years. Many of those are well-worn or in unpopular sizes or colors. I think empirically certain things are easier to get, but at the same time the market for boutique purchases has increased proportionally as well.

I’d also assume there are certain locations (eg. in the US) where the demand is not as high as in London (my store) or Paris so it’s easier to acquire a bag without crazy spend.

 

[showgratitude]

I started to be in Hermes "game" two years ago....and of course I've gained all the knowledge and information from here (can't thank enough). And I've bought my 1st Birkin during year 2017 after purchasing some other items, but since then I have acquired more Birkins , Kellys...etc up to recently and each time I did not need to buy other Hermes items that much...i.e. only a few hundreds here and there, or maybe one or two thousands at most. The size of my newly purchased bags from Boutiques are Birkin 30 and Kelly 28 etc.

So can I assume nowadays B/K/C is not that difficult to get anymore in boutiques? Especially the recent experience when my DH and me picked up my dream color Birkin (without buying anything else), I was even being told "pls feel free to return within 30 days if I am not satisfied "....

I think that for newbies it is still hard. But once you have an SA that you have established a good relationship with, have already been offered and purchased your first quota purse, then the succeeding quota purse offers just happen fluidly. I am speaking from my experience.

 

[Coconuts40]

It may be a loyalty thing as well. If you were a high spender before your first purchase, and remained loyal to your SA and developed a relationship, this may have helped in your ability to attain bags faster.

I do agree however that the first bag is the most difficult to attain. Once the relationship and loyalty is established I believe it is easier to get (and ask) for one.

 

[Lisa-SH]

It may be a loyalty thing as well. If you were a high spender before your first purchase, and remained loyal to your SA and developed a relationship, this may have helped in your ability to attain bags faster.

I do agree however that the first bag is the most difficult to attain. Once the relationship and loyalty is established I believe it is easier to get (and ask) for one.

Not considering myself a high spender at that boutique, as I have not stepped in my local boutique and spent a single dollar for over 15 months, until we picked up my dream color Birkin from this Boutique a couple weeks ago, without buying anything else of course.

 

[Coconuts40]

Not considering myself a high spender at that boutique, as I have not stepped in my local boutique and spent a single dollar for over 15 months, until we picked up my dream color Birkin from this Boutique a couple weeks ago, without buying anything else of course.

What I was trying to say, is perhaps before your first B/K/C ever in that store, you had to be a high spender. And now with a possible relationship established, it was a mixture of relationship/availability/lucky day.

My sister recently got a random call and was offered a Black Constance that was turned down by a client. Just like that. So I think it is a combo of luck/availability/relationship establishment.

Either way, perhaps count yourself lucky.

 

[Notorious Pink]

I’d also assume there are certain locations (eg. in the US) where the demand is not as high as in London (my store) or Paris so it’s easier to acquire a bag without crazy spend.

The smaller stores also have more loyal longstanding clientele so you could make the argument that it’s harder to get in those boutiques.

The market for Hermès boutiques is nowhere near saturation so I’m just going to say that demand is high everywhere a boutique is located.

 

[etoupebirkin]

It also depends upon what you are looking for — let's say a Birkin or Kelly 25/28, mini Kelly, Kelly Pochette is much harder than even a Birkin 30/35 or Kelly 32/35. If you are picky about color or hardware, that makes it more difficult.

I am a long-standing customer at my store. I've told my SA I'd like a Kelly Pochette in a neutral color. I am not sure I'm going to get it. But I'm not going to buy things I don't want or need to get offered a bag. So I will wait.

 

[EmilyM111]

The smaller stores also have more loyal longstanding clientele so you could make the argument that it’s harder to get in those boutiques.

The market for Hermès boutiques is nowhere near saturation so I’m just going to say that demand is high everywhere a boutique is located.

To be fair you might be right. Guess the shipments aren't that big. However, when you think about London...these people can buy the whole store at once. I spent a lot of time recently watching people in NBS