Is it worth it to get a Kelly bag in-store vs. pre-loved?

[Love Of My Life]

Thank you for your reply! I am leaning towards the in-store experience.

If you are wanting the store experience you will have to be patient. Since you have no history, you will
just have to take your chances, be patient & likely wait & wait some more, realistically.
You have a very long line in front of you with H customers that do have a history & likely their requests
would be handled first.
I don't know what city or country you live, but I'd try to connect with a SA & see how it goes & be prepared
to be told you may have to spend some bucks before she/he might even listen to your Kelly request
You are coming into a holiday season where inventory is limited & requests are in demand
You mention that you would like a Kelly in 25 in either green, yellow or magenta.
Why not check several resellers to even see if the color of your choice is turning up
You may just change your mind
And since you feel the bag would have more meaning if you worked for it, enjoy the task you have
set for yourself

 

[Bag Madam]

Great question! I think it all depends on how long you want to wait and chance that you might get offered/find one in a boutique vs. can you research and find one elsewhere a little quicker. I have to agree with what @Etriers said that the K25's will be more of a Faubourg Saint-Honoré bag. Is it about building a relationship with your SA? YES. I have a wonderful SA and his co-workers also know me which is quite nice. I am 100% dedicated to my boutique. I don't jump around hoping to score somewhere else. If it's meant to be then it will happen. Do I go in and buy things that I will never use just to prove myself to the brand that I'm worthy? No. Trust me when I say I spend a good amount of money on the Spa service, which is *not* cheap, and I'll treat each one to a new Twilly or two when it is time to pick up. I have other bags (preloved and vintage) that I've sent in so it all adds up. Let us know what you do!

 

[ladysarah]

I agree with @Bag Madam and @Serva1 . For me there is no contest: boutique is my only route - no worries about authenticity, or paying over retail. The bags are super expensive as it is. Of course there are a lot of resellers on the forum (some of them are no doubt very good, some not so great.) there are many tales of bags sold as new which turned out to be anything but.
The only exception is if you actually know someone, personally who for some reason wants to sell from their private collection (unlikely to be brand new though) or a vintage piece no longer in production. For a new bag I’d start stalking Hermes boutiques.

 

[Serva1]

Thank you for your reply! I am leaning towards the in-store experience.

Buying from store might make it easier for you to get your second bag. In fact when I bought my first B the SA asked what I might consider next...

 

[frou frou]

It depends whether you find the procedure of buying in store, well described by many here , as attractive.
I don’t myself , and generally prefer vintage leathers , so I usually go via a reputable consignment store with an option to return the bag within 7 days if it doesn’t please.

 

[momasaurus]

Lots of good information here. I would also add: you have a much wider choice of leather from resellers. I personally don't like Togo, and that seems to be the current leather for most Kellys on offer.

 

[lxrac]

I know that getting an Hermes Kelly bag in-store is no small feat. I've read that if you want to buy one in the US, you need to build up a sales record with an SA, and that if you want to get a bag in Paris, it's a pretty big gamble whether or not you'll get an appointment.

(Honestly, that kind of excites me haha -- it feels like the bag would hold more meaning if you have to work for it.)

But I also know you can just buy a Kelly bag online. My gut feeling is that going through the process of getting one in-store would be a lifelong memory. But is it really worth it to go through the trouble just for the in-store experience?

I'd love to hear your personal thoughts and what you think.

If you just want one bag, go to the reseller route. There's tons out there. If you want to build a relationship with H, then play the games and rules and spend lots of money at the store. Really and truly for me, I'd rather go the reseller route. Even if its over retail price.

 

[MaryAndDogs]

What kind of bag do you want? It wouldn't be an etoupe Kelly 32 with PHW, would it? Huh! I am based in Germany and it does take a long time to get offered a handbag. It is actually hard to spend money at Hermes because there is often nothing to tempt me. How many croc wallets does one need? ...RTW has been...Hmm, how do I put it politely?

Anyway, I would still try to go the boutique route. You're a customer who has appreciation for the brand, you know what you want. If they don't offer you a handbag I do not understand who do they want to cultivate as their customers. It seems like there is no shortage of re-sellers so obviously the current strategy has not been working great for them in the past.

 

[crazylvgirl]

I'm going through the same situation as youself "boutique" or "reseller"?!.. I'm located in Brisbane, Australia and unfortunately it is so tough to get B,K&C here. I started my hermes journey in July this year and I've spent 8.5k including a bag - still a long way to meet my quota 0.75-1 (trying to space out my spending & not a fan on other commission area such as RTW , homeware , fine jewellery) and recently asked In general how far am I from my wishlist items?.. am I months or years away what do I need to do get an offer.
I heard in Brisbane in could be years until 2e get the call.... they replied "they couldn't me specifc time but please continue coming into the boutique"
So I decided to go reseller route for now and order a B and I'm still slowly builpubic quota with my SA as I still want the boutique experience and I want a Kelly next and find them super pricey on the reseller market way over retail.
Reading everyone comment is so helpful
Hopefully youand I will phone call one day!!

 

[QuelleFromage]

I know that getting an Hermes Kelly bag in-store is no small feat. I've read that if you want to buy one in the US, you need to build up a sales record with an SA, and that if you want to get a bag in Paris, it's a pretty big gamble whether or not you'll get an appointment.

(Honestly, that kind of excites me haha -- it feels like the bag would hold more meaning if you have to work for it.)

But I also know you can just buy a Kelly bag online. My gut feeling is that going through the process of getting one in-store would be a lifelong memory. But is it really worth it to go through the trouble just for the in-store experience?

I'd love to hear your personal thoughts and what you think.

Here's my personal feeling....yes, it's really nice to have that "magic moment" of unboxing your bag in a private room at Hermès, anywhere. But is it worth playing some huge purchase game? No. It's just a cool moment of brand experience which frankly is part of what they are selling.
If you don't want a bunch of other things, keep trying the boutiques and yes try Paris if you're going to be there anyway or it's an easy trip...but to me a moment at retail is not a reason to avoid resellers.

Interesting! I didn’t realize Kellys can be harder to come by than Birkins. I’d want a K25 in something colorful like green, magenta, or yellow. Do you think it would be easier to get in something colorful vs a neutral color?

Kelly 25 is definitely hard at retail. Green and yellow will be easier than any pink.

In the end, what lasts is that you have and love and enjoy the bag. At the prices we pay it has to be something you love that much. The moment of obtaining it fades pretty quickly. It's not like actual important moments in life like meeting the love of your life, a wonderful achievement at work, a wedding, finding out you are pregnant, a huge promotion, time with your child or your parents

ETA: Of my Kellys that I currently own, three are boutique (plus a mini K) and two are not only pre-loved but vintage. I get equal joy from each.

 

[Purrsey]

I for one do not care much for store experience.
I’m bag-focused so whichever way that gets me to the bag, fast. Of course, only from someone I trust and price is “right”.

 

[ladysarah]

May I also refer potential buyers here: https://forum.purseblog.com/threads/dream-bag-walk-in.1020741/page-3

 

[momoc]

Go reseller if: you want just one bag, know exactly what you want, it's a popular size/color so it's harder to get in the store...and so on. If you want to enjoy the game and have a love for H goodies besides bags, then good luck and enjoy your journey! And you can always get super lucky.

If you are just curious about how much the boutique experience is worth...well that really only depends on how much *you* think it's worth, because we are all different and how others value it won't make it worth more or less to you

But as another datapoint...as much as I love my SA and store and have had nothing but the best experiences there (with the current SA), I really wouldn't say it's worth ~that~ much. It alone is far from enough to be a deciding factor for me.

 

[eternallove4bag]

I know that getting an Hermes Kelly bag in-store is no small feat. I've read that if you want to buy one in the US, you need to build up a sales record with an SA, and that if you want to get a bag in Paris, it's a pretty big gamble whether or not you'll get an appointment.

(Honestly, that kind of excites me haha -- it feels like the bag would hold more meaning if you have to work for it.)

But I also know you can just buy a Kelly bag online. My gut feeling is that going through the process of getting one in-store would be a lifelong memory. But is it really worth it to go through the trouble just for the in-store experience?

I'd love to hear your personal thoughts and what you think.

I am an experiential shopper. More than half the pleasure I get from buying comes from the actual experience of shopping in store, trying out new things, chatting with the salesperson and the like. I thrive on the excitement building up to the point of the actual purchase and of course the buying process. So if you ask me, I would say get your beautiful bag from the store.

I am aware of the games Hermes plays and it’s not fair to customers but I also know that once you connect with the right SA, those games no longer hold any meaning because you play them on your own terms. From my personal experience, I never got into Hermes because I wanted a Birkin or Kelly but because of their shawls (those are still my Waterloo). Fortunately for me I met an amazing SA who understands what I love and what I don’t love. She knows I don’t do RTW or homeware amongst other things and she has never ever pressurized me to buy them. Every semester we go after one bag and that’s it. Do I buy other things form her? Of course. You can put them into two categories - shawls and shoes - but they are random and maybe 1-2 per season.
I guess what I am saying is you will never know what your in-store experience will be till you give it a try!

Oh I do have an article that I wrote a gazillion years ago (or that’s what it feel so like) that might be helpful.
https://www.********.com/10-tips-to-help-you-establish-an-enduring-relationship-with-hermes/

 

[India]

If one wants a Kelly in box leather, reseller is the way to go and the older the better the leather. My black box 30 Kelly is my pride and joy. Date? 1973. It's just so beautiful.