Maintaining an H relationship

[papertiger]

Please focus on the title of this thread rather than each other, TY

If you find it very hard to ignore certain people, please feel free in adding them to your 'Ignore' list.

For advice on how to obtain a B/K/C please go to the reading room in the Reading Room The Newbie's HOW DO I GET A BIRKIN (or other bag) Reading Room

For advice on how to shop at your local store please do a search in Hermes Shopping sub-forum and look for your store/region/country.

 

[Justlikewhatilike]

I am SEAsian myself. I am aware of the shopping patterns and habits. But my comments still stands Of course, it’s just my opinion and thoughts which to me rationalizes the shopping at Hermes.

Sure that’s fine. Everybody has their own shopping habits.

Just wanna say that some might have it easier when their shopping persona fits an ideal non-reseller client with an image that is aligned to the exclusivity trait of the brand blah blah blah….some genuine customers just had it more difficult.

 

[WhiteBus]

Yeah, so genuine customers have to work around the brand being suspicious of customers to be resellers. How is that a normal shopping experience?

I have no problem that H is being exclusive and all. Limited quantities and all. Suspicious of every walk in customer to be a reseller until proven otherwise.

but I wouldn’t call it a normal shopping experience….

If it is so normal, there is actually no need for such a thread.

I even felt like starting a thread title “Outrageous things H SAs say”, which I never hear from other brand SAs. Only hesitating because it could get too high profile and spoilt the relationship which is very fragile as compared to other Brand’s.

Again. How normal is that?

If it is so normal, there is actually no need for such a thread.

I agree and have said as much. This thread is misnamed. It should be:
How do I mold my shopping habits to get a quota bag?
It's nothing to do with relationships; they develop when you treat each other in a decent and respectful manner!

To be fair you did make more inferences about the attitude of Hermes towards its customers than I actually stated. Being alert to certain behaviour patterns does not make you suspicious of everybody.
I have a suspicion that you live in a country where cannot simply go into a car showroom, choose a car, pay for it and drive it away. Don't you have to bid to buy a license; pay something like 300% sales tax and then scrap it after 10 years? or have things changed? Is that normal? Do people dare to criticise it like you criticise Hermes? That is an example of constraints being imposed because of the limitations of space.

When Grace Kelly and Jane Birkin were first shopping at Hermes anyone could walk through the door and buy or order what they wanted. As a growing number of people wanted to buy these bags, demand outstripped supply. Hermes secretly instigated a system to ensure that its regular and long-standing customers were not disadvantaged. It became known that it was difficult to get certain bags, but no-one knew why. Around 2005 someone realised he could be offered a Birkin or Kelly if he was buying other things. He turned this into a business and employed people around the world to purchase, to order, on his behalf and he would resell covering his costs and making a profit. That is the route of the problem.

 

[Justlikewhatilike]

If it is so normal, there is actually no need for such a thread.

I agree and have said as much. This thread is misnamed. It should be:
How do I mold my shopping habits to get a quota bag?
It's nothing to do with relationships; they develop when you treat each other in a decent and respectful manner!

To be fair you did make more inferences about the attitude of Hermes towards its customers than I actually stated. Being alert to certain behaviour patterns does not make you suspicious of everybody.
I have a suspicion that you live in a country where cannot simply go into a car showroom, choose a car, pay for it and drive it away. Don't you have to bid to buy a license; pay something like 300% sales tax and then scrap it after 10 years? or have things changed? Is that normal? Do people dare to criticise it like you criticise Hermes? That is an example of constraints being imposed because of the limitations of space.

When Grace Kelly and Jane Birkin were first shopping at Hermes anyone could walk through the door and buy or order what they wanted. As a growing number of people wanted to buy these bags, demand outstripped supply. Hermes secretly instigated a system to ensure that its regular and long-standing customers were not disadvantaged. It became known that it was difficult to get certain bags, but no-one knew why. Around 2005 someone realised he could be offered a Birkin or Kelly if he was buying other things. He turned this into a business and employed people around the world to purchase, to order, on his behalf and he would resell covering his costs and making a profit. That is the route of the problem.

As you rightly put it across, a relationship requires mutual respect. it’s a business relationship, the supplier gives the customers what they want and the supplier get what the company wants.

due to the numerous twists and turns and the conflicting interests of the parties in the picture, such a relationship is convoluted.

Some people come to post their questions here, funny or ridiculous it may seem, because they do not know how to handle H SAs. Why?

i just want to put my point across that it is not a normal relationship….Why is there a need to defend it?

some people may want a bag or a stream of bags, some people just want an oran sandal collection….

It is what it is.

 

[Pivoine66]

In principle, I can understand that new customers feel disappointed, when SAs tell them "No stock" or similar - when they want to buy a B/K - as so infinitely many now do. But what should SAs answer to the client? "No bag for YOU! because we have so many loyal long-term customers who are also waiting for a bag and would be disappointed if YOU got it before they did? Would that make them feel better? Should Hermès flood the market with B/K - How long would so many customers still want to buy a B/K? I wonder, how are the SAs feeling who are constantly being lied to straight in their face "Oh, I've been dreaming of a B/K for sooo long especially 25 - or I want one for my wife, mother, sister, birthday, ..." and "I looove the scarves, ..."? and then they see daily on social media, VC and many many other platforms how the bags are resold for exorbitant prices, often along with everything else.
How are SAs supposed to determine who means it honestly and who is just in for making big bucks?? The sad result is: some lie successfully and get a bag - others are serious and don't get one.

Personally, I think a theoretical answer - verrrry unpopular one -: stop buying new bags from resellers for a long time until prices drop. Then it becomes uninteresting for the many professional and - yes, very many private - resellers and many more bags remain for the really interested. Those who don't have a boutique nearby can perhaps buy a bag storefresh on one of their trips because more are also available in the boutiques. But - like others have said here before - IMO, too, the trend towards "instant gratification" is worldwide and to that extent I fear it will continue for a long time, perhaps until the status of a B/K is broken.

 

[Justlikewhatilike]

Actually it’s not just bags. The frustration really builds up for twillies, scarves. Scarf rings, for shoes, for watches, for fine jewellery etc.

All these there were promises of stocks to come, even with deposits paid. However, in the best case scenarios they come a few months later than initially promised. For worse, there is only indefinite waiting.

I know it’s pandemic, global supply disruptions, etc etc. Even my own SA told me she won’t wait half a year for her purchase to arrive.

Truth be told, I waited 5 months for a clic H bracelet. While I stand by unwavering waiting proving my undying loyalty and if I am a reseller, I would definitely go hungry…..at last it finally came, but it can’t fit me anymore.

 

[Miss.E]

Take it easy. Enjoy the journey. If SA doesn’t message me for a month or two with things that potentially interest me, I truly enjoy the down time. What’s the rush ?

 

[Justlikewhatilike]

Take it easy. Enjoy the journey. If SA doesn’t message me for a month or two with things that potentially interest me, I truly enjoy the down time. What’s the rush ?

When a company takes almost 5 figures usd down payment from you for an item and cannot promise a timeline to deliver the item, u take it easy?

Oh well, perhaps H is only for people with money to burn. I rest my case then.

 

[Miss.E]

When a company takes almost 5 figures usd down payment from you for an item and cannot promise a timeline to deliver the item, u take it easy?

Oh well, perhaps H is only for people with money to burn. I rest my case then.

Hermes not going to run away with your money that’s for sure

 

[Justlikewhatilike]

Hermes not going to run away with your money that’s for sure

Time is money. Opportunity costs are running.

Anyway, where were we in terms of this abnormal relationship ….

 

[leechiyong]

The paradigm has shifted. People expect everything right away, which has never been how fashion is unless if you’re buying something off the shelf. A brand would do a runway show, magazine editors would print pictures a month or two later, store buyers would order what they thought their clientele wanted, and six months or so later it’d arrive, but there weren’t any guarantees as a buyer. Nowadays, they livestream the runway show and people reach out to their SA right away to pre-order.

Everything that’s been described for H, I’ve experienced at other brands from LV to Tod’s. I’ve had LV SAs ignore me, then when I found a good one, after awhile she left and the new one assigned terrible. I’ve had pre-orders (that I’d already paid for) cancelled, changed, or taken forever to receive while influencers received theirs months before me. I've had an SA tell me an item that showed in stock at their location at the store wasn't available and be unwilling to look at any other store for me. Every single year, I see a thread right before the holidays wondering if LV canvas being discontinued because nothing was in stock except leather bags and their SA said leather was being pushed more. And don’t get me started on the buying limits at Chanel or LV to prevent people from reselling. I'd have loved the VCA holiday pendant this year, but didn't even bother to try because wait lists with people who made a full deposit were full and the last piece I bought was five years ago.**

There’s a tendency to build up H in our heads way too much. Even though I've been buying H for years and luxury for much longer, I still spend far too long wondering how to phrase something in my texts to my SA. I'm grateful for this thread because it helps me remember to just be a calm, nice person and what that looks like.

If a shopping experience somewhere is consistently unpleasant, don't buy from that retailer. These are luxury goods, not necessities. We have the power to decide where we spend our money. That said, not everyone has the same experience and they're entitled to shop where they want too. Endlessly complaining about it really serves no one when so many others have positive experiences. Not every retailer will be suited for me and that's okay.

**editing to add a footnote: I've also had some amazing experiences shopping luxury, including LV, and they're more frequent than not. My point is to highlight that H's processes are not particularly abnormal.

 

[Justlikewhatilike]

The paradigm has shifted. People expect everything right away, which has never been how fashion is unless if you’re buying something off the shelf. A brand would do a runway show, magazine editors would print pictures a month or two later, store buyers would order what they thought their clientele wanted, and six months or so later it’d arrive, but there weren’t any guarantees as a buyer. Nowadays, they livestream the runway show and people reach out to their SA right away to pre-order.

Everything that’s been described for H, I’ve experienced at other brands from LV to Tod’s. I’ve had LV SAs ignore me, then when I found a good one, after awhile she left and the new one assigned terrible. I’ve had pre-orders (that I’d already paid for) cancelled, changed, or taken forever to receive while influencers received theirs months before me. I've had an SA tell me an item that showed in stock at their location at the store wasn't available and be unwilling to look at any other store for me. Every single year, I see a thread right before the holidays wondering if LV canvas being discontinued because nothing was in stock except leather bags and their SA said leather was being pushed more. And don’t get me started on the buying limits at Chanel or LV to prevent people from reselling. I'd have loved the VCA holiday pendant this year, but didn't even bother to try because wait lists with people who made a full deposit were full and the last piece I bought was five years ago.

There’s a tendency to build up H in our heads way too much. Even though I've been buying H for years and luxury for much longer, I still spend far too long wondering how to phrase something in my texts to my SA. I'm grateful for this thread because it helps me remember to just be a calm, nice person and what that looks like.

If a shopping experience somewhere is consistently unpleasant, don't buy from that retailer. These are luxury goods, not necessities. We have the power to decide where we spend our money. That said, not everyone has the same experience and they're entitled to shop where they want too. Endlessly complaining about it really serves no one when so many others have positive experiences. Not every retailer will be suited for me and that's okay.

Thanks for your conclusion.

I think it is good to share all positive and negative experiences so that people who come and search for answers knows there can be good experiences and there can be really bad ones.

That’s the reason for the existence of such a thread and a forum (I hope!).

Any one particular individual’s experience is not THE Hermes experience universally.

if I had known as much as I do know (through other people’s stories on this forum and elsewhere), I surely would have 2nd thoughts on this whole thing or paced myself better.

 

[Miss.E]

With Hermes in certain countries I know the waiting time can be ridiculously long. But you get into it fully aware and commit to the purchase of something that you like now, 3 months or a year from now. You get into it once and if you know you can’t wait then it’s lesson learned. SAs should be truthful on waiting time and that’s where you judge if he/she is a keeper.

I don’t think it’s that much different from other brands but probably that’s just my experience.

 

[Justlikewhatilike]

My SA told me they are not able to tell when the goods would be delivered. She could only tell me 85% of the time, they will come.

I asked for a pair of shoes from her and she took the effort to transfer from another store, which I very much appreciate. The response that came back was that the transfer was rejected. Oh well, doesn’t matter. Taking it in my stride I purchased something else which I love as much. 2 months later she asked me to collect the shoes which had been transferred for me….I felt obligated to take those shoes then. I still like it, but the experience suffered another notch. To be completely honest, I took the shoes in order to maintain my relationship with my SA.

I hope my sharing is not taken as ranting. But just to give a flavour of what’s the reality of this relationship.

 

[Miss.E]

Absolutely not. Just exchanging ideas.

 

[IronOak]

Around 2005 someone realised he could be offered a Birkin or Kelly if he was buying other things. He turned this into a business and employed people around the world to purchase, to order, on his behalf and he would resell covering his costs and making a profit. That is the route of the problem.

Are you referring to the book by Michael Tonello?