Hi! I am new to this board and new to Chanel. I have a fairly solid Gucci collection of modern and vintage bags but having a Chanel bag has always been a dream. I recently ordered a black mini rectangular flap bag to celebrate a professional accomplishment and I am so excited to get it, apparently it will be coming at the end of March. I am a bit confused about how this process works. I called Chanel to find out where they have it in store, and they told me there were none in my state and that my best bet would be to go to a store and speak to a sales associate. I have a few Chanel stores near me so I went to the closest one. The SA I worked with was really sweet and was able to look up that they have one coming in at the end of March. I was so excited and didn't really ask any questions but like, I assume there is a black mini flap bag somewhere in the US right now lol, are they unable to just order it from another store? I gather Chanel works differently because when I called I was told that they require the first purchase to be in store and I know these bags are not available for purchase new online or anything like that. Thanks in advance for any info. I haven't even gotten this one yet and I'm already scouting out my next purchase!
New to Chanel
- Thread starter starlet51
- Start date
TPF may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, and others
Congratulations on your professional accomplishment. Chanel black mini is a relatively hard to find seasonal item. They sell really fast. I would not be surprised if there are none available currently. Your best bet to scoring one is to talk to your SA and let them know exactly what you are interested in (color, hardware color, rectangle or square). Ask to be put on a waiting list. You may consider contacting SA in multiple stores. Best of luck.
As stated above, it is very much in demand so any for this season are probably sold out. New collection should have them again and that's in a couple of weeks or so, that's why the SA told you March. On the shopping forum, link is one of the top threads, we keep up to date with each collection as it's coming and in the Stock thread members post when they get info where an item can be located. It's a great source especially if you are not having luck at a local boutique. However Chanel can not be purchased via phone order and shipped unless you already have a profile. So for this special purchase, I would keep up with the SA you talked with so then you can have an in-store purchase an establish your history.
If there are any floating around in other stores, they are probably already reserved for someone. I tried for weeks calling CS and calling individual stores for a black mini. Every store has a waiting list and the list itself has a limited number of slots. I was lucky enough to get on one list even though I called CS almost every day and messaged a ton of other SA contacts my friend gave me lol. My local store told me the black minis never hit the floor - they are always sold off the waitlist. When your SA said there is one coming in March, did she take your info and say it was reserved for you? If not you may want to double check with her and keep in contact so she doesn't forget.
To answer your other question, some (maybe all, I'm not sure) SAs can order from other boutiques. I think it's done as a request though, meaning it can get denied. My local SA has ordered some stuff for me but the conversation is always something like "I put in the request, I will update you if it's successful". And yes, your first purchase needs to be instore, or at least you need to go instore and have an SA setup a profile for you. The first time I went instore they didn't have what I wanted but the SA took my info and created a profile for me so that she could charge my card when the item came in. After that I was able to order from other SAs at other stores without going in (even though I hadn't actually made a purchase yet).
To answer your other question, some (maybe all, I'm not sure) SAs can order from other boutiques. I think it's done as a request though, meaning it can get denied. My local SA has ordered some stuff for me but the conversation is always something like "I put in the request, I will update you if it's successful". And yes, your first purchase needs to be instore, or at least you need to go instore and have an SA setup a profile for you. The first time I went instore they didn't have what I wanted but the SA took my info and created a profile for me so that she could charge my card when the item came in. After that I was able to order from other SAs at other stores without going in (even though I hadn't actually made a purchase yet).
Thanks! Yes, she did take my info down and my credit card number. She told me she would call me to let me know when the bag is in before she charges my card. So I am pretty sure I am going to be getting it?
I hope so! It sounds a little too good to be true after reading about your experience! She said nothing about a wait list though.
If you got her card then you can text her to check in mid March or so, asking if she has an update on delivery date. That way she won't forget about you.
