Paris trip for Hermes

[papertiger]

Please try to stay on topic. I realise because of the complexity of some of the posts members may veer off but in answer do not 'go there'.

For info and questions on US customs please post on the thread below: post https://forum.purseblog.com/threads/us-customs-discussion-airports-importing.905560/

Detaxing (to US from Europe) https://forum.purseblog.com/threads/best-way-to-detax-after-h-in-europe.178302/

or non-US destinations: https://forum.purseblog.com/threads/does-h-store-paris-wants-to-ship.605014/page-3

For questions relating to prices https://forum.purseblog.com/threads/reference-hermes-current-prices.102567/page-357

For traveling with boxes https://forum.purseblog.com/threads...me-hermes-boxes-when-traveling.1044553/page-5



I will leave this reminder as a sticky because tthis is often a thread that new members (or new Hermès lovers) post on - hopefully temporarily.

 

[starprism_7]

I'm ready to share my FSH tale with this thread that I've read for 2 years prior to my trip.

A disclaimer, I will not give anyone any email contacts or names at FSH. I am not a VIP, just an H fan who has a great relationship with my local H in the US.

I have planned my trip for quite a while, my local store coordinated a Hermes Museum tour for me and I was able to exchange some emails about it. I also was connected with a SA to help me with some jewelry I wanted to try. I started the communication with the store about 8 weeks before my trip. I needed a specific size in a bracelet and knew I would be buying one of them. I never discussed bags, leather goods or a leather appointment in any emails.

I was able to make an appointment to try jewelry around my museum visit and had a wonderful time with the SA I had been emailing with. I shopped the whole store but only chose to buy the white gold CDC bracelet and a mineral pendant on my visit, I wanted Fall shoes but they were already in full Spring display. The SA asked me if I wanted any bags and we had a good discussion, looked at some of the new offerings and I was presented with a list of available options, about 12 different bags-not all Bs and Ks but in the range of colors I had requested. Nothing was exactly right and I didn't ask for anything to be shown to me, I prefer to let bags stay shrink-wrapped if I'm not quite sure since I think it's thrilling for a bag to be unwrapped for me. The SA understood and seemed to prefer that I was going to wait for what I wanted. I was 100% happy to buy just the two pieces I had selected. I had a wonderful time in the store and a bag would have just been icing on the cake.

The SA suggested I come back the next day as it was later in the day and I had early plans in the neighborhood the next day. There was no promise, or guarantee that what I wanted would show up but why not try? I came back earlier the next day, sought out my SA and we discussed any other things I wanted in a bag. I added black to my list after passing on two black bag options because they were not my preferred leather the previous day. This time, the SA came back with a box-not a list of options. We had spent quite a bit of time together the previous day and I felt the SA had learned my style quite well. The SA was confident I would love this option and I did. I happily took the bag, profusely thanked my SA and happily enjoyed the rest of my time in Paris.

I'll try to head off some of the questions that usually come up:
I didn't need to line up or make an appointment to get a bag but my main point of my visit was jewelry, not bags.
I watched the line before store opening one day waiting on a friend, both side and front door lines were equally long but front seemed to let fewer people in for security reasons
Do I think I could have gotten a bag without buying jewelry? Yes, because I made a connection with some of the staff by being genuine and polite-if they had a bag I wanted
Do I think they have bags and they just say no? Not really, there are probably always bags but in my case, I was given a lot of choices but none were quite right the first day. I wonder if there's a fine line between too specific and too broad so they just say NO.

Observations:
Don't try to be "that" guy or girl and ask flat out "how do I get my hands on a Birkin?" I watched this happen repeatedly and it was just plain awkward to watch. It puts the SA in an impossible situation and it's just not the right approach. It's like coming on too strong on a date in my opinion.

Don't cut the line, first of all the head security guy at the front door of H is pretty good looking but you don't want to make him mad. I actually saw some people get pulled to the back of the line trying it. I guess they do what they can if they catch it. He's really handsome BTW

Don't walk up to anyone trying on a bag, so so rude and scary for the customer!

A little French goes a LONG way, my French is super rusty but everyone appreciated that I tried and I probably sounded like a 2 year old or Yoda so hopefully I made them smile. It's only polite to take a crack at Hello, Thank You etc.

Thanks for letting me share my tale, I think FSH remains an entirely unique H experience for everyone. Some get lucky with no prior purchases, lots and lots of people get turned down and some like myself get a bag as a cherry on top of a truly lovely experience!

Here's my K25 Noir Swift GHW:

View attachment 3622308

Lovely story! Thank you for sharing your sorry & reminders too; genuine interest in the brand & politeness goes a long way. Congratulations on the beautiful jewellry pieces & the bag too.

 

[leuleu]

(sorry dont want to go off topic) given the weak £, the shelves in the leather dept in London H's are always empty now. and on H.com, lindy/bolide/GP are all sold instantly (if not within a couple of hours) as soon as they are listed

I understand why it was written "For display only".

 

[Nerja]

I'm ready to share my FSH tale with this thread that I've read for 2 years prior to my trip.

A disclaimer, I will not give anyone any email contacts or names at FSH. I am not a VIP, just an H fan who has a great relationship with my local H in the US.

I have planned my trip for quite a while, my local store coordinated a Hermes Museum tour for me and I was able to exchange some emails about it. I also was connected with a SA to help me with some jewelry I wanted to try. I started the communication with the store about 8 weeks before my trip. I needed a specific size in a bracelet and knew I would be buying one of them. I never discussed bags, leather goods or a leather appointment in any emails.

I was able to make an appointment to try jewelry around my museum visit and had a wonderful time with the SA I had been emailing with. I shopped the whole store but only chose to buy the white gold CDC bracelet and a mineral pendant on my visit, I wanted Fall shoes but they were already in full Spring display. The SA asked me if I wanted any bags and we had a good discussion, looked at some of the new offerings and I was presented with a list of available options, about 12 different bags-not all Bs and Ks but in the range of colors I had requested. Nothing was exactly right and I didn't ask for anything to be shown to me, I prefer to let bags stay shrink-wrapped if I'm not quite sure since I think it's thrilling for a bag to be unwrapped for me. The SA understood and seemed to prefer that I was going to wait for what I wanted. I was 100% happy to buy just the two pieces I had selected. I had a wonderful time in the store and a bag would have just been icing on the cake.

The SA suggested I come back the next day as it was later in the day and I had early plans in the neighborhood the next day. There was no promise, or guarantee that what I wanted would show up but why not try? I came back earlier the next day, sought out my SA and we discussed any other things I wanted in a bag. I added black to my list after passing on two black bag options because they were not my preferred leather the previous day. This time, the SA came back with a box-not a list of options. We had spent quite a bit of time together the previous day and I felt the SA had learned my style quite well. The SA was confident I would love this option and I did. I happily took the bag, profusely thanked my SA and happily enjoyed the rest of my time in Paris.

I'll try to head off some of the questions that usually come up:
I didn't need to line up or make an appointment to get a bag but my main point of my visit was jewelry, not bags.
I watched the line before store opening one day waiting on a friend, both side and front door lines were equally long but front seemed to let fewer people in for security reasons
Do I think I could have gotten a bag without buying jewelry? Yes, because I made a connection with some of the staff by being genuine and polite-if they had a bag I wanted
Do I think they have bags and they just say no? Not really, there are probably always bags but in my case, I was given a lot of choices but none were quite right the first day. I wonder if there's a fine line between too specific and too broad so they just say NO.

Observations:
Don't try to be "that" guy or girl and ask flat out "how do I get my hands on a Birkin?" I watched this happen repeatedly and it was just plain awkward to watch. It puts the SA in an impossible situation and it's just not the right approach. It's like coming on too strong on a date in my opinion.

Don't cut the line, first of all the head security guy at the front door of H is pretty good looking but you don't want to make him mad. I actually saw some people get pulled to the back of the line trying it. I guess they do what they can if they catch it. He's really handsome BTW

Don't walk up to anyone trying on a bag, so so rude and scary for the customer!

A little French goes a LONG way, my French is super rusty but everyone appreciated that I tried and I probably sounded like a 2 year old or Yoda so hopefully I made them smile. It's only polite to take a crack at Hello, Thank You etc.

Thanks for letting me share my tale, I think FSH remains an entirely unique H experience for everyone. Some get lucky with no prior purchases, lots and lots of people get turned down and some like myself get a bag as a cherry on top of a truly lovely experience!

Here's my K25 Noir Swift GHW:

View attachment 3622308

Thank you so much for sharing your quest and the photos of your beautiful bag! This information is so helpful. Enjoy your beautiful jewelry and bag!

 

[jaws3]

Does anyone know the name of the older gentleman at the George V store? He gave me his card in June and I misplaced it. He said to email him next time I was in Paris. I tried FOUR days in both stores to get a B or K for my 20 yr anniversary. I was dressed nice and it was for a special occasion but still no luck.

 

[dollybobo]

I really enjoy reading this thread, thank you so much for sharing your experiences in Paris.

I am thinking of doing a big shop in Paris and trying to accumulate enough purchases to boost my chance of being able to purchase a Kelly.

There is mention on the thread that if you go to George V store, you will need to spend a certain amount on non-leather goods before being offered a B or K. I was wondering how much we are talking here? Would EUR 6000 be sufficient do you think?

Do you think George V store is the best one to go to? It seems that FSH is permanently busy...?

A bit of my thinking....
I earn in USD so it makes sense to take advantage of the low EUR. Resellers are very readily available where I live, and they charge from EUR 11000 to EUR 16000 for a B or K. Price depends on color, leather, availability at the time their supply of bags at the time. I think it might be worth me actually spending the premium I will have to pay a reseller in actually buying other goods that I like....scarves, shawls, necklace, watch etc. Although the advantage of buying from a reseller is that I can buy the bag with the actual specs I want. Of course, it depends on how much H is expecting me to spend before they allow me a K

 

[pinklining]

I really enjoy reading this thread, thank you so much for sharing your experiences in Paris.

I am thinking of doing a big shop in Paris and trying to accumulate enough purchases to boost my chance of being able to purchase a Kelly.

There is mention on the thread that if you go to George V store, you will need to spend a certain amount on non-leather goods before being offered a B or K. I was wondering how much we are talking here? Would EUR 6000 be sufficient do you think?

Do you think George V store is the best one to go to? It seems that FSH is permanently busy...?

A bit of my thinking....
I earn in USD so it makes sense to take advantage of the low EUR. Resellers are very readily available where I live, and they charge from EUR 11000 to EUR 16000 for a B or K. Price depends on color, leather, availability at the time their supply of bags at the time. I think it might be worth me actually spending the premium I will have to pay a reseller in actually buying other goods that I like....scarves, shawls, necklace, watch etc. Although the advantage of buying from a reseller is that I can buy the bag with the actual specs I want. Of course, it depends on how much H is expecting me to spend before they allow me a K

There's no guarantee that after spending a certain amount on non-leather goods, you will be offered a B or a K. unless we are talking about a furniture order For furniture, FSH will be a better bet as they have more bags for your selection.

If you intend to buy non leather goods to boost your chance, you might want to try Sevres as some Tpfers had a good chance of building a rapport with a SA without spending 6000 euro and was offered a B/K. Plus they have more bags available & wider goods selection in Sevres than George V - easier for you to find goods that you like.

George V is good if you want less sought after bags like Evelyne, Toolbox, Victoria as you didn't have to queue in the morning like FSH.

The chance of getting a B/K in Paris depends on your luck (being allocated to a helpful SA), perseverance (to queue early in FSH to get an appointment and coming back next day if they said no), being polite, ability to build a good rapport with an SA, not coming off as a reseller. Even if the SA is not able to sell you a B/K that day, she will be happy to make an appointment for you to visit her tomorrow etc if there's a good connection established.

Spending money on non leather goods might help to boost your chance but frankly.. there's a lot of wealthy people in Paris. So i doubt the SAs will be easily impressed by it unless we are talking about hugee hugeee amount.

FSH is busy but with an appointment, you will be allocated an SA who will help you one-to-one with the request. So it doesn't really matter if they are busy or not.

 

[Giuliana]

I'm ready to share my FSH tale with this thread that I've read for 2 years prior to my trip.

A disclaimer, I will not give anyone any email contacts or names at FSH. I am not a VIP, just an H fan who has a great relationship with my local H in the US.

I have planned my trip for quite a while, my local store coordinated a Hermes Museum tour for me and I was able to exchange some emails about it. I also was connected with a SA to help me with some jewelry I wanted to try. I started the communication with the store about 8 weeks before my trip. I needed a specific size in a bracelet and knew I would be buying one of them. I never discussed bags, leather goods or a leather appointment in any emails.

I was able to make an appointment to try jewelry around my museum visit and had a wonderful time with the SA I had been emailing with. I shopped the whole store but only chose to buy the white gold CDC bracelet and a mineral pendant on my visit, I wanted Fall shoes but they were already in full Spring display. The SA asked me if I wanted any bags and we had a good discussion, looked at some of the new offerings and I was presented with a list of available options, about 12 different bags-not all Bs and Ks but in the range of colors I had requested. Nothing was exactly right and I didn't ask for anything to be shown to me, I prefer to let bags stay shrink-wrapped if I'm not quite sure since I think it's thrilling for a bag to be unwrapped for me. The SA understood and seemed to prefer that I was going to wait for what I wanted. I was 100% happy to buy just the two pieces I had selected. I had a wonderful time in the store and a bag would have just been icing on the cake.

The SA suggested I come back the next day as it was later in the day and I had early plans in the neighborhood the next day. There was no promise, or guarantee that what I wanted would show up but why not try? I came back earlier the next day, sought out my SA and we discussed any other things I wanted in a bag. I added black to my list after passing on two black bag options because they were not my preferred leather the previous day. This time, the SA came back with a box-not a list of options. We had spent quite a bit of time together the previous day and I felt the SA had learned my style quite well. The SA was confident I would love this option and I did. I happily took the bag, profusely thanked my SA and happily enjoyed the rest of my time in Paris.

I'll try to head off some of the questions that usually come up:
I didn't need to line up or make an appointment to get a bag but my main point of my visit was jewelry, not bags.
I watched the line before store opening one day waiting on a friend, both side and front door lines were equally long but front seemed to let fewer people in for security reasons
Do I think I could have gotten a bag without buying jewelry? Yes, because I made a connection with some of the staff by being genuine and polite-if they had a bag I wanted
Do I think they have bags and they just say no? Not really, there are probably always bags but in my case, I was given a lot of choices but none were quite right the first day. I wonder if there's a fine line between too specific and too broad so they just say NO.

Observations:
Don't try to be "that" guy or girl and ask flat out "how do I get my hands on a Birkin?" I watched this happen repeatedly and it was just plain awkward to watch. It puts the SA in an impossible situation and it's just not the right approach. It's like coming on too strong on a date in my opinion.

Don't cut the line, first of all the head security guy at the front door of H is pretty good looking but you don't want to make him mad. I actually saw some people get pulled to the back of the line trying it. I guess they do what they can if they catch it. He's really handsome BTW

Don't walk up to anyone trying on a bag, so so rude and scary for the customer!

A little French goes a LONG way, my French is super rusty but everyone appreciated that I tried and I probably sounded like a 2 year old or Yoda so hopefully I made them smile. It's only polite to take a crack at Hello, Thank You etc.

Thanks for letting me share my tale, I think FSH remains an entirely unique H experience for everyone. Some get lucky with no prior purchases, lots and lots of people get turned down and some like myself get a bag as a cherry on top of a truly lovely experience!

Here's my K25 Noir Swift GHW:

View attachment 3622308

Congrats on having a lovely experience at FSH and on the K25!! I'm still waiting for one with these exact specs to show up at my store.

 

[Bibibala]

First time post here. This is my 1st day in Paris. I arrived CDG at 08:xx, when I arrived FSH, it was 10:xx. It was heavy raining, I was all wet and cos I brought my luggage, security didn't allow me to go in. Then I ran to my hotel to drop down my luggage and went back, at that time was aroun 11:20am. I politely said hi to the security. I didn't know where I should go, then finally found the appointment desk. At first, the Sa asked me to wait, then maybe the security or other SA told her my situation, then the SA helped me to book appointment right away. The appointment was 18:00. I then went to Chanel and Sevres Hermes. Then came back to FSH. I was so tired, and sat down inside to wait. Finally the sa came, the sa was a gentleman. Maybe it was late, he didn't take my passport, and just went fast and came out with one big box and few small box. This is it, b30, Clemence , poppy orange, GHW. He asked me how long I stayed in Paris, I said this is my 1st day. He told me to think about whether take it or not. I happily told him I would take it no matter what. He said I need to think through it, if i don't really like it. But I am so afraid that I won't have chance to get one. So I took it anyway.

 

[bellapurse]

First time post here. This is my 1st day in Paris. I arrived CDG at 08:xx, when I arrived FSH, it was 10:xx. It was heavy raining, I was all wet and cos I brought my luggage, security didn't allow me to go in. Then I ran to my hotel to drop down my luggage and went back, at that time was aroun 11:20am. I politely said hi to the security. I didn't know where I should go, then finally found the appointment desk. At first, the Sa asked me to wait, then maybe the security or other SA told her my situation, then the SA helped me to book appointment right away. The appointment was 18:00. I then went to Chanel and Sevres Hermes. Then came back to FSH. I was so tired, and sat down inside to wait. Finally the sa came, the sa was a gentleman. Maybe it was late, he didn't take my passport, and just went fast and came out with one big box and few small box. This is it, b30, Clemence , poppy orange, GHW. He asked me how long I stayed in Paris, I said this is my 1st day. He told me to think about whether take it or not. I happily told him I would take it no matter what. He said I need to think through it, if i don't really like it. But I am so afraid that I won't have chance to get one. So I took it anyway.

It's beautiful! Congrats! Did you asked for anything in particular or you just said a B ?

 

[Bibibala]

It's beautiful! Congrats! Did you asked for anything in particular or you just said a B ?

Not really particular. I only said b35 or smaller, k32 or smaller, no color preference, prefer harder leather. That's it

 

[Ici]

First time post here. This is my 1st day in Paris. I arrived CDG at 08:xx, when I arrived FSH, it was 10:xx. It was heavy raining, I was all wet and cos I brought my luggage, security didn't allow me to go in. Then I ran to my hotel to drop down my luggage and went back, at that time was aroun 11:20am. I politely said hi to the security. I didn't know where I should go, then finally found the appointment desk. At first, the Sa asked me to wait, then maybe the security or other SA told her my situation, then the SA helped me to book appointment right away. The appointment was 18:00. I then went to Chanel and Sevres Hermes. Then came back to FSH. I was so tired, and sat down inside to wait. Finally the sa came, the sa was a gentleman. Maybe it was late, he didn't take my passport, and just went fast and came out with one big box and few small box. This is it, b30, Clemence , poppy orange, GHW. He asked me how long I stayed in Paris, I said this is my 1st day. He told me to think about whether take it or not. I happily told him I would take it no matter what. He said I need to think through it, if i don't really like it. But I am so afraid that I won't have chance to get one. So I took it anyway.

Your new B is beautiful and you were very lucky to get an appointment. It was meant to be, and enjoy your bag.

 

[Coco.lover]

It's a gorgeous bag, enjoy it

 

[LOVERofCHANEL]

First time post here. This is my 1st day in Paris. I arrived CDG at 08:xx, when I arrived FSH, it was 10:xx. It was heavy raining, I was all wet and cos I brought my luggage, security didn't allow me to go in. Then I ran to my hotel to drop down my luggage and went back, at that time was aroun 11:20am. I politely said hi to the security. I didn't know where I should go, then finally found the appointment desk. At first, the Sa asked me to wait, then maybe the security or other SA told her my situation, then the SA helped me to book appointment right away. The appointment was 18:00. I then went to Chanel and Sevres Hermes. Then came back to FSH. I was so tired, and sat down inside to wait. Finally the sa came, the sa was a gentleman. Maybe it was late, he didn't take my passport, and just went fast and came out with one big box and few small box. This is it, b30, Clemence , poppy orange, GHW. He asked me how long I stayed in Paris, I said this is my 1st day. He told me to think about whether take it or not. I happily told him I would take it no matter what. He said I need to think through it, if i don't really like it. But I am so afraid that I won't have chance to get one. So I took it anyway.

Congrats! It's beautiful! [emoji7]

 

[Bibibala]

Is it real that one passport can only buy one b or k in 6 months?

 

[Cygne18]

First time post here. This is my 1st day in Paris. I arrived CDG at 08:xx, when I arrived FSH, it was 10:xx. It was heavy raining, I was all wet and cos I brought my luggage, security didn't allow me to go in. Then I ran to my hotel to drop down my luggage and went back, at that time was aroun 11:20am. I politely said hi to the security. I didn't know where I should go, then finally found the appointment desk. At first, the Sa asked me to wait, then maybe the security or other SA told her my situation, then the SA helped me to book appointment right away. The appointment was 18:00. I then went to Chanel and Sevres Hermes. Then came back to FSH. I was so tired, and sat down inside to wait. Finally the sa came, the sa was a gentleman. Maybe it was late, he didn't take my passport, and just went fast and came out with one big box and few small box. This is it, b30, Clemence , poppy orange, GHW. He asked me how long I stayed in Paris, I said this is my 1st day. He told me to think about whether take it or not. I happily told him I would take it no matter what. He said I need to think through it, if i don't really like it. But I am so afraid that I won't have chance to get one. So I took it anyway.

Congratulations! This is a bag that will light up a gloomy day. Nice, vibrant color. Thank you for sharing.