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.

 

[ParisFei23]

I got an appt under my name today. Went in at 10.30am and was served by a nice SA. Gave her my wishlist and same outcome, she returned with no b k or c. Only the mosaic bag which I politely turned down. That’s it for FSH. Pretty sure they have these quota bags, just not for me. Not sure what else I could have done to change the outcome but I did my best, followed the protocol, was polite, dressed proper. Just didn’t have an SA who wanted to work with me on the iconic bags.

Thx for sharing and sorry things didn’t work out, I echo daisyjo, at the end of the day it’s only material thing. Tried my luck at George V again as last day and got offered a Halzan instead. Everyone else was looking at/offered non-iconic bags. At least he tried to offer me something else. They defn can see stock on their devices but still insist to go out to the back. Didnt even have any mini Evelyne either! Speaking to others in the queue/store one lady said she was here for a month and didn’t get any appt and also it seems hold true you really have to purchase something substantial to be offered an iconic bag. Otherwise think about it, every 10-15 mins x how many SAs for K/B/C seekers in Paris - that’s a lot of bags!

It is what it is, be disappointed then move on. For every score there must be hundreds of failures which I think shouldn’t be lost as that’s the reality.

 

[louise_elouise]

I'd echo recent sentiments here. I tried all week for an appt, no go.

Queued up at the sevres store. The line was two blocks long 45min before store opening. People standing in the rain.

Once in, of course didn't get an appt. And indeed, I saw customers behaving so obsequiously to the sales associates, that my jaw dropped!! They must be used to it by now, so it can't be just about be about being polite to the SA to get the bag. I was also shocked at how poor the stock was at sevres and FSH for non-bag items.

I have a way better experience in my home city (London) than paris. I think paris is used to tourists so they just swat us away like flies.

I dunno. The bags are beautiful but not sure it's worth our dignity ..

 

[mcpro]

I got an appt under my name today. Went in at 10.30am and was served by a nice SA. Gave her my wishlist and same outcome, she returned with no b k or c. Only the mosaic bag which I politely turned down. That’s it for FSH. Pretty sure they have these quota bags, just not for me. Not sure what else I could have done to change the outcome but I did my best, followed the protocol, was polite, dressed proper. Just didn’t have an SA who wanted to work with me on the iconic bags.

Don't worry your not the only one, you'll find the right SA someday...
In my experience, been to FSH multiple times sometimes 2x a year and I'm not successful every time ,I shared my experience here if you read it way back 2015-2017

I know it's very disappointing , that's why FSH is all by luck, It's all about timing.....unless you have an SA ..or your regular client there..

Enjoy Paris.....

 

[alaustsen]

I thought I would post and share my most recent experience. My husband and I are in Paris for our baby-moon. We left our two sons in CA with my mother so we could have some alone time.

Arrived in Paris on Sunday but applied for appointments on both passports on Saturday for Monday. Denied. Applied on both passports Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, all rejected. 4 days, 2x rejections. At this point we had a reservation for Friday and Saturday night near Mont Saint Michel at a fabulous Relais & Chateaux property. We took the train up Thursday night and checked in.

Thursday evening I had a text saying my appointment had been confirmed. The shopping trip was supposed to be a push-present from my husband and this poor guy.... I insisted we go back to Paris for the appointment and return to Saint Malo to make our dinner reservation same day! What a sport!

We drove to Rennes and took an early train back down - 3 hours total travel. Spent a few hours killing time near FSH as the appointment time kept changing - 1:50, 2:15, 1:30, 2:50, 2:30. We finally went to the store at 2:30 for the then 2:50pm appointment. I have a wonderful sales associate who typically helps me but she was on lunch and we didn’t have time to wait longer as we would’ve missed the train back and subsequently our dinner reservation with dear friends who we had planned with.

The hostess assigned another associate about 20 mins after we checked in. From the onset, the appointment did not go well. We stayed just near the hostess desk and were not offered anything to drink. She didn’t introduce herself or take notes when I gave my wish list.

This is where I made a mistake I won’t make again. I should mention I shop regularly at FSH, and always with the same associate. I have already purchased two quote bags this year - in Feb and June. The appointment was under my name as I was the one who had the accepted request (my husband had a 5th rejection) but I thought since he was the one paying it wouldn’t be a problem. I bought my sister a bag at FSH as a wedding present (her appointment and passport taken but the bag was put on my profile and my quota at check out when they understand I was paying). I thought this would work the same way but absolutely not. The appointment was in my name and I could not purchase another quota bag. No exceptions. The associate was stern and did not care about our arduous day revolving around the changing appointment. This is not a mistake I will repeat.

Finally, she offered me a non-quota bag - I took home a Constance 18 in Mykonos ostrich leather GHW. It’s beautiful and I love it.

She did say they did not have any small size B/Ks and I didn’t see any being offered... consistent with what other recent shoppers have said. The experience in total was very uncomfortable and although I love the bag, we felt very unwelcome.

Hit or miss at FSH. Shop at your own risk and definitely don’t do what I did - I will never change my plans around the appointment again. I missed out on a beautiful day at Mont Saint Michel.

 

[leuleu]

[QUOTE="louise_elouise,
The bags are beautiful but not sure it's worth our dignity ..[/QUOTE]
I agree.

 

[little.bear]

I am sorry to hear of your experiences. I think many of us on this forum can relate to them. Even though I now have an SA who can help me, I went through the struggles before that and without her I would again. Please keep in mind that no matter how much you like Hermes, at the end of the day it's just stuff. Hermes has somehow crafted a very clever marketing system where no matter how much money you have it still doesn't guarantee access to their products. And that drives the incredible demand for them. Your moment will come.

Yep I totally understand. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed but I knew this was going to be the likely outcome and my DH reminded me numerous times to not get my hopes too high. It just means my chase continues, just not in fsh!

 

[little.bear]

What a complete bummer! I’ve been looking forward to your updates each day! My SA said it’s really hard to get a B, K, or C from Paris. I was just there in May for 5 days and couldn’t even get an appointment.
Are you in the US? If so, and if ever you go to Hawaii, try the stores there. I’ve heard on blogs and videos they are likely to sell quota bags to tourists.
You can always go the resale route, too. Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales are happening on reputable sites now.

I’m from Australia but I am keen to visit Hawaii one day in the near future seems like a great vacation place! And not short of good hermes goodies too.

 

[little.bear]

Were you very firm with your wishlist like you said before? Because a small bag in black (and neutrals) are simply hard regardless. If that’s the case it’s probably just because your wishlist is difficult and not so much the SA. So sorry to hear it didn’t work out!

I was more flexible this time. I started off with my black bags wishlist and told her I was open to dark neutrals. When she returned with nothing, I asked if there were other colours or sizes. She said she had no b k or c. She did say to try for another appt. I have another week left here so I’m not sure if I would stand a chance for another one. I could try walk in for afternoon cancellations on my last day but pretty sure my luck is done for fsh, at least for this trip.

 

[little.bear]

Thx for sharing and sorry things didn’t work out, I echo daisyjo, at the end of the day it’s only material thing. Tried my luck at George V again as last day and got offered a Halzan instead. Everyone else was looking at/offered non-iconic bags. At least he tried to offer me something else. They defn can see stock on their devices but still insist to go out to the back. Didnt even have any mini Evelyne either! Speaking to others in the queue/store one lady said she was here for a month and didn’t get any appt and also it seems hold true you really have to purchase something substantial to be offered an iconic bag. Otherwise think about it, every 10-15 mins x how many SAs for K/B/C seekers in Paris - that’s a lot of bags!

It is what it is, be disappointed then move on. For every score there must be hundreds of failures which I think shouldn’t be lost as that’s the reality.

Yep agreed. I know sevres and george v are definitely about the spend and loyalty. But fsh is definitely arbitrary and spend isn’t the key driving factor. In my case, I do have a small spend history (~€3000) but didn’t have a chance at all at a single offer. I’ve travelled around a bit and my experiences at H in other countries particularly the asian countries have been more positive than paris all together . I’ve been offered multiple times and been politely declining although there were pretty good selections. So I may stick with other countries instead of Paris in the near future and if I feel ready to come back then I’ll try my luck again. In hindsight my collection is nearly complete so I should be grateful for that and not be too upset about the failed attempts here. I have a great relationship with my local SA and some overseas SAs so it’s not like my bag offers are ending. And everyone here is right, there are material items and life shouldn’t just be about hermes! I’m somewhat glad my fsh shenanigans are over and I can spend my next week in Paris exploring the city! I hope everyone who hasn’t been successful at scoring their dream bags refocus on other aspects of the city and for those who scored, many congratulations!

 

[little.bear]

Don't worry your not the only one, you'll find the right SA someday...
In my experience, been to FSH multiple times sometimes 2x a year and I'm not successful every time ,I shared my experience here if you read it way back 2015-2017

I know it's very disappointing , that's why FSH is all by luck, It's all about timing.....unless you have an SA ..or your regular client there..

Enjoy Paris.....

Yep I’ve read ur experiences too. I think I went in with my hopes a little too high so the disappointment was higher too. And it didn’t help that my other hermes experiences in my home country or any other countries I have travelled have been positive so I went in thinking it should be generally positive plus stock levels should be much better at fsh. But of course none of that was true for my own personal experience. It just wasn’t meant to be for me.

 

[little.bear]

I thought I would post and share my most recent experience. My husband and I are in Paris for our baby-moon. We left our two sons in CA with my mother so we could have some alone time.

Arrived in Paris on Sunday but applied for appointments on both passports on Saturday for Monday. Denied. Applied on both passports Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, all rejected. 4 days, 2x rejections. At this point we had a reservation for Friday and Saturday night near Mont Saint Michel at a fabulous Relais & Chateaux property. We took the train up Thursday night and checked in.

Thursday evening I had a text saying my appointment had been confirmed. The shopping trip was supposed to be a push-present from my husband and this poor guy.... I insisted we go back to Paris for the appointment and return to Saint Malo to make our dinner reservation same day! What a sport!

We drove to Rennes and took an early train back down - 3 hours total travel. Spent a few hours killing time near FSH as the appointment time kept changing - 1:50, 2:15, 1:30, 2:50, 2:30. We finally went to the store at 2:30 for the then 2:50pm appointment. I have a wonderful sales associate who typically helps me but she was on lunch and we didn’t have time to wait longer as we would’ve missed the train back and subsequently our dinner reservation with dear friends who we had planned with.

The hostess assigned another associate about 20 mins after we checked in. From the onset, the appointment did not go well. We stayed just near the hostess desk and were not offered anything to drink. She didn’t introduce herself or take notes when I gave my wish list.

This is where I made a mistake I won’t make again. I should mention I shop regularly at FSH, and always with the same associate. I have already purchased two quote bags this year - in Feb and June. The appointment was under my name as I was the one who had the accepted request (my husband had a 5th rejection) but I thought since he was the one paying it wouldn’t be a problem. I bought my sister a bag at FSH as a wedding present (her appointment and passport taken but the bag was put on my profile and my quota at check out when they understand I was paying). I thought this would work the same way but absolutely not. The appointment was in my name and I could not purchase another quota bag. No exceptions. The associate was stern and did not care about our arduous day revolving around the changing appointment. This is not a mistake I will repeat.

Finally, she offered me a non-quota bag - I took home a Constance 18 in Mykonos ostrich leather GHW. It’s beautiful and I love it.

She did say they did not have any small size B/Ks and I didn’t see any being offered... consistent with what other recent shoppers have said. The experience in total was very uncomfortable and although I love the bag, we felt very unwelcome.

Hit or miss at FSH. Shop at your own risk and definitely don’t do what I did - I will never change my plans around the appointment again. I missed out on a beautiful day at Mont Saint Michel.

Congrats on ur mini c! And thanks for sharing your lessons learnt at hermes. I hope you enjoyed the rest of ur baby moon. I too have learnt my lesson of not replanning my holiday and events around trying to score a bag.

 

[little.bear]

Other observations in fsh I should add too are:

1. I did not see other clients being offered b k or c, unless they were offered in private rooms.

2. First appt under DH, we did get offered drinks to wait on the ground floor but the wait wasn’t longer than 10 mins.

3. Second appt under my name on the first floor, we didn’t get offered any drinks and wait was about 10 mins before we got rejected.

4. During my visits at fsh before our appts, when I purchased my rtw items, both rtw SAs were not willing to help with leather appts and were firm about applying online. Before I asked about leather appt, one explicitly told me that my purchases here don’t mean i will get a bag. That comment wasn’t necessary given I didn’t talk about bags but she made an assumption that I was buying rtw to get a bag. I’m a long time rtw lover of hermes so regardless of whether I was going to be successful for a bag appt or not, I was going to purchase anyway. I found that encounter disrespectful.

5. I had an equestrian item coming in for me on Friday by another SA who was kind to order it in for me but since then no news no show. When I enquired with another kind man there he said there’s no record of me requesting for one. So I won’t bother anymore lol. Seems too much effort, sales didn’t seem important enough to them.

6. Whilst my leather SAs were generally nice, ie no signs of rudeness, I would still consider my overall experience in fsh generally not pleasant in comparison to any other hermes stores I’ve been. Not just because they did not offer me bags, but the way it was set up and the chaoticness in store made it hard for us to relax and have an enjoyable experience. After all it’s one of the highest end luxury stores to be in but it felt like a market :X


Finally, I saw a lot of customers with k25 sellier bags in all sorts of bright colour, they were beautiful

 

[ZZZZZZZ]

I heard there will be a big demonstration on the 5th December please be careful and stay safe

 

[mygoodies]

I heard there will be a big demonstration on the 5th December please be careful and stay safe

YES! My SA warned me abt this!
It’ll effect all types of public transportations including incoming and outgoing flights to/from Paris! There will be road blocks throughout Paris. This protest seems to be bigger than the Yellow Vests protests the past months. So pls be extra careful!

Also restocking of H stores in Paris will be effected she says, may be less goodies coming in due to the riots.

Another news:
Sevres Boutique will be closed for renovations for abt 10 months starting Jan 2020. They expect to be open again before Xmas 2020. The new Sevres will have a Beauty Section, which I’m thrilled abt since I’m a huge beauty Junkie LOL

The launch of the Lipsticks planned for Dec 2019 has been delayed to March 2020!
There will be 4 colors Lipsticks released for now with amazing packaging with the Classic H colors. Not sure what the price will be, but €150 per lipstick would be “reasonable” for H LOL Can’t wait to see them!

The SA I met there also told me Sevres is not getting as much stock as they’re used to with the Holidays Season as they’re basically emptying their stock as much as possible. So you may see a lot less bags being available in December.

Sevres will move to 2 smaller temporary stores nearby and Petit H will move to FSH!
Here’s some more info abt the upcoming demonstrations.
HTH and be safe!

 

[Lovebb12]

Thanks a lot for posting and wish none of us will be affected. Stuck in the 1-4 Celsius weather won’t be fun!

good luck for all!