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.

 

[LovingTheOrange]

This trip, I only had a pochette in mind. I just scored my Cargo b25 from fsh in February, so I wanted to save my b/k quota for later this year.
I accompanied my friend for her appt (owner of the gorgeous hima) and she asked for similar items. Her SA told her pochettes were “all sold out” and I became disheartened for my appt as it was 3 hours later. 3pm comes along and my hopes for a pochette are zero to none. I asked for a pochette along with other items. My SA walks away for a while and comes back with three boxes. You know the usual game: they show you all the other things first before offering the bag. He was very direct and showed me the pochette first!

I was so happy, but unfortunately it was a nata phw. I already have a nata kp ghw so I had to decline. All of a sudden, another SA comes up to my SA and asks for my pochette since I declined it.

The woman near me had been intently snooping on my appointment with my SA. My SA asked if I’m okay with switching to a private room, which I was fine with. Apparently, this woman was listening to my appt and forced her SA to ask for the pochette I declined. Not only that, she was TAKING PHOTOS OF ME AND MY OFFERS.

I can’t believe how shameless people are. If you’re at fsh, please don’t do this. Sure, it’s fine to be curious on other clients’ offers. Don’t be aggressive to the point where you interrupt someone else’s appt. You put your SA and the other SA in an uncomfortable situation. You ruin someone else’s experience, and you definitely ruin your own if you keep comparing someone else’s offer to your own. I’d like to note that she was not offered my pochette despite her brazenness. I’m not even sure if she got a b/k offer because she was relocated to a different area of the store.

Just as my friend’s SA said no pochettes available and I was offered one. There are inner workings and politics at H that we don’t understand. You should take everything in stride and not question the sincerity of your SA by saying, “but I saw her get xyz.”

I left with gorgeous pochette in a new color that I’ll share in 2022 bag offers later!

The pochette that I accepted after I said no to nata phw! It’s called Chai

 

[Nybluedog]

I'm not French but I've shopped exclusively in Paris in the past 6 years for all my H goodies. I don't think gifting a cake or some fancy pastry to the SA would land you a last minute appointment. All 3 locations in Paris are always so busy and SA's there barely get a minute to use the restroom because they're always being flagged down by shoppers from left & right, a lot of them also failed to secure an appointment and asking for cancellations. Your best bet is to stop by daily and ask for cancellation, without leather appointment the SA may offer you non-quota bag if he/she really like you (or simply being nice), but super rare that you don't have a leather appointment and get offer on quota bag despite dropping major money on fine jewelry, even majority of people with appointment don't get an offer on quota bag.

Thank you for sharing your experience. It is so helpful for someone like me who hasn't been to the fsh store. I will take your advice to check for cancellations daily. I am booked at a hotel which is a 6 minute walk from fsh so that will be easy too.

When do you think is a good time to check for cancellations? At opening time or something else?

 

[Nybluedog]

The pochette that I accepted after I said no to nata phw! It’s called Chai

View attachment 5409575View attachment 5409576

Congrats on your pochette. Did you land your k picnic in the fsh store without purchase too? It's beautiful. What a work of art.

 

[880]

The pochette that I accepted after I said no to nata phw! It’s called Chai

View attachment 5409575View attachment 5409576

Love this! So happy for you! Wear in the best health and happiness!

 

[LovingTheOrange]

Congrats on your pochette. Did you land your k picnic in the fsh store without purchase too? It's beautiful. What a work of art.

Picnic is from my home store in US!

 

[FaubourgTropical]

Thank you for sharing your experience. It is so helpful for someone like me who hasn't been to the fsh store. I will take your advice to check for cancellations daily. I am booked at a hotel which is a 6 minute walk from fsh so that will be easy too.

When do you think is a good time to check for cancellations? At opening time or something else?

All these are covered in this thread, including the latest tips and even answers to your questions. Do check it out and good luck!

Paris trip for Hermes

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...

forum.purseblog.com

 

[FaubourgTropical]

Your response is a good reminder to all (including myself) not to be judgmental. What may be crass in one culture is absolutely not in another. This forum attracts people from all over the world and each has their own unique cultural perspective. Thanks for sharing yours!

Sorry for the OT on a conversation in a wrong thread, mods but I would like to clarify one thing.
I am from a South East Asian country where bribery is an everyday habit.
There’s a fine line between giving gifts to show appreciation and giving gifts to get ahead. Gifts can absolutely be given after a period of relationship to show thanks (even to get ahead, to be remembered, to be on SA's good books, etc) but before? It’s bribery, no matter the culture. Thanks for reading.

 

[EllenTsai]

Sorry for the OT on a conversation in a wrong thread, mods but I would like to clarify one thing.
I am from a South East Asian country where bribery is an everyday habit.
There’s a fine line between giving gifts to show appreciation and giving gifts to get ahead. Gifts can absolutely be given after a period of relationship to show thanks (even to get ahead, to be remembered, to be on SA's good books, etc) but before? It’s bribery, no matter the culture. Thanks for reading.

To be honest sometimes I wonder if it can get a bit too much for SA if a bunch of clients do this...
My daughter used to get so much excess treats given to SA by clients in some boutiques that for quite a while her then 5 year old head thought Hermes was a sweets shop

 

[Martyp]

Hi there, on the topic of gifting SAs at Hermes, I do that at the local store. I often buy little cakes or tarts for my SA and I believe that has helped me to get the quota bags with the better colours.

I am heading to FSH paris for the first time this summer and I know it is notoriously hard to land an appointment. I have watched every video out there put out by people who have either failed or succeeded. Some things said are very much contrasting. Some people managed to land an appointment after going to the lady who gives out canceled thus available appointments at the leather department. Others buy some stuff then asked if they could get a bag appointment. There are yet others who have bought stuff and still told they didn't have appointments available.

I am pretty sure I wouldn't end up with an appointment based on the lottery as I would be in paris only a week.
I plan on gifting small cupcakes etc to the lady at the leather appointments or the SA that serves me as I buy shoes or jewellery before I ask for an appointment.

I know I sound almost desperate to land a bag on this trip. would you gift cakes to land a bag appointment at fsh? Or do you think it appears crass?

From my French point of view, that would be weird, and clearly seen as a self-interested act. I do offer gifts to some SAs (Hermès, Chanel, Dior, LV...), especially at the end of the year, but only the ones that I know very well and with whom I have a real connection, or when an SA went the extra mile to help me get an item. Bringing cakes, or anything, in a store, to someone that you've never seen before won't help unfortunately.
Good luck though!

 

[periogirl28]

Hi there, on the topic of gifting SAs at Hermes, I do that at the local store. I often buy little cakes or tarts for my SA and I believe that has helped me to get the quota bags with the better colours.

I am heading to FSH paris for the first time this summer and I know it is notoriously hard to land an appointment. I have watched every video out there put out by people who have either failed or succeeded. Some things said are very much contrasting. Some people managed to land an appointment after going to the lady who gives out canceled thus available appointments at the leather department. Others buy some stuff then asked if they could get a bag appointment. There are yet others who have bought stuff and still told they didn't have appointments available.

I am pretty sure I wouldn't end up with an appointment based on the lottery as I would be in paris only a week.
I plan on gifting small cupcakes etc to the lady at the leather appointments or the SA that serves me as I buy shoes or jewellery before I ask for an appointment.

I know I sound almost desperate to land a bag on this trip. would you gift cakes to land a bag appointment at fsh? Or do you think it appears crass?

May I respectfully say that my FSH SAs have advised against gifts of any kind especially from a brand new client. It reflects badly on them to accept and on you for offering, even though they are fully aware that there are differences across their international clientele and how gifting is viewed in their culture. I have been trusted enough to have this information shared with me and I think it would be prudent to follow it. They discourage food gifts even from longstanding clients. All this is not going to magically result in the appointment / bag you want anyway. Repay any kindness from your SAs by only buying what you honestly want, declining offers you do not want and never flipping any bags they offered you. Good luck!

 

[Nybluedog]

Thanks for the input and suggestions y'all. I have learnt a lot from this community and would love to contribute my own positive experiences at the H store in time. Big love.

 

[waterlily112]

Thank you for sharing your experience. It is so helpful for someone like me who hasn't been to the fsh store. I will take your advice to check for cancellations daily. I am booked at a hotel which is a 6 minute walk from fsh so that will be easy too.

When do you think is a good time to check for cancellations? At opening time or something else?

I don't think it really matter what time you stop in, though members on this forum may share their inputs. The thing is it really dependent on the SA you're working with, when they said 'no bag' it just means no bag for you or the particular one you're looking for, they always have bags in the backroom. Now if you happened to secure an appointment, it's always a bad sign if your appointment get moved early, it means they have low stock that day. Whenever my appointment get pushed back I always got at least one offer. Hope you enjoy Paris and have fun shopping! Don't stress too much as SA's can smell desperation, and when they do they're also less inclined to offer you a bag because they think you may be a reseller. I've seen resellers wandering around the boutiques (mainly FSH) and I even got approached once asking what I got offered and if they can buy my bag...it's wild.

 

[scndlslv]

Hi there, on the topic of gifting SAs at Hermes, I do that at the local store. I often buy little cakes or tarts for my SA and I believe that has helped me to get the quota bags with the better colours.

I am heading to FSH paris for the first time this summer and I know it is notoriously hard to land an appointment. I have watched every video out there put out by people who have either failed or succeeded. Some things said are very much contrasting. Some people managed to land an appointment after going to the lady who gives out canceled thus available appointments at the leather department. Others buy some stuff then asked if they could get a bag appointment. There are yet others who have bought stuff and still told they didn't have appointments available.

I am pretty sure I wouldn't end up with an appointment based on the lottery as I would be in paris only a week.
I plan on gifting small cupcakes etc to the lady at the leather appointments or the SA that serves me as I buy shoes or jewellery before I ask for an appointment.

I know I sound almost desperate to land a bag on this trip. would you gift cakes to land a bag appointment at fsh? Or do you think it appears crass?

They absolute cannot accept any gifts of any kind. I once took some local jam from Texas to an SA I'd shopped with twice before on previous trips and developed a real connection with. She had to turn it in to the manager. She's no longer at Hermes but we still keep in touch. So don't do this.

Couple of pro-tips: You can choose to have your purchases delivered to your hotel. I never walk the streets of Paris with shopping bags from luxury stores. I have everything delivered and it's in my room whenever I return. I've done this with Hermes, LV, Gucci, Burberry, and Fendi. This is also an available service throughout Europe that I've used in France, Italy, and Spain. Never had a problem doing this.

For non-leather items, you can purchase online for pickup in the store. This ensures that the items you're looking for are available since online stock can be more reliable than hunting in a specific store. However, to get the VAT refund, you have to return the item and re-purchase it in the store for VAT processing. I'll be going to Nice this week and was advised to do this by both the Monaco and Cannes stores since they said they are not currently doing transfers. Makes buying certain items much easier and I'll do this from now on.

Happy shopping!

 

[880]

Hi there, on the topic of gifting SAs at Hermes, I do that at the local store. I often buy little cakes or tarts for my SA and I believe that has helped me to get the quota bags with the better colours.

I am heading to FSH paris for the first time this summer and I know it is notoriously hard to land an appointment. I have watched every video out there put out by people who have either failed or succeeded. Some things said are very much contrasting. Some people managed to land an appointment after going to the lady who gives out canceled thus available appointments at the leather department. Others buy some stuff then asked if they could get a bag appointment. There are yet others who have bought stuff and still told they didn't have appointments available.

I am pretty sure I wouldn't end up with an appointment based on the lottery as I would be in paris only a week.
I plan on gifting small cupcakes etc to the lady at the leather appointments or the SA that serves me as I buy shoes or jewellery before I ask for an appointment.

I know I sound almost desperate to land a bag on this trip. would you gift cakes to land a bag appointment at fsh? Or do you think it appears crass?

No, i personally would NEVER gift to an SA when asking for a favor. I think it is disrespectful, like a quid pro quo, and puts the recipient and the giver in an awkward, embarassing, demeaning position. I do think a gift of cake or any other kind, particularly in this context, would be refused and thought of in poor taste.

For my favorite local SAs, with whom i have developed genuine rapport, I do gift something around the holidays, usually homemade, that can be shared. It is something I do for my dry cleaner; my tailor; my cobbler, not just my favorite SAs. I also make every effort to ensure the gift cannot be considered a quid pro quo as much as a gesture of seasonal goodwill. I have done this for varying individuals for decades (Not a new thing to get an item)

There are official rules against certain types of gifts, but none of mine have ever been refused by SAs with whom I am truly friendly. In other words, i am friendly with them to know details of their personal lives; I can and would actually interact with them independent of a darn wishlist, bag, or other.

JMO YMMV

 

[fari17]

Hi Everyone,
So lovely to have so many supportive comments from this wonderful family of Hermes lovers.

Dream came through for me on a Saturday.
I was skeptical when I got the appointment for a Saturday and at 3:30pm……arrrrr
But after trying to get an appointment since late 2021....I was not going to waste this appointment.

I wore my black dress with Constance belt (no bag as I was in high hopes of getting a bag..and we all know how gigantic their paper bag is haha. so, I don't want to carry 2 bags home.

The appointment was for 3:30pm, but postponed to 4:20pm....which I thought would be too late to get anything special..
But after a little small talk and she got a sense of what I am looking for, she went away for what felt like hours haha. but She came back with a box and said the magical words of 'follow me, madam'.....arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
In the upstairs little room, She slowly pulled out my 28 Sellier Kelly in Black Epsom and gold hardware (yes, MINE!!!!) which I am totally in love with. I was going to purchase a colorful strap to go with it (so that I can use it cross body when I take my daughter to school) but they did not have the color I was looking for as they only have 1 in orange color which makes a black bag looks a little Halloween in my opinion as it was really orangy.

But I am sooooo happy especially when it was a Saturday late afternoon and I still got this beauty. Stock was low on the SLG I was looking for and only 1 bag was offered. It is the top of my list which made me smile the whole appointment until my lips were sore.

FINALLY, after few months of trying to get an appointment. I wanted to sincerely thank everyone for your emotional support through this journey. The appointment system here is so much harder than in North America when purchases counts and I can now rest for a while and not register until close to my next special occasion later this year (18 year Anniversary with Hubby).

Here is a photo I took in the small room as I told her that I want to capture the moment, I will post more photos when I start using it.
Still smiling and will get a cake for the celebration with my daughter and husband tomorrow.

View attachment 5409287

So beautiful congratulations!