Paris trip for Hermes

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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.
 
Hi all!! I’m so grateful to everyone for being so helpful, and wanted to share my success story (that definitely wouldn’t have happened without this thread)!
My partner and I just had our Eurotrip. While it was about 2 weeks long, we did not originally plan to go to Paris! We made a last minute decision to pop over because we had 3 days to kill thanks to some flight issues. We arrived on Sunday late afternoon and left the following Wednesday morning. Of course, we both tried for the leather appointment lottery (for Monday and Tuesday) but had no luck.
On Monday, I dropped by Hermes FSH for a few minutes to see if there were any last minute cancellations. I was told nope, but to try again on Tuesday. So we went back to FSH the next day at 10.45 am and the host informed us that it was too early in the day.
I figured it wasn’t worth waiting around and FSH was a bit crowded for my liking. We walked over to George V, where the hostess also said there was nothing at the moment. However, we stayed for the eye candy (and the air conditioning). There weren’t any associates available, but I saw a jacket I really liked and decided to wait for a bit.
I heard a couple get aggressive because they didn’t seem to understand that you couldn’t just show up and demand a bag (??). After about 20 minutes, they left and I asked that associate if she could help me out when she had a moment. She came back 10 minutes later and we discussed a couple of jackets. I told her I didn’t own any RTW and was a little nervous because of price, and she was so sweet! She made me feel good about the jacket I wanted, so I said I’d take it. Then I asked if there were earrings in the safety pin motif available as I hadn’t seen any on display. She came back with a few options in silver and I fell in love with the small version. We also discussed belts, but she recommended not buying one at the moment since they’re pretty consistently available. Also possibly because I’d told her I thought my credit card was about to burst into flames because of the earrings and the jacket.
We head to the checkout and she asked if there was anything else. I responded that I just wanted to check with the hostess to see if there were openings. She asked what I wanted and I told her B/K, open to any size that wasn’t humongous. She said she’d check for appointment availability but no promises. A few minutes later, she came back and whispered “good news!”
I’m obviously freaking out (internally, I hope) and she took me into a dressing room to ask for the top 3 things I cared about. I said neutral color, especially grey, but not black or white, and mentioned that I liked it when you could see warm undertones in the grey. She asked if I had a preference between B/K and color hardware. I responded that I had a slight preference for K and gold hardware, but would be happy with any of those options. She left to check and came back about 5-10 minutes later with an orange box (!!!!).
Then she showed me an Etoupe K 25 in Epsom (I’d told her I was a bit rough with my clothing/jewelry) and I just about expired on the spot. She said it had just arrived that morning and she was glad she could get me what I wanted. ❤
Overall, it was an amazing experience and totally unexpected! When I decided to purchase the jacket and earrings, I knew I’d be happy to have them even if I didn’t get a bag offer, and honestly, I really didn’t think I’d get one. I didn’t look especially put together and wasn’t wearing any visible H items, except for a tiny bracelet you can’t even really see because of all my other jewelry. The last thing I purchased in Paris was about 9 years ago and it was just an enamel bracelet. When she looked me up (after she gave me the offer), I didn’t even have a profile lol.
Anyway, that’s my story and I hope that’s helpful!
Congratulations! What a great experience and the bag looks lovely on you!
 
Hi all!! I’m so grateful to everyone for being so helpful, and wanted to share my success story (that definitely wouldn’t have happened without this thread)!
My partner and I just had our Eurotrip. While it was about 2 weeks long, we did not originally plan to go to Paris! We made a last minute decision to pop over because we had 3 days to kill thanks to some flight issues. We arrived on Sunday late afternoon and left the following Wednesday morning. Of course, we both tried for the leather appointment lottery (for Monday and Tuesday) but had no luck.
On Monday, I dropped by Hermes FSH for a few minutes to see if there were any last minute cancellations. I was told nope, but to try again on Tuesday. So we went back to FSH the next day at 10.45 am and the host informed us that it was too early in the day.
I figured it wasn’t worth waiting around and FSH was a bit crowded for my liking. We walked over to George V, where the hostess also said there was nothing at the moment. However, we stayed for the eye candy (and the air conditioning). There weren’t any associates available, but I saw a jacket I really liked and decided to wait for a bit.
I heard a couple get aggressive because they didn’t seem to understand that you couldn’t just show up and demand a bag (??). After about 20 minutes, they left and I asked that associate if she could help me out when she had a moment. She came back 10 minutes later and we discussed a couple of jackets. I told her I didn’t own any RTW and was a little nervous because of price, and she was so sweet! She made me feel good about the jacket I wanted, so I said I’d take it. Then I asked if there were earrings in the safety pin motif available as I hadn’t seen any on display. She came back with a few options in silver and I fell in love with the small version. We also discussed belts, but she recommended not buying one at the moment since they’re pretty consistently available. Also possibly because I’d told her I thought my credit card was about to burst into flames because of the earrings and the jacket.
We head to the checkout and she asked if there was anything else. I responded that I just wanted to check with the hostess to see if there were openings. She asked what I wanted and I told her B/K, open to any size that wasn’t humongous. She said she’d check for appointment availability but no promises. A few minutes later, she came back and whispered “good news!”
I’m obviously freaking out (internally, I hope) and she took me into a dressing room to ask for the top 3 things I cared about. I said neutral color, especially grey, but not black or white, and mentioned that I liked it when you could see warm undertones in the grey. She asked if I had a preference between B/K and color hardware. I responded that I had a slight preference for K and gold hardware, but would be happy with any of those options. She left to check and came back about 5-10 minutes later with an orange box (!!!!).
Then she showed me an Etoupe K 25 in Epsom (I’d told her I was a bit rough with my clothing/jewelry) and I just about expired on the spot. She said it had just arrived that morning and she was glad she could get me what I wanted. ❤
Overall, it was an amazing experience and totally unexpected! When I decided to purchase the jacket and earrings, I knew I’d be happy to have them even if I didn’t get a bag offer, and honestly, I really didn’t think I’d get one. I didn’t look especially put together and wasn’t wearing any visible H items, except for a tiny bracelet you can’t even really see because of all my other jewelry. The last thing I purchased in Paris was about 9 years ago and it was just an enamel bracelet. When she looked me up (after she gave me the offer), I didn’t even have a profile lol.
Anyway, that’s my story and I hope that’s helpful!
Congrats! What a lovely story :) enjoy your new K!
 
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I am the only one trying to get an appointment and been a massive fail ?
I live not far away from Paris so lucky enough to try a few times a week. But those days seems impossible to get an appointment.
Remember reading on this group peoples assuming buying increase the chance of getting want it’s not true. Was able to speak about the lottery system with my SA in France ( not Paris) and she told me the app is random, the system doesn’t keep the peoples how has been trying days ago. We can see the difference no email, getting it around 7,8am. That online system is about to crash.
 
I am the only one trying to get an appointment and been a massive fail ?
I live not far away from Paris so lucky enough to try a few times a week. But those days seems impossible to get an appointment.
Remember reading on this group peoples assuming buying increase the chance of getting want it’s not true. Was able to speak about the lottery system with my SA in France ( not Paris) and she told me the app is random, the system doesn’t keep the peoples how has been trying days ago. We can see the difference no email, getting it around 7,8am. That online system is about to crash.
You aren't alone. Both my husband and I have been trying for 4 weeks straight and nothing. We've been to all the stores in Paris to plead our case, saying we've been trying for a month and no luck. We purchased RTW, fine jewelry, scarves, shoes. No appointments granted, no consideration given. Today, when we asked at FSH around 4PM, they said 9 people with appointments were still waiting to be seen after hours of waiting (we were also there at open and again at around 11:30 - we asked 3 different people and got the same answer). The last SA was extremely nice and looked like she actually felt bad for us.

I didn't let it ruin my fabulous time in this wonderful city, but surely there can be a better system :sad:
 
You aren't alone. Both my husband and I have been trying for 4 weeks straight and nothing. We've been to all the stores in Paris to plead our case, saying we've been trying for a month and no luck. We purchased RTW, fine jewelry, scarves, shoes. No appointments granted, no consideration given. Today, when we asked around 4PM, they said 9 people with appointments were still waiting to be seen after hours of waiting. The SA was extremely nice and looked like she actually felt bad for us.

I didn't let it ruin my fabulous time in this wonderful city, but surely there can be a better system :sad:

Sorry to heard that ! At least you enjoy your trip I’ve heard peoples going daily to all the store which is call a Hermes trip haha
The SA know how hard it cannot imagine how many peoples go daily asking for an appointment on the spot.
I think I am like you around 20 attempts was much easy before. Hermès getting more popular good for them and also for the one lucky to get an appointment.
 
I am the only one trying to get an appointment and been a massive fail ?
I live not far away from Paris so lucky enough to try a few times a week. But those days seems impossible to get an appointment.
Remember reading on this group peoples assuming buying increase the chance of getting want it’s not true. Was able to speak about the lottery system with my SA in France ( not Paris) and she told me the app is random, the system doesn’t keep the peoples how has been trying days ago. We can see the difference no email, getting it around 7,8am. That online system is about to crash.
No, you're not the only one. I know several people who either just came back or are currently in Paris right now, all failed to secure an appointment, committed to daily walk-in and borderline begging the SA's for cancellation and still nothing. Sadly for now it's really a matter of stopping by at the right time and running into the right SA, super random. Don't let the lottery system ruin your trip though!
 
No, you're not the only one. I know several people who either just came back or are currently in Paris right now, all failed to secure an appointment, committed to daily walk-in and borderline begging the SA's for cancellation and still nothing. Sadly for now it's really a matter of stopping by at the right time and running into the right SA, super random. Don't let the lottery system ruin your trip though!

I do live close from Paris by train so when I can I apply online but starting to get frustrating. You get the feeling you will never get one but assume it is « worst » for peoples just visiting Paris.
 
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I am the only one trying to get an appointment and been a massive fail ?
I live not far away from Paris so lucky enough to try a few times a week. But those days seems impossible to get an appointment.
Remember reading on this group peoples assuming buying increase the chance of getting want it’s not true. Was able to speak about the lottery system with my SA in France ( not Paris) and she told me the app is random, the system doesn’t keep the peoples how has been trying days ago. We can see the difference no email, getting it around 7,8am. That online system is about to crash.
If you already shop at another French boutique, I would recommend you just stick to that store. Prior to this summer, I had no problem getting BKC in Paris. Last summer was the best as the stores reopened with very few tourists, and most Parisians left to vacation homes to get away from the city.

This summer has been much more difficult. My Sevres SA had to go through many hoops to get me an appointment. In parallel, I wanted to try the infamous lottery using my son’s account. I applied that way for two weeks and systematically got rejected. I did not end up getting a bag in Paris as they were only able to offer me a Kelly with GHW during my appointment, and I only like PHW.

After that, I decided to go another store in France that used to my exclusive homestore for around a decade. There, I was able to get exactly the Kelly I wanted with PHW within an hour of catching up with the director. During that time, a local customer was finalizing her SO and another local was being offered a BKC in the private room. For these reasons, I strongly think it’s much better and easier to get a bag at your local store. Or if you continue trying to get a bag in Paris, I would recommend building a connection with a SA. At the end of the day SAs are regular people like all of us and value a good conversation whether that be about Hermes or everyday life.
 
If you already shop at another French boutique, I would recommend you just stick to that store. Prior to this summer, I had no problem getting BKC in Paris. Last summer was the best as the stores reopened with very few tourists, and most Parisians left to vacation homes to get away from the city.

This summer has been much more difficult. My Sevres SA had to go through many hoops to get me an appointment. In parallel, I wanted to try the infamous lottery using my son’s account. I applied that way for two weeks and systematically got rejected. I did not end up getting a bag in Paris as they were only able to offer me a Kelly with GHW during my appointment, and I only like PHW.

After that, I decided to go another store in France that used to my exclusive homestore for around a decade. There, I was able to get exactly the Kelly I wanted with PHW within an hour of catching up with the director. During that time, a local customer was finalizing her SO and another local was being offered a BKC in the private room. For these reasons, I strongly think it’s much better and easier to get a bag at your local store. Or if you continue trying to get a bag in Paris, I would recommend building a connection with a SA. At the end of the day SAs are regular people like all of us and value a good conversation whether that be about Hermes or everyday life.

I do have a local boutique in Netherlands good relationship. Sometimes you say to yourself I would like this bag, Paris use to be the easy way no waiting list. That was the charm of Paris boutiques and it’s still are for the lucky persons how get the app :)
 
Sorry to heard that ! At least you enjoy your trip I’ve heard peoples going daily to all the store which is call a Hermes trip haha
The SA know how hard it cannot imagine how many peoples go daily asking for an appointment on the spot.
I think I am like you around 20 attempts was much easy before. Hermès getting more popular good for them and also for the one lucky to get an appointment.
Thank you. It is very frustrating, but I won't let it ruin our amazing trip! The point of coming here was to explore the world with my family not to spend hours waiting around in a shop :yes:
 
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