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.

 

[donut134]

After I got an appointment and even I didn’t buy any bag, I was rejected immediately after my new appointment submission, no need to wait for the rejection email. It happened to me when I tried to apply for another appointment two days after i attended my appointment. I was having my 3 weeks holiday in France so I thought I might have another chance, no I didn’t ! It was 3 years ago.

In other people’s case some were perfectly fine with applying for appointments with husband’s passport(s) and got not only another appointment but also another quota bag pre-covid. In a different case of mine, I was once luckily got a nice bag during hubby’s appointment. On the day of hubby’s appointment, I applied for my appointment before his sales came back to us. I got mine finally and it was on my B-day!

Guess what, the friendly Sales who were very warm to us becoming really cold the next day, came over and picked me up when I was queing for passport check, took me away and saying I already got a bag the day before… so no bags. I guess I was good ( bad) looking enough to be so memorable lol . That’s was the shortest appointment ever! Just FYI we in no way look suspicious, and I got a quota bag in a later trip many months later so thanks God I wasn’t banned.

My husband wasn’t happy about it, finding it’s not fair, esp it’s on my birthday. He only kept his unhappiness between us and not going crazy in the store in case anyone wonders. I went there because I already applied for an appointment before his sales came back to us the previous day, and I didn’t want to cancel the appointment in case I got ‘blacked list’ for not turning up, plus I forgot to ask for a none quota bag on his appointment.

Pré Covid Reports here showing that many couples had two slots with different sales at different days or even on the same day. At some extreme case they both bought exactly the same bag!(?) — because of the extreme cases I read ( far, far worse than couples buying the identical bags) I sort of understand why they tried to ban walk in couples buying quota bags under different accounts. I just found it was a pity that my appointment was waisted and I didn’t have a chance to ask for a none quota bag. Plus there was first class long haul flight with points redemption suddenly available after hubby’s appointment for the next day, my B-day ( my return ticket was in Biz class but I would prefer first for return leg too, lol we flew 1st class outbound so not too bad for a B-day trip)

It might be still possible for scoring 2 appointments between couples or family members, but what I read here sounds even getting one online appointment is nearly impossible for tourists. Correct me if I am wrong.

Thank you for sharing your story, glad you were not black-listed!! Yes I have heard how difficult it is to get an appointment. But it is also impossible to get an appointment through walk-in

 

[donut134]

Yes, each passport is allowed to purchase up to two quota bag per calendar year. If you get offered multiple quota bags at your leather appointment and decided to take two, just be mindful that you won't get offered any more quota bags for the rest of the year. Per my SA at Sevres there's no limit on non-quota bags though.

Thank you for your information, it is important to choose the right bag hahaha.

 

[donut134]

Hi!

Thought I would share my experience as well. It took six tries for online lottery for me to receive an appointment. I had given up hope, but it just took more online tries this time. I had zero luck asking for cancellations in all three stores and the Crillon hotel refused to even call Hermes for me. I adhere to my original theory that buying something significant (more than a twilly) in the store helps with appointment. I have now gotten four online appointments over the past 2 years and each one is immediately after a purchase the day before. I had a 1030 Saturday morning slot. When I walked in, I saw my SA that helped me in April. I bee-lined to her and asked if she could help me. I said I was on the hunt for a black evening bag, specifically a mini Kelly or Kelly Pochette. She left to check the stock and when she returned she took us to a private room. She said mini Kelly was extremely difficult now, but she hoped I would like this. She opened the most beautiful ostrich Kelly Pochette in black. She also told me Ostrich is a bit more durable that swift so that made it even better. P.S. I was also told she couldn’t see my US quota bag purchases in case anyone was wondering about current “global quota” situation.

View attachment 5598368

Omg what a beautiful bag!

 

[waterlily112]

Thank you for your information, it is important to choose the right bag hahaha.

Yes! It's easy wanting to buy everything when you're offered multiple bags. I tend to only pick out one bag per trip, so that bag will be a souvenir and remind me of the fun time in Paris.

 

[paulinawilltravel]

Was asked to share my experience, so here we go! My husband and I went to Paris for our honeymoon. We arrived Tuesday morning and left Friday morning. In advance I decided to apply for the lottery every day for the both of us, starting on the Monday before we went. We were both unsuccessful every time.

On the Tuesday we visited the store as it was our first time, but it was very busy. We decided to go back next morning as our hotel was close. The following morning we got to the store and started out in men’s shoes where my husband picked out a pair of sandals. We then continued to the beauty department where I wanted to try a lipstick as these are not available in my local store. The SA who helped us was incredibly kind. After that we wandered over to SLGs, and at the same moment the SA who helped us in beauty came over to help out in the SLG department. So he helped us there as well, unfortunately they did not have the Bearn wallet I was looking for so we went up to the women’s shoes department. While we were browsing the SA came and found me and said they had just gotten a delivery with a bearn wallet exactly as I had asked for. He then continued helping me in the shoe department where I ended up with a pair of Chypre (incredible blue suede and shearling).

Following that we browsed some more and then met him again down by the silks where he offered to help us once more. At this point my husband mentions that we were actually hoping to get a leather appointment while there. I added that we had tried the lottery but had been rejected each time. He asked which bags I was looking for and said he would check.

After about 5 minutes he came back and said that we would be seen but there were two people waiting ahead of me. Meanwhile I picked out a scarf and browsed some more (maybe 30 minutes). Eventually a lovely SA came to find us and we sat down in the fine jewellery department. She asked me what I was looking for, I gave her my wishlist. She said that stock was very limited but she would do her best. After 30 minutes she came back with a box with a gorgeous B30 beton, just like I had requested.

View attachment 5597990
View attachment 5597989
The color is such a chameleon!

Prior to this I had no profile or spending history in Paris or in the EU. I had a very good experience in store. Despite there being a lot of customers the SAs always went far to ensure everyone was receivinggreat service. It was quite the contrast to shopping at Chanel which I did not enjoy as much.

All in all I think the online system as well as trying your luck in store is quite random. As long as you’re pleasant and interested you have as good a shot as (practically) anyone. Hope this is helpful!

What a stunning color!!!

 

[sphere99]

I guess this is the problem. There’s no definition of significant. To some it's 5k to others 100k. Not to mention the category of items (rtw, furnitures, jewellery, etc)

SO true! I was just responding to the person that she feels if you purchase (more than a Twilly) it helps you get an appt.

 

[paulinawilltravel]

I guess this is the problem. There’s no definition of significant. To some it's 5k to others 100k. Not to mention the category of items (rtw, furnitures, jewellery, etc

SO true! I was just responding to the person that she feels if you purchase (more than a Twilly) it helps you get an appt.

By no means am I referring to $100K. I only mean that when I personally walked in and only purchased a twilly, it didn’t trigger an appt for me. Each time I had to buy a pair of shoes or more, etc. And this is simply my experience. Just because it worked for me doesn’t mean it will work for anyone else! I’m just sharing in hopes that it helps someone else out there. I can absolutely understand the frustration of getting on here and hearing of people’s success when you are doing the exact same thing and not having any luck.

 

[Lovebb12]

I’m staying at Disney for 6 days, I’ll keep applying for an appointment hoping that I would get one. Or I’ll have to wait until I come again in December or January.
Wish me luck!

Thank you for the report and good luck for next week. Hopefully you will report back.
Btw same as the previous poster, I think you are right to decline a bag which doesn’t fit you well. It’s not easy for walk in customers to buy 2 quota bags in one trip under the same account. Imagine your win the lottery next week and the online appointment is under the same passport you paid for Kelly 28, then there isn’t much chance that you will get a QB next time once they spot your purchase from the previous week. It’s hard to stay strong, but you made the right choice!

Understandable that those with local SAs will have a different story re QB allowance, although to me very rarely tourists without a SA can take two quota bags home under the same passport in one trip. 6 months apart was my previous experience.Unless the rules changed recently.

 

[thriftyandlux]

Hi everyone, after years of following this thread, I finally have my own story to share. I will try to keep this as brief as possible, but you can skip through if you just want some eye candy haha.

My husband and I just returned from Paris for our 5 year wedding anniversary with our 10 month old son. To get an Hermes bag in Paris was a bucket list dream of mine. We were there for 7 days and and both applied for appointments everyday but were rejected every time.

On our 3rd day, we walked over to Sevres after having lunch close by. After walking around in awe of how beautiful the store is, we settled into the men’s department and after some confusion were able to get paired with an SA to help us with some men’s shoes. He was a bit standoffish at first but quickly warmed up as we chatted more about what we were looking for, what we had, where we were from, etc. In the end we spent 4 hours sitting in the men’s shoe section while this incredible SA came and went with arms full of product for us to see and try. Throughout the appointment I did mention we would love to score a leather appointment during our trip but I was already happy with everything we were able to find as majority of what we got isn’t available to buy in Canada (not to mention the exchange and VAT refund being extremely favourable). We ended up leaving with a bunch of shoes and RTW for ourselves as well as some small gifts for family. This was probably the greatest shopping experience I’ve ever had anywhere, including my home store. It felt like a true luxury experience, we got to sit and relax the entire time while he brought us items to try and other staff brought multiple rounds of refreshments. After 4 hours of shopping, at the very end he said he had one more surprise for me, he was able to secure me a leather appointment! It was already 6:15pm on a Saturday so he did say he wasn’t sure if there would be any bags available but it was worth a try. Unfortunately he was not able to be the SA running my appointment (it sounded like only certain SAs are assigned to the leather department on certain days). My husband was immediately jittery with excitement but I did tell him to chill and manage his expectations because after reading this forum, I know an appointment does not mean automatic success. Our original SA left and a new SA came and introduced herself and asked me what I was looking for. I explained my current collection and what my preferences would be. I mentioned a Kelly Danse, Mini, or Pochette but she said no, FSH is the only store in Paris that sells them (not entirely sure if that’s true…maybe she meant to tourists), I then said a K32 retourne or a B30 or 35, in a non black and non gold neutral, and no hardware preference. She came back within maybe 10/15 minutes and said “ok if you could all follow me and I’ll show you what I have for you”. We got into the dressing room and there was a BIG box, which made me a bit uneasy because it almost looked like it could be for a K35 or B40. She apologized that stock was not great right now due to it being August but she thought this bag might suit me. She opened it up to reveal this stunning B35 in Barenia Faubourg with PHW! She said she picked it for me because I’m tall enough to pull off the larger size and she knew I loved Barenia from the K28 I was wearing that day, but this one had PHW which was different enough from the GHW on my Kelly. I happily accepted this beauty, my very first Birkin!!

My husband also managed to get GP30 as walk in at George V the day before we left, and I got a Herbag 31 at the airport.

Some of my takeaways from this experience:

• It seems like all the SAs do come off quite standoffish in the beginning but do warm up eventually once the conversation starts flowing. It does almost appear like they’re vetting you in the beginning.
• The SAs appreciate hearing about our knowledge and passion for all things Hermes. I do think this helped us score our appointments as walk ins. I told them about my home store, current collection, the leathers and colours I love, and just generally why I love Hermes (I’m a former equestrian), etc.
• If you plan on walking in, I suggest shopping for a bit first and then asking for an appointment.
• It doesn’t hurt to wear some H items if you have them, I had some rings, a watch, sandals, and my K28 on. They served as conversation pieces with almost every SA we dealt with.
• It should go without saying but MANNERS MATTER. I couldn’t believe the amount of loud, entitled, and rude people we overheard and saw. One experience at George V was particularly painful to listen to and watch (I will post in the Overhead thread).

If you’ve made it to this point, thank you for reading and allowing me to share! Sending good luck and positive vibes to all of you in hopes to score your dream bag in Paris

 

[scndlslv]

Hi, i hope this is ok to ask on here. Admin please delete if it is not. There are some items currently available online which I am after. I dont want to risk them not being available when I go to Paris but I also wanted to try get tax back.
Has anyone been able to return online items in store and repurchase to receive a tax form?
Thanks

Yes, you can order items online and have them delivered to a store. When you go to pick up the items, they can do a return and ring a new sale. I just did this at the store in Monaco a few months ago and it wasn't a problem.

 

[scndlslv]

I believe it's also not possible to buy online and return them to a physical store, unless in special cases like product defect, etc.

Yes, you can return online items delivered to a boutique. I believe it says so on the web site.

 

[alll193a]

For the Europeans out there how been trying to get an appointment with a lot of attempts I have an advice.. Do a little break do not apply for a week I believe it does help. I was said that by an Hermes employee did a break and got an appointment first try. Xx

 

[bibogirl]

I just want to buy a couple scarves for myself and a bracelet for my friend. Is this possible? I just dont want my elderly parents to have to stand in line forever with me. I went on the France site and couldn’t find if/how I can request one. I’m not going until November, I just want to be prepared and know how if it’s possible through the website.

 

[BreezyE]

Hi everyone, after years of following this thread, I finally have my own story to share. I will try to keep this as brief as possible, but you can skip through if you just want some eye candy haha.

My husband and I just returned from Paris for our 5 year wedding anniversary with our 10 month old son. To get an Hermes bag in Paris was a bucket list dream of mine. We were there for 7 days and and both applied for appointments everyday but were rejected every time.

On our 3rd day, we walked over to Sevres after having lunch close by. After walking around in awe of how beautiful the store is, we settled into the men’s department and after some confusion were able to get paired with an SA to help us with some men’s shoes. He was a bit standoffish at first but quickly warmed up as we chatted more about what we were looking for, what we had, where we were from, etc. In the end we spent 4 hours sitting in the men’s shoe section while this incredible SA came and went with arms full of product for us to see and try. Throughout the appointment I did mention we would love to score a leather appointment during our trip but I was already happy with everything we were able to find as majority of what we got isn’t available to buy in Canada (not to mention the exchange and VAT refund being extremely favourable). We ended up leaving with a bunch of shoes and RTW for ourselves as well as some small gifts for family. This was probably the greatest shopping experience I’ve ever had anywhere, including my home store. It felt like a true luxury experience, we got to sit and relax the entire time while he brought us items to try and other staff brought multiple rounds of refreshments. After 4 hours of shopping, at the very end he said he had one more surprise for me, he was able to secure me a leather appointment! It was already 6:15pm on a Saturday so he did say he wasn’t sure if there would be any bags available but it was worth a try. Unfortunately he was not able to be the SA running my appointment (it sounded like only certain SAs are assigned to the leather department on certain days). My husband was immediately jittery with excitement but I did tell him to chill and manage his expectations because after reading this forum, I know an appointment does not mean automatic success. Our original SA left and a new SA came and introduced herself and asked me what I was looking for. I explained my current collection and what my preferences would be. I mentioned a Kelly Danse, Mini, or Pochette but she said no, FSH is the only store in Paris that sells them (not entirely sure if that’s true…maybe she meant to tourists), I then said a K32 retourne or a B30 or 35, in a non black and non gold neutral, and no hardware preference. She came back within maybe 10/15 minutes and said “ok if you could all follow me and I’ll show you what I have for you”. We got into the dressing room and there was a BIG box, which made me a bit uneasy because it almost looked like it could be for a K35 or B40. She apologized that stock was not great right now due to it being August but she thought this bag might suit me. She opened it up to reveal this stunning B35 in Barenia Faubourg with PHW! She said she picked it for me because I’m tall enough to pull off the larger size and she knew I loved Barenia from the K28 I was wearing that day, but this one had PHW which was different enough from the GHW on my Kelly. I happily accepted this beauty, my very first Birkin!!
View attachment 5598539
My husband also managed to get GP30 as walk in at George V the day before we left, and I got a Herbag 31 at the airport.
View attachment 5598540View attachment 5598541
Some of my takeaways from this experience:

• It seems like all the SAs do come off quite standoffish in the beginning but do warm up eventually once the conversation starts flowing. It does almost appear like they’re vetting you in the beginning.
• The SAs appreciate hearing about our knowledge and passion for all things Hermes. I do think this helped us score our appointments as walk ins. I told them about my home store, current collection, the leathers and colours I love, and just generally why I love Hermes (I’m a former equestrian), etc.
• If you plan on walking in, I suggest shopping for a bit first and then asking for an appointment.
• It doesn’t hurt to wear some H items if you have them, I had some rings, a watch, sandals, and my K28 on. They served as conversation pieces with almost every SA we dealt with.
• It should go without saying but MANNERS MATTER. I couldn’t believe the amount of loud, entitled, and rude people we overheard and saw. One experience at George V was particularly painful to listen to and watch (I will post in the Overhead thread).

If you’ve made it to this point, thank you for reading and allowing me to share! Sending good luck and positive vibes to all of you in hopes to score your dream bag in Paris

Congrats!!!

 

[bubbleloba]

You can just walk in without an appointment for scarves and other non-bag items.