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.
 
Newbie for Paris here.
Is an ostrich leather kelly 25 or 28 impossible to aquire in Paris H?
I know you all mention text messages etc. for appointment updates. How do you set your phone to get real time text messages in France? Im from the US and use an iphone via AT&T.
I don’t think ostrich is impossible. I saw a few people getting exotic b and k’s at both Sèvres and fsh when I was there in December. Now I don’t know if these clients were regulars or went thru the appt system.

The time automatically changes on your phone when you land which allows for real time text. There’s nothing that you have to do other than apply for the appts and wait nervously for *the* text/email.
 
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Sorry, this took me a while to post. We are back from Paris and the Christmas rush is over, so I have some time to go into more detail about my experience at FSH.

My husband and I were in Paris for about 3 days and tried every day for an appointment at FSH with no luck. I wanted to get a few things other than a quota bag so I figured we could stop in and ask if they had any cancellations since we were already there. It was a Saturday morning in December, around 11:45am when we arrived at the FSH store. We walked in and I asked the first person I saw if they had any cancellations and she directed me to another associate to check for availability. While I was walking over to check I noticed someone right behind me following because she too was hoping to get an appointment. Luckily for us there was one cancellation. The associate gave us the iPad and asked us to put our information down and asked us to wait a few minutes for an SA to assist us. While waiting for our SA I decided to check out the scarf section and got sidetracked with all the beautiful display items. About 10 minutes passed by before I got a call from my husband telling me the SA was ready for us, so I quickly walked back to where we were waiting. The SA greeted me and took us to the second floor where it was quieter. We sat down at a desk, and she asked me what I was looking for and took notes. ‘What colors do I like, what colors don't I like. What's my hardware preference?’ We then chatted for a few minutes before she said she would go check to see if there is anything that she could find for me. We didn't wait long, maybe 5 minutes and when I saw her come back so soon, I felt a bit disappointed but then she said to us "Let's go somewhere more private, I have something that I really think you will like." So, we walked up to the 3rd floor, where there was no one around, no bags in case being displayed so I thought this had to be good! She had 3 boxes with her, the first she opened was a small box... I immediately signaled to my husband "it's a 2-5" and I was right. She pulled out a Swift Birkin 25 retourne in magnolia with PHW. I immediately told her I'd take it. She then offered a fourbi which I was on the fence about, but she and hubby convinced me to get it. The third box was a leather accessory for the Birkin but I wasn’t sure what it’s called. It was a flat piece with a zipper on one side with two holes that goes over the handles of the Birkin (or Kelly) and is like an outer pocket for your Birkin. Hubby insisted I get it but then asked if we had to worry about color transfer since it was black. Our SA went to check and came back advising us that we should pass on it because color transfer is a possibility. After she showed us all the items in the boxes, we told her about how we got engaged on the rooftop of the Hermes rooftop garden and that Michael Coste said he would come see us when we visited the store, so she called Michael to let him know we were there. He came within a few minutes, we chatted for a bit before making our way over to the Hermes Airship (holiday display/workshop) for photos. Afterwards we went back to our SA and she asked if there was anything else I was looking for and I told her I’d love to pick out some twillies for the new Birkin but also a Birkin 30 I recently purchased. After we picked out some twillies I went back through my wishlist (notes in my phone) and asked her for a pair of Story Boots. She checked her phone and told me there’s one showing in my size but usually that means it’s out of stock if it’s showing ‘1’ in their inventory. She left for a few minutes and came back with the Story Boots. She asked me again if there was anything else I’d like while there and I told her I’d love to get a gift for my mom and I had a mini Lindy or mini 24/24 in mind, preferably in a neutral shade like black or gold. She informed me that the mini Lindy isn’t available but would check on the mini 24/24. This time she asked us to move to a different area, somewhere more private and took us to a room where we waited with all the boxes we would be leaving with upon checkout. She left for about what seemed like 10 minutes. When she came back, she said “I have something you’re looking for. I didn’t think it was available.” She opened the box, and it was a mini Lindy in gold with GHW. I tried it on to show my husband, he liked it and said it would suit my mom. Now we are finally ready to checkout. While checking out our SA wrapped my twillies and bagged our items. We were saying our goodbyes and she handed me her card and told us that if/when we return to Paris to reach out to her for an appointment. We thanked her for all her help and for taking care of us. We were getting ready to leave and she said to us “Can you hold on for a few minutes? I have something special for you.” She left us for another few minutes and came back with an orange box and said, “I had to get approval because we usually don’t do this, but I wanted to give you something for Christmas.” We thanked her again for all her help and left. We didn’t open the orange box until the next day, here it was a scarf! How sweet and thoughtful of her.

I truly think that the stars were aligned for us. Our SA from our previous visit left the company and we had to try for the lottery with no luck, there was one cancellation, and we got that slot. I hope that my story inspires someone who is reading to not give up. If you don’t win the lottery and are close to a boutique it wouldn’t hurt to ask if there’s any cancellations. The worst they can say is no.

Thank you for letting me share my story with you.

View attachment 5678015
I am going in March and this would be a dream offer for me. I love the color....omg!!!! congratulations.
 
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Here’s my first Birkin. Thank you @J’adoreHermes and others for the kind words and advice. My husband actually got me the appointment and he was so proud of himself. I’m thinking it’s because he’s already in their system as everything we’ve purchased in Paris is under his passport. My first leather experience has been amazing. Everyone was so kind to me at Faubourg and the SA seemed so interested in learning more about me so that she could match me to the right bag. I told her that I wanted a Birkin in 25. I told her about my vintage Kelly. I told her about my Chanel’s. I get the sense that she liked the fact that this will be my first Birkin. She also connected with my husband on our vintage cars. Such a great experience with such a great representative of Hermes. Turns out the bag she offered me was a perfect shade of mauve which just happens to go perfectly with one of our vintage cars. I came away loving the brand even more.

View attachment 5707170
Such a beautiful bag and memorable experience all along the way from your husband surprising you to the amazing SA! I’m so happy for you. For the bag to match of your vintage cars, it was just meant to be.
 
Here’s my first Birkin. Thank you @J’adoreHermes and others for the kind words and advice. My husband actually got me the appointment and he was so proud of himself. I’m thinking it’s because he’s already in their system as everything we’ve purchased in Paris is under his passport. My first leather experience has been amazing. Everyone was so kind to me at Faubourg and the SA seemed so interested in learning more about me so that she could match me to the right bag. I told her that I wanted a Birkin in 25. I told her about my vintage Kelly. I told her about my Chanel’s. I get the sense that she liked the fact that this will be my first Birkin. She also connected with my husband on our vintage cars. Such a great experience with such a great representative of Hermes. Turns out the bag she offered me was a perfect shade of mauve which just happens to go perfectly with one of our vintage cars. I came away loving the brand even more.

View attachment 5707170
so happy for u! :heart: is that mauve pale or mauve sylvestre?
 
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Here’s my first Birkin. Thank you @J’adoreHermes and others for the kind words and advice. My husband actually got me the appointment and he was so proud of himself. I’m thinking it’s because he’s already in their system as everything we’ve purchased in Paris is under his passport. My first leather experience has been amazing. Everyone was so kind to me at Faubourg and the SA seemed so interested in learning more about me so that she could match me to the right bag. I told her that I wanted a Birkin in 25. I told her about my vintage Kelly. I told her about my Chanel’s. I get the sense that she liked the fact that this will be my first Birkin. She also connected with my husband on our vintage cars. Such a great experience with such a great representative of Hermes. Turns out the bag she offered me was a perfect shade of mauve which just happens to go perfectly with one of our vintage cars. I came away loving the brand even more.

View attachment 5707170
What a special memory of FSH. Congratulations on your first B!!!

I am going in March and this would be a dream offer for me. I love the color....omg!!!! congratulations.
Thank you! I was worried with Swift leather but I've read many great reviews about this leather from this forum. Good luck in March!
 
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Here’s my first Birkin. Thank you @J’adoreHermes and others for the kind words and advice. My husband actually got me the appointment and he was so proud of himself. I’m thinking it’s because he’s already in their system as everything we’ve purchased in Paris is under his passport. My first leather experience has been amazing. Everyone was so kind to me at Faubourg and the SA seemed so interested in learning more about me so that she could match me to the right bag. I told her that I wanted a Birkin in 25. I told her about my vintage Kelly. I told her about my Chanel’s. I get the sense that she liked the fact that this will be my first Birkin. She also connected with my husband on our vintage cars. Such a great experience with such a great representative of Hermes. Turns out the bag she offered me was a perfect shade of mauve which just happens to go perfectly with one of our vintage cars. I came away loving the brand even more.

View attachment 5707170
Stunning bag and what a wonderful experience!
 
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Here’s my first Birkin. Thank you @J’adoreHermes and others for the kind words and advice. My husband actually got me the appointment and he was so proud of himself. I’m thinking it’s because he’s already in their system as everything we’ve purchased in Paris is under his passport. My first leather experience has been amazing. Everyone was so kind to me at Faubourg and the SA seemed so interested in learning more about me so that she could match me to the right bag. I told her that I wanted a Birkin in 25. I told her about my vintage Kelly. I told her about my Chanel’s. I get the sense that she liked the fact that this will be my first Birkin. She also connected with my husband on our vintage cars. Such a great experience with such a great representative of Hermes. Turns out the bag she offered me was a perfect shade of mauve which just happens to go perfectly with one of our vintage cars. I came away loving the brand even more.

View attachment 5707170
That's fabulous and congratulations! Wear in good health!
 
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Here’s my first Birkin. Thank you @J’adoreHermes and others for the kind words and advice. My husband actually got me the appointment and he was so proud of himself. I’m thinking it’s because he’s already in their system as everything we’ve purchased in Paris is under his passport. My first leather experience has been amazing. Everyone was so kind to me at Faubourg and the SA seemed so interested in learning more about me so that she could match me to the right bag. I told her that I wanted a Birkin in 25. I told her about my vintage Kelly. I told her about my Chanel’s. I get the sense that she liked the fact that this will be my first Birkin. She also connected with my husband on our vintage cars. Such a great experience with such a great representative of Hermes. Turns out the bag she offered me was a perfect shade of mauve which just happens to go perfectly with one of our vintage cars. I came away loving the brand even more.

View attachment 5707170
Beautiful bag and what a wonderful gesture of your husband.
 
Sorry, this took me a while to post. We are back from Paris and the Christmas rush is over, so I have some time to go into more detail about my experience at FSH.

My husband and I were in Paris for about 3 days and tried every day for an appointment at FSH with no luck. I wanted to get a few things other than a quota bag so I figured we could stop in and ask if they had any cancellations since we were already there. It was a Saturday morning in December, around 11:45am when we arrived at the FSH store. We walked in and I asked the first person I saw if they had any cancellations and she directed me to another associate to check for availability. While I was walking over to check I noticed someone right behind me following because she too was hoping to get an appointment. Luckily for us there was one cancellation. The associate gave us the iPad and asked us to put our information down and asked us to wait a few minutes for an SA to assist us. While waiting for our SA I decided to check out the scarf section and got sidetracked with all the beautiful display items. About 10 minutes passed by before I got a call from my husband telling me the SA was ready for us, so I quickly walked back to where we were waiting. The SA greeted me and took us to the second floor where it was quieter. We sat down at a desk, and she asked me what I was looking for and took notes. ‘What colors do I like, what colors don't I like. What's my hardware preference?’ We then chatted for a few minutes before she said she would go check to see if there is anything that she could find for me. We didn't wait long, maybe 5 minutes and when I saw her come back so soon, I felt a bit disappointed but then she said to us "Let's go somewhere more private, I have something that I really think you will like." So, we walked up to the 3rd floor, where there was no one around, no bags in case being displayed so I thought this had to be good! She had 3 boxes with her, the first she opened was a small box... I immediately signaled to my husband "it's a 2-5" and I was right. She pulled out a Swift Birkin 25 retourne in magnolia with PHW. I immediately told her I'd take it. She then offered a fourbi which I was on the fence about, but she and hubby convinced me to get it. The third box was a leather accessory for the Birkin but I wasn’t sure what it’s called. It was a flat piece with a zipper on one side with two holes that goes over the handles of the Birkin (or Kelly) and is like an outer pocket for your Birkin. Hubby insisted I get it but then asked if we had to worry about color transfer since it was black. Our SA went to check and came back advising us that we should pass on it because color transfer is a possibility. After she showed us all the items in the boxes, we told her about how we got engaged on the rooftop of the Hermes rooftop garden and that Michael Coste said he would come see us when we visited the store, so she called Michael to let him know we were there. He came within a few minutes, we chatted for a bit before making our way over to the Hermes Airship (holiday display/workshop) for photos. Afterwards we went back to our SA and she asked if there was anything else I was looking for and I told her I’d love to pick out some twillies for the new Birkin but also a Birkin 30 I recently purchased. After we picked out some twillies I went back through my wishlist (notes in my phone) and asked her for a pair of Story Boots. She checked her phone and told me there’s one showing in my size but usually that means it’s out of stock if it’s showing ‘1’ in their inventory. She left for a few minutes and came back with the Story Boots. She asked me again if there was anything else I’d like while there and I told her I’d love to get a gift for my mom and I had a mini Lindy or mini 24/24 in mind, preferably in a neutral shade like black or gold. She informed me that the mini Lindy isn’t available but would check on the mini 24/24. This time she asked us to move to a different area, somewhere more private and took us to a room where we waited with all the boxes we would be leaving with upon checkout. She left for about what seemed like 10 minutes. When she came back, she said “I have something you’re looking for. I didn’t think it was available.” She opened the box, and it was a mini Lindy in gold with GHW. I tried it on to show my husband, he liked it and said it would suit my mom. Now we are finally ready to checkout. While checking out our SA wrapped my twillies and bagged our items. We were saying our goodbyes and she handed me her card and told us that if/when we return to Paris to reach out to her for an appointment. We thanked her for all her help and for taking care of us. We were getting ready to leave and she said to us “Can you hold on for a few minutes? I have something special for you.” She left us for another few minutes and came back with an orange box and said, “I had to get approval because we usually don’t do this, but I wanted to give you something for Christmas.” We thanked her again for all her help and left. We didn’t open the orange box until the next day, here it was a scarf! How sweet and thoughtful of her.

I truly think that the stars were aligned for us. Our SA from our previous visit left the company and we had to try for the lottery with no luck, there was one cancellation, and we got that slot. I hope that my story inspires someone who is reading to not give up. If you don’t win the lottery and are close to a boutique it wouldn’t hurt to ask if there’s any cancellations. The worst they can say is no.

Thank you for letting me share my story with you.

View attachment 5678015
So happy for you, what an amazing experience to remember every time you look at your bag!
 
I apologize if someone has already addressed this earlier in the thread. If someone got a quota bag in December at FSH, what is the earliest they could possibly be offered another QB? Does it go a bag q 6 months ie Jan-June and another July-December or a rolling 6 months starting from date of first QB?
 
I apologize if someone has already addressed this earlier in the thread. If someone got a quota bag in December at FSH, what is the earliest they could possibly be offered another QB? Does it go a bag q 6 months ie Jan-June and another July-December or a rolling 6 months starting from date of first QB?
There is no hard-and-fast rule on this. Some have been told ‘strictly 6 months apart’, but personally I have been able to buy 2 QBs within just a bit over 4 months of each other (and both in the same ‘semester’ July - December).
 
I have a leather appt at FSH tomorrow morning!! I am so excited I can’t sleep! I’m trying to temper my excitement by reminding myself that they may not have stock (it’s a Monday), or they won’t offer me a B/K. Please keep your fingers crossed for me! I’m hoping the H fairies smile on me… I’ll update after my appointment!
Good luck and keep us posted! Did you get to use more than one passport for the appt lottery?
 
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