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.

 

[thebirkinqueen]

I would very much disagree with your assessment of FSH SAs. I have always found them to be pleasant and helpful, over the last 40 years of visiting yearly. Recently (a couple of years ago), even without an appointment, I was able to get a lovely Evie TPM just by asking. My focus is typically scarves/shawls, so that is what I like to spend time selecting. Asking about the Evie was part of a lovely conversation, and I was not surprised she responded in kind. I am only interested in under the radar bags, so that may have been helpful. I think FSH SA's are just so happy to be able to engage when BKC are not part of the discussion!

Agreed. Every store has sweet and not so pleasant SAs… so I don’t think it’s fair to judge an entire store and their staff across the board.. (even when I feel put off I try to remind myself of this). plus, imagine if you work at a high pressure place with hundreds of people people hounding you for a bag every day. I actually feel very bad for FSH SAs. Even when they are nice and want to help, some people are just so rude and demanding to them that I feel like you can’t fault them for being a bit more standoffish or not eager to help everyone.

 

[lilbabypinkstar]

I would very much disagree with your assessment of FSH SAs. I have always found them to be pleasant and helpful, over the last 40 years of visiting yearly. Recently (a couple of years ago), even without an appointment, I was able to get a lovely Evie TPM just by asking. My focus is typically scarves/shawls, so that is what I like to spend time selecting. Asking about the Evie was part of a lovely conversation, and I was not surprised she responded in kind. I am only interested in under the radar bags, so that may have been helpful. I think FSH SA's are just so happy to be able to engage when BKC are not part of the discussion!

I had a very interesting experience where I showed my handphone with a Kelly. My ask was to find a Twilly and idea of a colour that could work for the bag.

However before I could complete my sentence, where I began with “I would like to.”, whilst holding my phone, the FSH SA retorted, “NOPE, no bags.”

I was like, “Excuse me, but that is my bag. I was asking for help on a Twilly choice.”

She got shocked and turned it into a, “oh wow what a great find.”

Bit of a circus but that was a real shocking level of service to not even be listening first.

 

[thebirkinkellygirl]

Thank you for this info! If anyone has been able to get a pair of Chypre sandals recently in Paris I’d be really interested to hear as I am flying on Friday..

When I was in Sèvres, the SA also showed me the Chypre sandals but they were all in exotics only (at least in my size, which is a size 39)!

 

[QuelleFromage]

Sorry not sure if this question would be better places in the Herbag chat, but I think it makes more sense here:

Would I have to have a leather appointment to get a Herbag in Paris or is this possible without one?

An Herbag is considered a leather item so technically requires an appointment...however, any time you are really in love with just one item (that is not a Birkin or Kelly) it is worth telling the SA that your ultimate dream is "xx" (in this case, an Herbag). Good luck!

Came to Paris to celebrate my birthday with no intention to get near any H stores. I already have the bags I wanted and shouldn’t be looking for more.

Turns out I couldn’t help myself and as soon as I arrived I started trying the online appointments, with no success, of course.

Saturday afternoon I decided to go to FSH to browse, since they always have things I can’t find at my home store. No rush at all from my side because I didn’t want the H experience to hijack my celebration.

Right in the entrance I saw a very elegant gentleman: “Hi there! I’m in Paris to celebrate my birthday and couldn’t get a leather appointment online”. He says: “come with me, I’ll see what I can do”. He takes me to the leather appointment desk and the lady in charge tells me that she would find someone to help me in 30 min to an hour. Only then I gave her my passport and I immediately got the text message confirming the appointment.

I walked around for about 40 min and could only purchase a couple of enamel bracelets, since all departments were packed with people and no one available to assist. After that I got another message saying the SA was waiting for me.

I could see the SA was overwhelmed. It felt difficult to connect. He asked what I was looking for and I was quite specific: K25 or B25, light blue or light pink preferably with gold hardware. Maybe something neutral with rose gold.

He went for about 20 minutes and came back with 2 boxes. “I’m sorry we don’t have any B/K left today. We didn’t have shipments and the store has been busy all day.” This is a statement I have never believed and was the first time I’ve had it at FSH. Of course they have bags, maybe not enough to sell to me. He showed me a mini Bolide in celeste and a mini Jypsiere in mauve pale. “Sorry, not really what I had in mind.” He said he could probably find something on Tuesday but I explained I was leaving Monday.

He then asked if there was another model he could look for me. I didn’t want a Constance, so I never asked for it. I said: “bring me a baby blue or a light pink mini Evie and I will be happy”.

He came back with 2 boxes again. A Picotin Mauve Sylvestre, PHW, and a mini Evie Bleu pale, PHW. Both were gorgeous and I was torn.

“Maybe you have this mini Evie with gold hardware?” He opened his phone and literally read out loud to me all options of mini Evie they had. He did have the same with GHW. I got both Picotin and mini Evie and was fairly happy.

I just want to add that despite the fact that I was lucky enough to get the appointment on the spot and to be offered bags I liked, I’ve never felt so “not belonging” and I saw disappointed faces all over the place. Maybe we should really keep our purchases locally and try our best to connect to our own SAs.

Happy birthday and congratulations on your bags. To be honest, sounds like you had a wonderful experience - you got a walk-in appointment immediately just by asking, were offered multiple bags, and even had the SA offer you any Evelyne TPM you wanted from the entire inventory. It's actually possible they did not have a light blue or light pink B25/K25, or rose gold hardware B25, as that's a very specific request. Why did you feel so "not belonging"?

 

[jimmyshoogirl]

Whew! Paris stores seems like a roller coaster ride lately! Is this typically a busier time of year? I would absolutely HATE to be new Paris resident and having to have one of these stores as my local store. There really should be a local only store.

The mention of people spying and lurking doesn’t sit well with me. That seems too far. If they are lurking and watching people it makes me feel like people could follow those that make bag purchases back to their dwellings. (Of course I know not everyone has these intentions.) When I was in fsh I was offered to have my bag and other purchases shipped back to my hotel. I highly recommend people take the SA up on their offer if they offer to have your purchases transported back. Please be careful and be aware of your surroundings.

 

[lilbabypinkstar]

Hehehe don’t worry I actually have my SA from there and am only looking or lurking around since I’ve had time to spare. FSH is that open in floor space and design so anyone walking around Level 2 will just know whatever is going on.

That is the truth and you will see that George V and Sevres is more discreet, from personal experience as well.

Anyway, I did get my B and K, all from within Paris. I just felt that some of my personal experiences at FSH were bad; so just calling them out for people to know it is really what it is. Even as I’ve ever gotten my QBs from there, it is the way it is.

Overall though Hermes is still my favourite brand and I hope everyone gets their dream bag(s) some day!

 

[Lilikay]

An Herbag is considered a leather item so technically requires an appointment...however, any time you are really in love with just one item (that is not a Birkin or Kelly) it is worth telling the SA that your ultimate dream is "xx" (in this case, an Herbag). Good luck!

Happy birthday and congratulations on your bags. To be honest, sounds like you had a wonderful experience - you got a walk-in appointment immediately just by asking, were offered multiple bags, and even had the SA offer you any Evelyne TPM you wanted from the entire inventory. It's actually possible they did not have a light blue or light pink B25/K25, or rose gold hardware B25, as that's a very specific request. Why did you feel so "not belonging"?

Thank you for your wishes. I totally understand your point. I was happy with my experience and I also think that they must likely did not have the Birkin in the specs I wanted. I just can’t compare it to my previous visits to FSH. It was not my first walk-in appointment, so I was kind of expecting it to happen.
Of course nothing compares to the days when we wouldn’t need the online appointment nor even to queue to buy a bag.
What felt very different to me from the latest visits was the lack of interaction across the board.
First, something I really like about Hermès is that no matter how long you wait, when it’s your turn, it’s your turn, and they will give you all the attention they can. It was not like that and it was not their fault. It was too much, too packed, too crazy. The other thing is that I like to ask for opinions, exchange experiences, and it was impossible to engage in a conversation. In all departments they would come to you, ask bluntly what do you want and that’s it. Finally, for some reason they are not allowed to walk around the store with you to help you with other purchases any more. So you have to find a different SA in each one of the departments you want to buy something from. That’s one of the reasons why I just got few bracelets. Imagine having to queue many times to be able to try something on…it is a shame because I love to be there. I’ll come back another time on a week day and see how it goes.

 

[880]

When I was in fsh I was offered to have my bag and other purchases shipped back to my hotel. I highly recommend people take the SA up on their offer if they offer to have your purchases transported back. Please be careful and be aware of your surroundings.

100%. in my limited experience, any bag offer, is offered and accepted in the dressing room. Once the decision is made, my SA arranges delivery in an unmarked bag to the hotel (unless I wear it out of the store). Sadly FSH does wrap the bag with Hermes ribbon rendering the unmarked bag a bit pointless, but so long as I don’t carry it, it’s okay. Some members here have reported being accosted by strangers on the way to the cashier, and IMO that sounds terrible.I don’t like the idea of lurking either, but it’s minimized this way. I have never been offered any bag in public, but my SA has asked me to wait in the dressing room to make sure someone else doesn’t take it lol. Sometimes DH parks himself there for us. While I am fortunate to have an SA who can shop across departments, I have learned that most SAs cannot. I presume part of the logic of separate depts is to relieve stress from non leather. In NY, while SAs can assist with leather, Leather Specialists do access the best offers. They are under the most stress. A friends SA switched out of leather for this reason.

 

[jimmyshoogirl]

100%. in my limited experience, any bag offer, is offered and accepted in the dressing room. Once the decision is made, my SA arranges delivery in an unmarked bag to the hotel (unless I wear it out of the store). Sadly FSH does wrap the bag with Hermes ribbon rendering the unmarked bag a bit pointless, but so long as I don’t carry it, it’s okay. Some members here have reported being accosted by strangers on the way to the cashier, and IMO that sounds terrible.I don’t like the idea of lurking either, but it’s minimized this way. I have never been offered any bag in public, but my SA has asked me to wait in the dressing room to make sure someone else doesn’t take it lol. Sometimes DH parks himself there for us. While I am fortunate to have an SA who can shop across departments, I have learned that most SAs cannot. I presume part of the logic of separate depts is to relieve stress from non leather. In NY, while SAs can assist with leather, Leather Specialists do access the best offers. They are under the most stress. A friends SA switched out of leather for this reason.

Same situation for me - accepted in a private area (on 3rd floor). I was on the 2nd floor first (which was open and very full) but we walked up to the 3rd in a private area where two boxes were waiting.

At the bolded: omg! I couldn’t imagine!

 

[lilbabypinkstar]

Thank you for your wishes. I totally understand your point. I was happy with my experience and I also think that they must likely did not have the Birkin in the specs I wanted. I just can’t compare it to my previous visits to FSH. It was not my first walk-in appointment, so I was kind of expecting it to happen.
Of course nothing compares to the days when we wouldn’t need the online appointment nor even to queue to buy a bag.
What felt very different to me from the latest visits was the lack of interaction across the board.
First, something I really like about Hermès is that no matter how long you wait, when it’s your turn, it’s your turn, and they will give you all the attention they can. It was not like that and it was not their fault. It was too much, too packed, too crazy. The other thing is that I like to ask for opinions, exchange experiences, and it was impossible to engage in a conversation. In all departments they would come to you, ask bluntly what do you want and that’s it. Finally, for some reason they are not allowed to walk around the store with you to help you with other purchases any more. So you have to find a different SA in each one of the departments you want to buy something from. That’s one of the reasons why I just got few bracelets. Imagine having to queue many times to be able to try something on…it is a shame because I love to be there. I’ll come back another time on a week day and see how it goes.

Agree on this experience as I felt it too. The other stores outside of FSH however can still walk with you and help you across departments.

FSH within each department does pretty well though where the SA does serve deeply and personally I felt it was very engaging. One time an SA brought out all the sizes of one type of clothing for me and it was really extra service! There was chat about colours, materials and look styles which made the shopping fun and interactive.

No one wants to be the leather appointment duty person I guess as I’ve seen how many times they have to repeat the same message: “sorry no cancellations today…”

 

[Lilikay]

Agree on this experience as I felt it too. The other stores outside of FSH however can still walk with you and help you across departments.

FSH within each department does pretty well though where the SA does serve deeply and personally I felt it was very engaging. One time an SA brought out all the sizes of one type of clothing for me and it was really extra service! There was chat about colours, materials and look styles which made the shopping fun and interactive.

No one wants to be the leather appointment duty person I guess as I’ve seen how many times they have to repeat the same message: “sorry no cancellations today…”

Oh gosh! I can’t even imagine how exhausting must be being a leather specialist in any Hermès store, let alone FHS!

 

[smoothsailor]

I would very much disagree with your assessment of FSH SAs. I have always found them to be pleasant and helpful, over the last 40 years of visiting yearly. Recently (a couple of years ago), even without an appointment, I was able to get a lovely Evie TPM just by asking. My focus is typically scarves/shawls, so that is what I like to spend time selecting. Asking about the Evie was part of a lovely conversation, and I was not surprised she responded in kind. I am only interested in under the radar bags, so that may have been helpful. I think FSH SA's are just so happy to be able to engage when BKC are not part of the discussion!

I’m sorry….but if the last time u r at FSH is a couple of years ago, I would like to point out that your experience should greatly differ from current context.

 

[Birkinbait]

Has anyone been getting any offers lately? i'll be there in August and hoping to score something.

 

[frenchgirl]

I’m sorry….but if the last time u r at FSH is a couple of years ago, I would like to point out that your experience should greatly differ from current context.

I bought the Evie a couple of years ago. I was at FSH 4 weeks ago, same lovely experience.

 

[cad33]

Reading all the comments here i am excited to visit again in july but am realistic I may not get an appointment. For shoes is it as busy for men’s shoes?

For petit h in store is it the same selection as online?