Spend threshold for B/K/C

[cap4life]

Agree on that’s how human minds work.

How would you suggest one to pace themselves? On one side, showing up often at the store (however you define that) is somewhat important. Let’s say once a month on average. Then a 5 digit item each month can be reasonable for some but certainly not everyone. Let’s say your aim is one non exotic QB a year, and maybe a good non-QB in the mix. Would you say a few bigger purchases (maybe even just two) wins over the slow and steady (a few k every month)?

VERY long post, YMMV :
First, I’d come in about every other month. Set a spend limit if you have to, and buy at least one piece from your SA’s metier every other visit (so every 3-4 months roughly). In no particular order, focus spend on:
- Jewelry
- RTW
- Men’s items
- Home (not tablewear as they frequently are out of stock)
- Watches
Don’t forget about the St. Louis crystal collection which has some very beautiful items! The items on the first floor or front of house (scarves, belts, cosmetics, perfume, costume jewelry, SLGs etc) are nice but would have these in addition to your major spend item(s) for the visit. The goal is is to help your SA maximize their commission.

End of Q2 to mid Q3 is the best time to skip since many clients are on vacation and all of France takes Aug off 😊. On the other hand, spending at this time especially in July/Aug works to your advantage as there’s seasonally less clients and less purchases.

Timing big spending visits toward the end of the quarter (March, June, late Aug-Sept) is great for helping your SA and the store meet its quarterly goal or stretch goal. End of Q4 (Dec) is seasonally higher in revenue than other months so no need to spend then unless you want to. Holding spend until late Jan/early Feb is better since early Q1 is slow usually. The goal with timing your purchases is to stand out as a client. The best way to stand out is to spend a lot in various metiers, the second best way is to spend strategically at opportune times.

If you feel that you’ve spent too much or you’re not finding things you like, then stop going in. You’ll have to decide your own limits based on your spend tolerance (how much can you reasonably spend on Hermès a month), your desire for a QB, your overall brand loyalty (do you like other items besides QBs) and what you’re willing to trade off.

Based on my recommendation above, the calendar looks like this:

Jan - no spend
Feb - spend a bit in key metiers
March - spend in SA metier at min, spend a bit more than usual if you didn’t spend much in Feb
April - no spend
May - no spend or spend a bit in key metiers
June - spend in SA metier at min, spend more than usual if you didn’t spend much in May
July - no spend
Aug - no spend or spend in key metiers or SA metier if you’re trying to stand out
Sept - Spend a bit more than usual if you didn’t spend in July or Aug
Oct - no spend
Nov - Spend in key metiers
Dec - no spend

I know for some this is entirely over engineered, but I like thinking about how to optimize processes 😅. Hope this helps!

 

[NYCFashionista]

VERY long post, YMMV :
First, I’d come in about every other month. Set a spend limit if you have to, and buy at least one piece from your SA’s metier every other visit (so every 3-4 months roughly). In no particular order, focus spend on:
- Jewelry
- RTW
- Men’s items
- Home (not tablewear as they frequently are out of stock)
- Watches
Don’t forget about the St. Louis crystal collection which has some very beautiful items! The items on the first floor or front of house (scarves, belts, cosmetics, perfume, costume jewelry, SLGs etc) are nice but would have these in addition to your major spend item(s) for the visit. The goal is is to help your SA maximize their commission.

End of Q2 to mid Q3 is the best time to skip since many clients are on vacation and all of France takes Aug off 😊. On the other hand, spending at this time especially in July/Aug works to your advantage as there’s seasonally less clients and less purchases.

Timing big spending visits toward the end of the quarter (March, June, late Aug-Sept) is great for helping your SA and the store meet its quarterly goal or stretch goal. End of Q4 (Dec) is seasonally higher in revenue than other months so no need to spend then unless you want to. Holding spend until late Jan/early Feb is better since early Q1 is slow usually. The goal with timing your purchases is to stand out as a client. The best way to stand out is to spend a lot in various metiers, the second best way is to spend strategically at opportune times.

If you feel that you’ve spent too much or you’re not finding things you like, then stop going in. You’ll have to decide your own limits based on your spend tolerance (how much can you reasonably spend on Hermès a month), your desire for a QB, your overall brand loyalty (do you like other items besides QBs) and what you’re willing to trade off.

Based on my recommendation above, the calendar looks like this:

Jan - no spend
Feb - spend a bit in key metiers
March - spend in SA metier at min, spend a bit more than usual if you didn’t spend much in Feb
April - no spend
May - no spend or spend a bit in key metiers
June - spend in SA metier at min, spend more than usual if you didn’t spend much in May
July - no spend
Aug - no spend or spend in key metiers or SA metier if you’re trying to stand out
Sept - Spend a bit more than usual if you didn’t spend in July or Aug
Oct - no spend
Nov - Spend in key metiers
Dec - no spend

I know for some this is entirely over engineered, but I like thinking about how to optimize processes 😅. Hope this helps!

This is probably a basic question, but how do you know an SA's metiers? Does it differ by SA?

 

[acrowcounted]

This is probably a basic question, but how do you know an SA's metiers? Does it differ by SA?

Only flagship stores in the USA have SAs assigned to departments.

 

[Bdbunny]

VERY long post, YMMV :
First, I’d come in about every other month. Set a spend limit if you have to, and buy at least one piece from your SA’s metier every other visit (so every 3-4 months roughly). In no particular order, focus spend on:
- Jewelry
- RTW
- Men’s items
- Home (not tablewear as they frequently are out of stock)
- Watches
Don’t forget about the St. Louis crystal collection which has some very beautiful items! The items on the first floor or front of house (scarves, belts, cosmetics, perfume, costume jewelry, SLGs etc) are nice but would have these in addition to your major spend item(s) for the visit. The goal is is to help your SA maximize their commission.

End of Q2 to mid Q3 is the best time to skip since many clients are on vacation and all of France takes Aug off 😊. On the other hand, spending at this time especially in July/Aug works to your advantage as there’s seasonally less clients and less purchases.

Timing big spending visits toward the end of the quarter (March, June, late Aug-Sept) is great for helping your SA and the store meet its quarterly goal or stretch goal. End of Q4 (Dec) is seasonally higher in revenue than other months so no need to spend then unless you want to. Holding spend until late Jan/early Feb is better since early Q1 is slow usually. The goal with timing your purchases is to stand out as a client. The best way to stand out is to spend a lot in various metiers, the second best way is to spend strategically at opportune times.

If you feel that you’ve spent too much or you’re not finding things you like, then stop going in. You’ll have to decide your own limits based on your spend tolerance (how much can you reasonably spend on Hermès a month), your desire for a QB, your overall brand loyalty (do you like other items besides QBs) and what you’re willing to trade off.

Based on my recommendation above, the calendar looks like this:

Jan - no spend
Feb - spend a bit in key metiers
March - spend in SA metier at min, spend a bit more than usual if you didn’t spend much in Feb
April - no spend
May - no spend or spend a bit in key metiers
June - spend in SA metier at min, spend more than usual if you didn’t spend much in May
July - no spend
Aug - no spend or spend in key metiers or SA metier if you’re trying to stand out
Sept - Spend a bit more than usual if you didn’t spend in July or Aug
Oct - no spend
Nov - Spend in key metiers
Dec - no spend

I know for some this is entirely over engineered, but I like thinking about how to optimize processes 😅. Hope this helps!

This is very interesting and I wish I could stick to a buying schedule lol! My problem is my SA(s) are texting me all the time with new stuff that came in, or items that I ordered/reserved from months ago have arrived. For example, some runway RTW I ordered from October just arrived last week. Even though I was trying to cut back this month, it's difficult to say no when it was 1) something I actually wanted and 2) something that was reserved for me and if I refuse it, my SA would probably be less likely to reserve items for me in the future. Maybe I can still make the April no spend schedule though lol! Oh wait no, I'm going back to Paris in April, darn!

 

[benjinito]

VERY long post, YMMV :
First, I’d come in about every other month. Set a spend limit if you have to, and buy at least one piece from your SA’s metier every other visit (so every 3-4 months roughly). In no particular order, focus spend on:
- Jewelry
- RTW
- Men’s items
- Home (not tablewear as they frequently are out of stock)
- Watches
Don’t forget about the St. Louis crystal collection which has some very beautiful items! The items on the first floor or front of house (scarves, belts, cosmetics, perfume, costume jewelry, SLGs etc) are nice but would have these in addition to your major spend item(s) for the visit. The goal is is to help your SA maximize their commission.

End of Q2 to mid Q3 is the best time to skip since many clients are on vacation and all of France takes Aug off 😊. On the other hand, spending at this time especially in July/Aug works to your advantage as there’s seasonally less clients and less purchases.

Timing big spending visits toward the end of the quarter (March, June, late Aug-Sept) is great for helping your SA and the store meet its quarterly goal or stretch goal. End of Q4 (Dec) is seasonally higher in revenue than other months so no need to spend then unless you want to. Holding spend until late Jan/early Feb is better since early Q1 is slow usually. The goal with timing your purchases is to stand out as a client. The best way to stand out is to spend a lot in various metiers, the second best way is to spend strategically at opportune times.

If you feel that you’ve spent too much or you’re not finding things you like, then stop going in. You’ll have to decide your own limits based on your spend tolerance (how much can you reasonably spend on Hermès a month), your desire for a QB, your overall brand loyalty (do you like other items besides QBs) and what you’re willing to trade off.

Based on my recommendation above, the calendar looks like this:

Jan - no spend
Feb - spend a bit in key metiers
March - spend in SA metier at min, spend a bit more than usual if you didn’t spend much in Feb
April - no spend
May - no spend or spend a bit in key metiers
June - spend in SA metier at min, spend more than usual if you didn’t spend much in May
July - no spend
Aug - no spend or spend in key metiers or SA metier if you’re trying to stand out
Sept - Spend a bit more than usual if you didn’t spend in July or Aug
Oct - no spend
Nov - Spend in key metiers
Dec - no spend

I know for some this is entirely over engineered, but I like thinking about how to optimize processes 😅. Hope this helps!

This makes a lot of sense but my store doesn’t have enough stock for me to buy things on a set schedule Not for items I’m actually interested in anyway.

 

[acrowcounted]

This makes a lot of sense but my store doesn’t have enough stock for me to buy things on a set schedule Not for items I’m actually interested in anyway.

Its also an interesting idea because the more people that do it, the less effective it is. If everyone starts shopping only in March, for example, now the person that shops in January will be the most appreciated. Not to mention that stores also typically have random monthly stretch goals for a particular item or department. Recently there was a competition for an extra monetary bonus at several stores for the SA that could sell the most non-Avalon blankets that month. This is why my advice will always be to not worry about over-gaming the system. The best thing anyone can do is to be themselves and shop for items they genuinely love and appreciate (and will use/wear!). At the end of the day, its a human based business and true authenticity is always a winner.

 

[Daydrmer]

This is very interesting and I wish I could stick to a buying schedule lol! My problem is my SA(s) are texting me all the time with new stuff that came in, or items that I ordered/reserved from months ago have arrived. For example, some runway RTW I ordered from October just arrived last week. Even though I was trying to cut back this month, it's difficult to say no when it was 1) something I actually wanted and 2) something that was reserved for me and if I refuse it, my SA would probably be less likely to reserve items for me in the future. Maybe I can still make the April no spend schedule though lol! Oh wait no, I'm going back to Paris in April, darn!

I've been in a similar situation. Afterwards I learned if an item is taking longer than expected to update my SA if I changed my mind letting them I'm no longer interested. The first time I just thought "okay, its not going to come in" and didn't worry about it. Then almost 3 months later I got the "Your item is here" text and was like "oh hell" lol

 

[Bdbunny]

I've been in a similar situation. Afterwards I learned if an item is taking longer than expected to update my SA if I changed my mind letting them I'm no longer interested. The first time I just thought "okay, its not going to come in" and didn't worry about it. Then almost 3 months later I got the "Your item is here" text and was like "oh hell" lol

yeah I know! honestly I have refused some pieces before... but it was after I purchased some other current items and then he was like, oh this also came with your name on it! and I was like, "yeah I don't really want that anymore!" and it was fine. I just wouldn't want to do that every time something came in for me!

ETA: I have had pieces never show up though! So that happens too! You just never know what will or will not come, and when!

 

[jbeans]

Wow props to anyone who can shop H on a preset schedule! Are you only buying permanent collection stock? I dunno about others but I have zero control over when the seasonal things I want arrive in the store, and definitely can’t follow any schedule.

 

[880]

Re the timing of my spend, I think it’s great if someone can time theirs. I do try to avoid going in December bc of the holiday crowds. My SA doesn’t have an issue with me declining to purchase something on reserve if it doesn’t fit properly or just isn't as amazing IRL. As long as there is good faith on both sides, and no abuse of the reserve practice, we both know there is always next season. Sometimes both of us are surprised by a sleeper item that turns out to be perfect. It helps that An SA knows that you will buy an item that’s perfect for you, and that whatever feedback you give, as a rationale for refusing the particular item in question, can be useful for him to understand what works and what doesn’t.

 

[Mrs.Hermess]

Wow props to anyone who can shop H on a preset schedule! Are you only buying permanent collection stock? I dunno about others but I have zero control over when the seasonal things I want arrive in the store, and definitely can’t follow any schedule.

zero control— and learned if I like it, buy it now bc it may not be available when I am ready to buy it later on.

 

[cap4life]

This is very interesting and I wish I could stick to a buying schedule lol! My problem is my SA(s) are texting me all the time with new stuff that came in, or items that I ordered/reserved from months ago have arrived. For example, some runway RTW I ordered from October just arrived last week. Even though I was trying to cut back this month, it's difficult to say no when it was 1) something I actually wanted and 2) something that was reserved for me and if I refuse it, my SA would probably be less likely to reserve items for me in the future. Maybe I can still make the April no spend schedule though lol! Oh wait no, I'm going back to Paris in April, darn!

H can certainly make you get things that you weren’t planning on for sure! I went in last week after a few months away planning to get a jewelry piece and walked out having ordered a cashmere blanket plus jewelry plus cosmetics plus an MTM appointment so … lol. But in all seriousness, I do think for people who are concerned about pacing (someone asked further up in the thread), optimizing when you spend is a good first step.

 

[benjinito]

I've been in a similar situation. Afterwards I learned if an item is taking longer than expected to update my SA if I changed my mind letting them I'm no longer interested. The first time I just thought "okay, its not going to come in" and didn't worry about it. Then almost 3 months later I got the "Your item is here" text and was like "oh hell" lol

yeah I know! honestly I have refused some pieces before... but it was after I purchased some other current items and then he was like, oh this also came with your name on it! and I was like, "yeah I don't really want that anymore!" and it was fine. I just wouldn't want to do that every time something came in for me!

ETA: I have had pieces never show up though! So that happens too! You just never know what will or will not come, and when!

I’ve had one item showing up the following week. Most take several months. My record so far was a piece that I reserved in April that showed up in November.

It’s weird to me that my SA is unable to see how long a reserved item would take to arrive. I’d think they’d have some sort of internal tracking system. But we’re dealing with H after all

 

[cap4life]

zero control— and learned if I like it, buy it now bc it may not be available when I am ready to buy it later on.

Counterpoint: H is so great that if you miss out on one amazing piece, another will most certainly come. For example, H has incredible cropped brown leather jackets almost every fall season. Some H clients trade off high spend to avoid FOMO and get what they want when they want. While other H clients trade off FOMO to avoid spending a lot. It just depends on what you have more of atm- money or time/patience.

 

[Mrs.Hermess]

Counterpoint: H is so great that if you miss out on one amazing piece, another will most certainly come. For example, H has incredible cropped brown leather jackets almost every fall season. Some H clients trade off high spend to avoid FOMO and get what they want when they want. While other H clients trade off FOMO to avoid spending a lot. It just depends on what you have more of atm- money or time/patience.

Great comment sadly I’m at ALL shopping spectrums. I have missed out on rosegold jewelry that I wanted and it never came back. Ended up having to buy it second hand-but I got it 😜