Spend threshold for B/K/C

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@alpacas - Thank you for your comment. I think it is all relative. Some will believe that the "2-3:1 ratio" is the norm and that is their norm. (I am OK with that.)

To me, one of my strategies is math thinking: I have to weigh between Route A=[pre-spends plus a QB from the boutique] and Route B=[a QB from the reseller].

In the case of B35 from my US home store last year, I spent at least $34,600 in total through the Route A (for gold Birkin 35 phw/togo). I could have gotten the same BNIB bag from the reseller under $16,000. Or, I could have bought a pre-loved gator black Birkin 35 with the money I spent in Route A. So, it was my "aha!" moment that I did not do well in the US store last year.

In Europe, I got 2 B35s, 2 B30s, and 3 NQBs all from the H boutiques in the past 1.2 years, and my pre-spends did never exceed 2,500 euros for each bag. So, H shopping in Europe was much more fun for me. (I personally think it was feasible because I did a lot of homework - getting information, etc.) Again, YMMV. Hope this helps!
 
Thank you for sharing your experience. This is why I stated "YMMV" in my post because everyone has (and will have) different experiences and I respect that. (I can also find several others who repeatedly scored B25/K25s for a 1:1 ratio [or less than that].)

In my experiences, if you do your homework well, there is a way to buy a B25/K25 with lower pre-spends (i.e., 1:1 or less than that) in the US boutiques.* Of course, I can also agree that the 2.5-3:1 ratio may be the norm accepted by most people (but I don't have to accept it).
You keep repeating these numbers but I do not know ANYONE who purchased at this ratio in recent years. You are not posting any specifics here and you are not providing them privately. I do not want to argue with you or doubt your stories, but for other newer readers: dear reader, this experience is not common, you should not base your plan on this feedback. There can be some unicorn circumstances but they should not be your plan as much as founding a unicorn company and using the money to buy yourself your own entire H franchise boutique should not be your plan.
 
You keep repeating these numbers but I do not know ANYONE who purchased at this ratio in recent years. You are not posting any specifics here and you are not providing them privately. I do not want to argue with you or doubt your stories, but for other newer readers: dear reader, this experience is not common, you should not base your plan on this feedback. There can be some unicorn circumstances but they should not be your plan as much as founding a unicorn company and using the money to buy yourself your own entire H franchise boutique should not be your plan.
Agreed. It’s really unfortunate to see these false narratives repeated and misleading new people, especially when its even contrary to the poster’s own personal experience. How many times have we seen people post “I’ve already spent 2:1 and no bag. If I knew I had to spend more than 1:1 I wouldn’t have started. I would have just gone resale.”? That’s why this thread exists. To give reasonable expectations so people can make informed decisions. Can a bag offer happen at less than 1:1? Sure. Has it happened? Yup. Is it likely? Not really. Should I count on it happening to me? Absolutely not.

If you expect 2-3:1 and you get it at 1:1…amazing! Think how happy you’ll be! If you expect 1:1 and get to 2:1 without a bag, the frustration and “why not me?” and “should I go to the SM or switch SAs?” questions and stress start to boil over needlessly. No one here is saying that 1:1 is impossible under extremely preferential circumstances. However, to put people into the mindset that it’s common and if it doesn’t happen to you then you’re less than in some way is just kind of cruel and extremely misleading.

(The above is in reference to the most coveted quota bags, size 25 and smaller, and in the US only.)
 
I can guarantee that what @_Birkin_ is stating here is his true experience. I saw it with my own eyes.

Thanks to the forum ❤️ we started chatting and became friends. 🥰

First, he has no reason to lie - he is a Professor in one of the top universities in the country - yes, it is the university where everyone is in awe when you say you went there, or your kid went there. Only geniuses go there.

Second, coincidentally (and it is true it was a coincidence) my husband and I were present when he got his last Birkin 35.❤️ We were sitting near him and saw him getting the bag. My husband got nothing. 😅

Third, as far as I know, he didn’t stay in any of the fancy hotels that have an in. I was there when he got his walk-in appointment.

Last, he took my husband to an event by H. We both met his SA in the US too.
 
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“You keep repeating these numbers but I do not know ANYONE who purchased at this ratio in recent years. You are not posting any specifics here and you are not providing them privately.”

100% this. I suspect staying at Ritz or some such fancy hotel and securing an appointment or commissions to SAs for a least desirable size (35).
Interesting thought- finding the right place to stay and tipping the concierge who has an “in”. I would argue that paying to stay at such a hotel should be part of the prepend equation. It’s money you’re spending to get to the bag. All fair game, but it’s no longer $2000 to get to a Birkin.
 
Agreed. It’s really unfortunate to see these false narratives repeated and misleading new people, especially when its even contrary to the poster’s own personal experience. How many times have we seen people post “I’ve already spent 2:1 and no bag. If I knew I had to spend more than 1:1 I wouldn’t have started. I would have just gone resale.”? That’s why this thread exists. To give reasonable expectations so people can make informed decisions. Can a bag offer happen at less than 1:1? Sure. Has it happened? Yup. Is it likely? Not really. Should I count on it happening to me? Absolutely not.

If you expect 2-3:1 and you get it at 1:1…amazing! Think how happy you’ll be! If you expect 1:1 and get to 2:1 without a bag, the frustration and “why not me?” and “should I go to the SM or switch SAs?” questions and stress start to boil over needlessly. No one here is saying that 1:1 is impossible under extremely preferential circumstances. However, to put people into the mindset that it’s common and if it doesn’t happen to you then you’re less than in some way is just kind of cruel and extremely misleading.

(The above is in reference to the most coveted quota bags, size 25 and smaller, and in the US only.)
100% agreed. From my own perspective, my experiences at failed FSH, Sevres, George V was just a realistic check for people booking a trip to Paris solely around a bag. Keep your expectations low. It comes from the heart and just to help people. When comments like "maybe you were rude or demanding". makes me feel like I should not say a thing. why? . I don't need to give this advice and get attacked. My spend ratio in the us is the usually suspect for a competitive store. 3-4:1 for MK or a coveted bag. no exceptions regardless how much my SA and I click or that I've been a loyal H customer across all departments for 6+ years. We are happy to hear amazing spend ratio stories but I agree with a lot of people here. Don't expect it. Happy for them, but that's not the norm......to even expect that will lead to mostly frustration and disappointment.
 
I appreciate @_Birkin_ sharing his success stories and think we should stop doubting people's real-life experiences (if he had a low spend there must be other factors like an "in" etc...). There's nothing wrong with genuinely loving all H items and not caring about spending 5x for a bag offer consistently, nor is there anything wrong with loving H items but not wanting to overspend to get the bags you want. I personally think it's a bit of a vicious cycle to perpetuate the belief that you need to spend at least 3-5x for any coveted bags before you can chase your SA. Pre-spend is ultimately a function of market dynamics and if everyone believes that they need to spend 3x+ to get a bag it will encourage higher spend than necessary when sometimes it's more about luck or wait time or relationship etc. We should thank everyone for sharing his/her pre-spend levels because the market is constantly changing too (reseller price softening I think has resulted in lower pre-spend broadly even though it may not be true for any particular store / individual) and not uniformly believe that only high pre-spend stories are realistic.
 
@alpacas - Thank you for your comment. I think it is all relative. Some will believe that the "2-3:1 ratio" is the norm and that is their norm. (I am OK with that.)

To me, one of my strategies is math thinking: I have to weigh between Route A=[pre-spends plus a QB from the boutique] and Route B=[a QB from the reseller].

In the case of B35 from my US home store last year, I spent at least $34,600 in total through the Route A (for gold Birkin 35 phw/togo). I could have gotten the same BNIB bag from the reseller under $16,000. Or, I could have bought a pre-loved gator black Birkin 35 with the money I spent in Route A. So, it was my "aha!" moment that I did not do well in the US store last year.

In Europe, I got 2 B35s, 2 B30s, and 3 NQBs all from the H boutiques in the past 1.2 years, and my pre-spends did never exceed 2,500 euros for each bag. So, H shopping in Europe was much more fun for me. (I personally think it was feasible because I did a lot of homework - getting information, etc.) Again, YMMV. Hope this helps!
@_Birkin_ I'm curious as to know if your Europe bag purchases were all in Paris or elsewhere? Sorry if you posted about it before, I don't remember.

Honestly I am not sure why people are getting upset at @_Birkin_ 's posts, since I think for some the 'game' of trying to 'score' the bag with least amount of prespend is part of the drive for some. I mean, who doesn't love a good deal and saving money? Unfortunately for myself I got distracted by all the other nice things at H, that my prespend have been above 3:1 for my QBs... Maybe I am doing this wrong 😂 and I definitely am slowing down because there are fewer items left to buy, so it's unrealistic for me to keep spending at the same ratio.

I think we all agree that it's difficult to make a generalized ratio for prespend since it depends on so many factors like: location, bag inventory, how much you vibe with your SA, maybe the SA has other competitive clients so you have to spend more, being a long term client etc. There will always be people who get bags at a lower/higher spend than you, that's just a fact.
 
@alpacas - Thank you for your comment. I think it is all relative. Some will believe that the "2-3:1 ratio" is the norm and that is their norm. (I am OK with that.)

To me, one of my strategies is math thinking: I have to weigh between Route A=[pre-spends plus a QB from the boutique] and Route B=[a QB from the reseller].

In the case of B35 from my US home store last year, I spent at least $34,600 in total through the Route A (for gold Birkin 35 phw/togo). I could have gotten the same BNIB bag from the reseller under $16,000. Or, I could have bought a pre-loved gator black Birkin 35 with the money I spent in Route A. So, it was my "aha!" moment that I did not do well in the US store last year.

In Europe, I got 2 B35s, 2 B30s, and 3 NQBs all from the H boutiques in the past 1.2 years, and my pre-spends did never exceed 2,500 euros for each bag. So, H shopping in Europe was much more fun for me. (I personally think it was feasible because I did a lot of homework - getting information, etc.) Again, YMMV. Hope this helps!
I personally love reading @_Birkin_ ’s posts about how he went the normal pre-spend route, and then after much research, and of course some H luck, managed to get bags in Europe with little pre-spend.

While it seems there usually needs to be quite a bit of pre-spend involved, the magic of H is that sometimes, amazing things happen - whether by chance or having an “in”. It’s still good to know that exceptions do exist! Of course these exceptions are not the rule.

And @_Birkin_ mentioning YMMV multiple times definitely would be enough for a new reader (like me) to realise this is by far not the norm.
 
I think we all agree that it's difficult to make a generalized ratio for prespend since it depends on so many factors like: location, bag inventory, how much you vibe with your SA, maybe the SA has other competitive clients so you have to spend more, being a long term client etc. There will always be people who get bags at a lower/higher spend than you, that's just a fact.

💯

There are no hard & fast rules…in fact, there probably aren’t ANY rules but we wish there were so we keep coming back to this thread. Just as we are all unique so too are our paths towards the bag of our dreams. To imagine that someone else’s experience will be ours is…
 
Let me explain why I mind these specific repeated claims of low prespend by @_Birkin_ (vs occasional stories of individual folk), who I by the way have no animosity against and appreciate his contributions including mod shots.
His posts imply that he route is the norm if only we did some research. He does not say he just got lucky. He mentions planning, researching and help of others here over and over.
I consider myself to be pretty organized; a planner, capable of decent amount of research; and a thoughtful reader of posts here. I am also (mostly) nice and my DH is actually very charming (when he feels like it). I will go as far as saying most people who can afford these bags fall in this category. I would say enough of them (us) to be able to plan, research, get assistance, be nice to an SA.
Therefore I conclude that there is either secret sauce well beyond just planning and researching (did he buy Tanya's road map and the joke is on us for making fun of it?) or he is just a very lucky guy. @Angiebbb account of her husband getting nothing in the same situation (and assuming having all the inside info) confirms the latter.
 
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I too have no animosity towards @_Birkin_

and I don’t think he is lying.

I just find it a little disheartening, maybe triggering, and a little insensitive when he casually mentions,

“I personally consider that a 1:1 ratio is sufficient for B25 or K25 in the US. “

or

“In my experiences, if you do your homework well, there is a way to buy a B25/K25 with lower pre-spends (i.e., 1:1 or less than that) in the US boutiques.”

knowing that is not a majority of the experiences in the US especially as told in this forum.

If it were true, this forum wouldn’t exist. Also, I wouldn’t have gone to Europe and specifically traveled to Paris in the hopes of winning the Quota Bag lottery, which sadly, yes I failed 3 times. Hence, shopping in Southern California, at my store which happens to be competitive, is my only alternative. I don’t have the time or luxury to go to Europe a few times a year to keep trying my luck there especially, since I have family to take care of including an elderly parent with dementia.

He makes those statements and keeps mentioning YMMV, but his experience with his B35 in 2024 in the US is more in tune with the normal experiences, including my own and others I know personally.

To imply that people aren’t doing their homework or must be doing something wrong or not have that good of a relationship with their SAs is disheartening, triggering, insensitive, and somewhat elitist. I honestly feel, I do my research and do it well. I feel I am a good problem solver. Also, I feel I am a fairly decent person. Perhaps, I am just unlucky or perhaps don’t have the right connections.

Some people are just luckier than others and have happier stories of getting the bag with little or no prespend. Some have better connections. Amazing, and I am honestly happy for those of you. That’s why I love reading the Paris success stories. I honestly get joy from their joy and love success stories and happy endings.

But to make those statements without real first hand experience, in the US, is a little elitist and insensitive.

It’s great for him that he has a friend at Hermes to hook him up. Lucky for his connections. But, please don’t discredit the rest of us for actually being the norm and saying that what we are accepting is our norm and not yours. It is no one’s norm, just our own personal experiences, based on our luck and our connections.
💯

Prespend is just one factor. My SAs all have favorite clients who deserve a bag who cannot get one for a number of reasons. It is not entirely up to the SA, and it can be frustrating for both parties. There are newcomers to the brand and this thread who have gotten lucky (not referring to anyone in particular) and there are those who spend quite a bit bit who are not.

ETA: It’s not a personal failing or moral indictment, and I have no idea what kind of homework one should do. It’s a bag. @l0ve_frantastic , if you want a B30/35, that might be easier than a BK25 or MKII. Just let your SA know what you like, and good luck
 
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