+1000.
In the current post Covid, low stock environment, buying a non QB bag won’t count much if at all
JMO, and YMMV
@elenam12345 , I recalled several other similar inquiries you made re prespend BKC last month and wanted to summarize my answers in this post. I don’t know of any answers to your prior posts that stated an evelyn counted as prespend for a QB post Covid. The most anyone might have said is that in the US, SAs dont generally admit to the existence of an official prespend, and therefore leather bags are not specifically omitted from prespend (like in Asia). In practice, post Covid, stock is so limited, that this simply isn’t the case for the average prospective H client. Since H SAs get little or no credit to their sales goals by selling a bag, the limited QB stock becomes a reward for clients with better purchase history.
These days, paris generally requires a leather appt, usually through lottery. No prespend needed, but there is no guarantee you will get a BKC either. It seems to depend on stock availability and chemistry with your assigned SA. I obtained a Paris appt in February and was fortunate enough to get a 25K without any prior purchase history; zero prespend. Other TPFers who have long standing relationships in Paris (and who can circumvent lottery) have definitively stated that clients who only want QBs are going to fail in developing FSH SA relationships. From the recent posts of other members, it seems that Hermes is currently refusing premier hotel VIP appt Requests.
Since 2021, i have visited stores in Canada, Milan, Rome, London etc., (I skipped Dubai and a few others). Except for Paris, stores seem to prefer to reserve their QB stock for regular clients, not tourists. In several cases, it was difficult for me to get an SA to help bc the stores were so busy. In at least two cases, ordinary stock like RTW was scarce enough that an SA was a bit unwilling to show it to me. This preference for local custom also seems to be the case in Hawaii and Vegas. In the Hawaii thread there are posts indicating that if one is willing to go to Hawaii once or twice a year and spend, a BKC might appear in your second trip (not a second visit in the same trip), but those posts are exceptions not the rule. Most TPFers have specifically posted that Hawaii and Vegas are no longer willing to offer QB to tourists or one off shoppers.
I have a strong, recent relationship with my Home SA, NY Madison. (I stopped shopping boutique in 2012 bc my first SA left and I only recently resumed). It did not take too long for me to get a B30 offer, but post Covid, there was simply very limited stock of B25. Since I already have a sizable H QB collection and no actual wish list, and I like other items, I wasn’t in a rush. By the time I got my gold B25 sellier, my prespend was approximately 5X, excluding leather. Other TPFers have posted comparable ratios for a 25B; I believe 25K is a tiny bit easier. My main focus was RTW (both for me and DH); then home ware; then some bits and pieces, including an H08 watch.
IMO Singapore used to be a bit more openly transactional than the US; IMO, singapore locals do get coveted size QBs with a lower ratio. I read somewhere that, post Covid, Asia received more QB supply than, for example, US flagships.
IMO, if you consider the other items bait, then perhaps you would be better off spending the premium on an (
@bababebi ) authenticated QB from a reseller simply bc the resale or consignment of prespend items is often at a significant loss.
JMO and YMMV
