What’s your unpopular Hermes opinion?

[QuelleFromage]

Well shopping at Hermes is often referred to a 'game' .....I hate that term with a passion used in the context of going shopping and spending money...
So I guess when the 'goal' is achieved it counts as a 'score'
Unpopular or popular (?) opinion I've voiced many times before..
I cannot stand the use of the terms score, game, or Hermes fairy

I will never not cringe at "H fairy."

I've never read a fairy tale where the fairy asked me for my Amex.

 

[Love Of My Life]

Well shopping at Hermes is often referred to a 'game' .....I hate that term with a passion used in the context of going shopping and spending money...
So I guess when the 'goal' is achieved it counts as a 'score'
Unpopular or popular (?) opinion I've voiced many times before..
I cannot stand the use of the terms score, game, or Hermes fairy

Perhaps the word "quest or pursuit" is better suited for Hermes , JMO

 

[carrie8]

Perhaps the word "quest or pursuit" is better suited for Hermes , JMO

That sounds so much better to my ears.

 

[carrie8]

I've never read a fairy tale where the fairy asked me for my Amex.

OMG I laughed so hard

 

[Vintage Leather]

Hermes of today is kinda cheap and coasting on past glories.

My mother’s passport holder had pockets, a contrasting lining, and held closed with a sterling silver pen. And it was saddle stitched. My passport holder is a tarmac, with raw leather, maybe 4” of stitching all together, and a leather-covered snap.

When I called a boutique and got ahold of someone, I was told that the Bastia replaced the etui au perservatif. Again, they discontinued the saddle stitched, lined, multiple pockets item - the thing that took actual craftsmanship.

I love the calvi and the bastia. They’re pretty, and easy to use and hold a lot. But they also look like the sort of leather project I’ve taught middle-school students in a craft class.

 

[asatoasz]

My unpopular opinion: “Please help me decide....”, “Which would you pick….”, and the worst, “Which is more desirable….”

If it’s not desired by you, why are you buying it??

 

[FaubourgTropical]

Hermes of today is kinda cheap and coasting on past glories.

My mother’s passport holder had pockets, a contrasting lining, and held closed with a sterling silver pen. And it was saddle stitched. My passport holder is a tarmac, with raw leather, maybe 4” of stitching all together, and a leather-covered snap.

When I called a boutique and got ahold of someone, I was told that the Bastia replaced the etui au perservatif. Again, they discontinued the saddle stitched, lined, multiple pockets item - the thing that took actual craftsmanship.

I love the calvi and the bastia. They’re pretty, and easy to use and hold a lot. But they also look like the sort of leather project I’ve taught middle-school students in a craft class.

Perfect segue to my unpopular opinion.

Hermes, please make products for grown-ups. No more minis, dolls, anything in wheels or skates. We have a life that we need to carry in our bags and we don’t want to carry them in a separate cloth bag or leave them in the trunk of our cars. Thanks.

PS. That passport holder sounds BEAUTIFUL.

 

[QuelleFromage]

My unpopular opinion: “Please help me decide....”, “Which would you pick….”, and the worst, “Which is more desirable….”

If it’s not desired by you, why are you buying it??

"More desirable" translates as one of three things, really:

1) Is it the hot bag that I can show off on social/make my friends envious?
2) Can I resell it easily and for a high value?
3) (related to #2 but more immediate) I am fishing to get someone to buy this off me as soon as I walk out of the store, or I intend to flip it to a reseller.

I can understand the desire to have an expensive item retain some value. But market resale prices are easily determined with a few searches - no need to ask a forum. It's annoying to constantly hear the resale question again and again, which makes me think #3 is often in play.

 

[Midge Maisel]

I've sold a few bags over time, because they were no longer my taste (i.e. I had a very cute little Miu Miu bag when I was about 20 that just felt kind of juvenile, even at that age; at a certain point, it wasn't for me anymore) or because they were gifts that were never my taste, but I felt compelled to keep for one reason or another. Selling an expensive item is a way to clean my closet every so often, and I'm certainly not opposed to it, but if I'm buying something, I'm certainly not going to think about how much I'll get when the time comes to sell it! Because selling it would be a down the road, years from now kind of thing, and I have no idea what the market will look like by then. I hate this trend of buying to resell. It just kills everything.

 

[textilegirl]

I may make myself unpopular with this take but I'm stepping up to my soapbox....

To everyone who asks about B/K prespend, there's a formula that used to be secret but is now being revealed by me, whose expertise has been gleaned by reading (most) every Hermes forum thread and the answers thereto on this subject. Pre-spend is a derivative of reseller price, to wit, the average price of B/K at major resellers equals retail price plus pre-spend, plus/minus 35% premium for Beverly Hills and Madison. No matter what appears in writing/on video anywhere, walking into a boutique seeking a MK or B/K25 is like playing the lottery. Yes, someone wins, but the likelihood that it will be you is somewhere close to non-existent.

As I mentioned in the Maintaining an H Relationship thread, economics saturates the search for a coveted B/K (arguably it saturates everything but that's for another thread). The reason these bags are priced at two or more times retail is because it costs two or more times the retail price to obtain one (prespend). The reason people opt to purchase from resellers is that you can get exactly what you want by whipping out your credit card, and there's no excess inventory (all of the furniture, yacht renovations, RTW and High Jewelry) to get rid of. Shopping at the boutique is not as certain a process (inventory, your status in the pecking order, your SM's fight with her partner that put her in a bad mood) but if you like many of the other things Hermes has to offer it can be rewarding, with patience.

To my mind, the answer to all of these pre-spend questions and variations (no, your circumstances are not really unique) is to write a check or fall in love with something else. Full disclosure: I have been offered unpopular (larger and more delicate) Birkins and other bags; I've been a fan of the silks and cashmeres for many years, and have dabbled in other metiers (no sofas ). I'm not what I would consider to be a high spender in this context and will never be a VIP although I feel obligated to say that this is financially rarified air we're breathing in here, many, many people have more quotidian concerns.

But I have taken my own advice. I'm not especially a small bag person but I needed something to cover that hole in my wardrobe and decided to fall in love with something else because the retail effort/resale prices for a special occasion/quasi evening event bag were beyond what was reasonable to me and for my lifestyle. My little black clutch thing (https://www.savette.com/collections/symmetry-pochette) makes me very happy and solved my problem with minimal fuss and expense. I'm also giving some thought to going the bespoke route for my next bag.

P.S. I made up the percentage number for a premium at BH and Madison because those seem to be special cases both in terms of tourist visits and financial make up of the local clientele. Further, from my reading, I suspect these observations are not far off for boutiques outside of the US; indeed, the pre-spend information in some boutiques in Asia is quite transparent.

 

[asatoasz]

"More desirable" translates as one of three things, really:

1) Is it the hot bag that I can show off on social/make my friends envious?
2) Can I resell it easily and for a high value?
3) (related to #2 but more immediate) I am fishing to get someone to buy this off me as soon as I walk out of the store, or I intend to flip it to a reseller.

I can understand the desire to have an expensive item retain some value. But market resale prices are easily determined with a few searches - no need to ask a forum. It's annoying to constantly hear the resale question again and again, which makes me think #3 is often in play.

Agreed, in all aspects……annoying. (IMHO)

 

[Muffin_Top]

Hermes of today is kinda cheap and coasting on past glories.

My mother’s passport holder had pockets, a contrasting lining, and held closed with a sterling silver pen. And it was saddle stitched. My passport holder is a tarmac, with raw leather, maybe 4” of stitching all together, and a leather-covered snap.

When I called a boutique and got ahold of someone, I was told that the Bastia replaced the etui au perservatif. Again, they discontinued the saddle stitched, lined, multiple pockets item - the thing that took actual craftsmanship.

I love the calvi and the bastia. They’re pretty, and easy to use and hold a lot. But they also look like the sort of leather project I’ve taught middle-school students in a craft class.

So H has leather goods designed to carry condoms ("étui à préservatifs" ) ?
I guess it's better to call it a Bastia !
Almost noone dares to ask for condoms in a clear voice at a pharmacist counter, imagine asking for that in a luxury shop.
And did they gift orange condoms with horseheads in the package ?

 

[CherryBomb2305]

I may make myself unpopular with this take but I'm stepping up to my soapbox....

To everyone who asks about B/K prespend, there's a formula that used to be secret but is now being revealed by me, whose expertise has been gleaned by reading (most) every Hermes forum thread and the answers thereto on this subject. Pre-spend is a derivative of reseller price, to wit, the average price of B/K at major resellers equals retail price plus pre-spend, plus/minus 35% premium for Beverly Hills and Madison. No matter what appears in writing/on video anywhere, walking into a boutique seeking a MK or B/K25 is like playing the lottery. Yes, someone wins, but the likelihood that it will be you is somewhere close to non-existent.

As I mentioned in the Maintaining an H Relationship thread, economics saturates the search for a coveted B/K (arguably it saturates everything but that's for another thread). The reason these bags are priced at two or more times retail is because it costs two or more times the retail price to obtain one (prespend). The reason people opt to purchase from resellers is that you can get exactly what you want by whipping out your credit card, and there's no excess inventory (all of the furniture, yacht renovations, RTW and High Jewelry) to get rid of. Shopping at the boutique is not as certain a process (inventory, your status in the pecking order, your SM's fight with her partner that put her in a bad mood) but if you like many of the other things Hermes has to offer it can be rewarding, with patience.

To my mind, the answer to all of these pre-spend questions and variations (no, your circumstances are not really unique) is to write a check or fall in love with something else. Full disclosure: I have been offered unpopular (larger and more delicate) Birkins and other bags; I've been a fan of the silks and cashmeres for many years, and have dabbled in other metiers (no sofas ). I'm not what I would consider to be a high spender in this context and will never be a VIP although I feel obligated to say that this is financially rarified air we're breathing in here, many, many people have more quotidian concerns.

But I have taken my own advice. I'm not especially a small bag person but I needed something to cover that hole in my wardrobe and decided to fall in love with something else because the retail effort/resale prices for a special occasion/quasi evening event bag were beyond what was reasonable to me and for my lifestyle. My little black clutch thing (https://www.savette.com/collections/symmetry-pochette) makes me very happy and solved my problem with minimal fuss and expense. I'm also giving some thought to going the bespoke route for my next bag.

P.S. I made up the percentage number for a premium at BH and Madison because those seem to be special cases both in terms of tourist visits and financial make up of the local clientele. Further, from my reading, I suspect these observations are not far off for boutiques outside of the US; indeed, the pre-spend information in some boutiques in Asia is quite transparent.

This is not applicable for Europe
Wishlist system in place or Paris Lottery appts !
Got 5 B/K (30/28/25) + 3 L26 and 1 TPM Evelyne in the course of 2 1/2 year … with very very minimal spend in general! 95% of my spending history is the bags

And my unpopular H opinion is I find the allocation policy outside Europe very stupid ! It only allows very rich people to get QB and IMO being rich and chic/style is not related at all

 

[880]

I may make myself unpopular with this take but I'm stepping up to my soapbox....

To everyone who asks about B/K prespend, there's a formula that used to be secret but is now being revealed by me, whose expertise has been gleaned by reading (most) every Hermes forum thread and the answers thereto on this subject. Pre-spend is a derivative of reseller price, to wit, the average price of B/K at major resellers equals retail price plus pre-spend, plus/minus 35% premium for Beverly Hills and Madison. No matter what appears in writing/on video anywhere, walking into a boutique seeking a MK or B/K25 is like playing the lottery. Yes, someone wins, but the likelihood that it will be you is somewhere close to non-existent.

As I mentioned in the Maintaining an H Relationship thread, economics saturates the search for a coveted B/K (arguably it saturates everything but that's for another thread). The reason these bags are priced at two or more times retail is because it costs two or more times the retail price to obtain one (prespend). The reason people opt to purchase from resellers is that you can get exactly what you want by whipping out your credit card, and there's no excess inventory (all of the furniture, yacht renovations, RTW and High Jewelry) to get rid of. Shopping at the boutique is not as certain a process (inventory, your status in the pecking order, your SM's fight with her partner that put her in a bad mood) but if you like many of the other things Hermes has to offer it can be rewarding, with patience.

To my mind, the answer to all of these pre-spend questions and variations (no, your circumstances are not really unique) is to write a check or fall in love with something else. Full disclosure: I have been offered unpopular (larger and more delicate) Birkins and other bags; I've been a fan of the silks and cashmeres for many years, and have dabbled in other metiers (no sofas ). I'm not what I would consider to be a high spender in this context and will never be a VIP although I feel obligated to say that this is financially rarified air we're breathing in here, many, many people have more quotidian concerns.

But I have taken my own advice. I'm not especially a small bag person but I needed something to cover that hole in my wardrobe and decided to fall in love with something else because the retail effort/resale prices for a special occasion/quasi evening event bag were beyond what was reasonable to me and for my lifestyle. My little black clutch thing (https://www.savette.com/collections/symmetry-pochette) makes me very happy and solved my problem with minimal fuss and expense. I'm also giving some thought to going the bespoke route for my next bag.

P.S. I made up the percentage number for a premium at BH and Madison because those seem to be special cases both in terms of tourist visits and financial make up of the local clientele. Further, from my reading, I suspect these observations are not far off for boutiques outside of the US; indeed, the pre-spend information in some boutiques in Asia is quite transparent.

Actually I think this should be mandatory reading for anyone who enters a thread in H subforum asking why it’s hard to get one of these. perhaps a sticky above the line

@textilegirl , my unpopular opinion just might be that the savette bag you picked is cuter than the jpg pouchette and the mini K. Not only due to price and availability. There also comes a point when you realize that you don’t want to wear more than one or two kelly tirets on your body at any one time, and if you are wearing H RTW, you might want something less branded for a bag.

 

[lala_retro]

My unpopular opinion: “Please help me decide....”, “Which would you pick….”, and the worst, “Which is more desirable….”

If it’s not desired by you, why are you buying it??

Totally agree! When I first got on this forum I was completely baffled by people asking for the opinion of total strangers, who knew nothing of the poster’s physical appearance, wardrobe style, or color preferences, on which bag they should buy.