What’s your unpopular Hermes opinion?

[luckyadanosii]

I misinterpreted this unpopular opinion thread as a safer area to voice unpopular opinions. I didn't mean to be the subject of so much attention. It was funny at first but now it feels gross.

 

[papertiger]

I think there is an H ethics thread if people want to continue the convo on there, meanwhile unpopular opinions please, no need to be defensive or attack people for them (opinions). If they were popular opinions, they wouldn't be in this thread.

 

[sibsib]

Unpopular opinion: I really don’t care who else purchases or owns items I own, as long as they’re not snatching them out of my hands, otherwise putting me in danger, or purchasing them with my money.

Reality stars, social media personalities, baristas, primary school teachers, students— their purchases don’t factor into my enjoyment of my leather goods or silk scarves, or my tech, or my stationery, or my favorite color. While I understand hobbies and outgroups, it simply isn’t that serious to me. The only question I ask myself is, do I like x item enough to own it for myself/wear it out. It’s all just stuff.

Back to the snatching them out of my hands part— I do care about not being a target for crime, so other unpopular opinion: I likely would not wear a very recognizable Hermès item/style in the city that I live in unless I were being driven absolutely everywhere and someone was always nearby in case I need assistance. That’s not the case for me here, and so it just seems like a safety risk. Maybe I’d wear a Kelly when living or staying somewhere less populated, with less class stratification, or with more personal security. Same goes for any other massively recognizable and pricy item from any other brand. I’d rather not let a bag give me anxiety.

 

[ladysarah]

I don’t believe in pre-spend and never use the term ‘quota bag’ .
Of course Hermes must have some sort of system of allocating popular items, usually reserved for ‘loyal’ customers.
If anyone can walk into a store buy a mini Kelly for €6000, walk out and resell for €20000 then yes - of course I do see the need to be selective about sales.

 

[QuelleFromage]

I don’t believe in pre-spend and never use the term ‘quota bag’ .
Of course Hermes must have some sort of system of allocating popular items, usually reserved for ‘loyal’ customers.
If anyone can walk into a store buy a mini Kelly for €6000, walk out and resell for €20000 then yes - of course I do see the need to be selective about sales.

This is about the best summation I have seen of the entire H situation in just a couple sentences.

 

[880]

In all retail organizations, there are always some employees who are overly aggressive with clients so there are probably H SAs who behave as you’ve described. But is the pressure on the clients an institutional thing at this point? Maybe I’m naive but I don’t think so. I see it here on TPF where people post what they‘ve seen on other social media about how to deal with your SA and manage your relationship to get a QB. It’s posted as if it’s fact and people ask what’s the best mix of things to buy for prespend that will guarantee the fastest route to a QB like there’s some magic formula. Posters who reply that there is no magic formula and there is no precise prespend amount which automatically guarantees when you get your QB are often ignored. People seem to want to believe in precise rules and exact formulas instead of treating the shopping as an organic experience. So when a client follows these supposed rules to the letter and their QB is not immediately forthcoming, frustration and anxiety ensue. I would argue that that client went into H with preconceived notions based on what they had read on social media and either ignored or misinterpreted what their SAs said. Every person’s shopping experience should be different but many new clients don’t want to hear that. I’ve shopped at the same H store for years and have watched many SAs interact with clients over the years and I just don’t see, at least in my local H, pressure being put on clients by “commission hungry ‘Hermes Angel’ sales people”. My SA will be the first to tell me if something doesn’t suit me and has talked me out of a few purchases over the years. She’s never pushed me to buy anything in all the years I’ve shopped with her. New clients should relax, go in with no expectations, and just treat it like any other luxury brand store. Just my unpopular opinion.

Agree 100%. But very few people who shop at Hermes or read this subforum seem to take your advice.

 

[Midge Maisel]

Reality stars, social media personalities, baristas, primary school teachers, students— their purchases don’t factor into my enjoyment of my leather goods or silk scarves, or my tech, or my stationery, or my favorite color. While I understand hobbies and outgroups, it simply isn’t that serious to me. The only question I ask myself is, do I like x item enough to own it for myself/wear it out. It’s all just stuff.

Agreed, with the caveat that I'm petty enough to be the teeniest bit irked when a person I can't stand IRL has the item I want.

 

[addiCCted]

Agreed, with the caveat that I'm petty enough to be the teeniest bit irked when a person I can't stand IRL has the item I want.

Keeping it real.

 

[fabdiva]

This is surely going to be unpopular but I was reading a few posts about SAs not responding to texts or emails checking in or requesting they source certain items and it sparked some thoughts.
First, if you want someone to chit chat with you over text - get a friend. That's not what an SA is paid to do. And while some luxury SAs will spend the time cultivating those relationships because it helps them sell stuff, Hermes SAs don't really need to do that to sell stuff because demand for Hermes stuff is so high right now. So it's hard to really blame them - I mean, would you in their place?

Second, if you want someone to spend time hunting for a hard to find item for you, pay a personal shopper. I know there are some longtime H clients on here who have SAs who will do this for them, but if you just walked into an H boutique as a new client recently and immediately expect the SA you met to start texting you every time the Twilly or shoes you are on the hunt for come in, do you think that's a realistic expectation given the demands on the SAs' time? Again, they don't have to work to find clients - most of them have more clients than they can handle. It may not seem fair to you that some clients get different treatment than others, but in the words of my grandmother - life ain't fair. And it certainly ain't fair in luxury retail. I say this as someone who eschews the boutique entirely and buys all my H stuff either from their website, secondhand, or sourced via personal shoppers precisely because I want what I want when I want it and spending my time popping into the boutique hoping it has what I want right then is not luxury to me.

Preach! Say it louder for the people in the back. I love my SA to death and we have a great relationship, but he takes forever to respond to a text. I'm still waiting for him to respond to a text I sent 3 weeks ago. Lol. But he probably gets a hundred text messages from clients (some Karens he's told me about), so I'm completely unbothered. There's nothing I'm so desperate to have to keep nagging him about it. And I have his personal cell. But I would never use it to ask him to source things for me or cause he didn't respond to me on his business phone. I respect him and value our relationship too much for that nonsense.

 

[**Chanel**]

Unpopular opinion: if H. would offer me a Birkin right now, I would turn it down. I'm at Birkin peace for a while now, happy with the collection I have. I got my first Birkin many years ago and we all know how that goes...slippery slope haha. But as I grow older and life has changed, at this point I much more prefer shoulder/cross body bags. And I like lightweight bags.
Now, if a nice TDF Bolide would cross my path, then things could change, I probably would not turn that one down .

 

[Xthgirl]

Unpopular opinion: if H. would offer me a Birkin right now, I would turn it down. I'm at Birkin peace for a while now, happy with the collection I have. I got my first Birkin many years ago and we all know how that goes...slippery slope haha. But as I grow older and life has changed, at this point I much more prefer shoulder/cross body bags. And I like lightweight bags.
Now, if a nice TDF Bolide would cross my path, then things could change, I probably would not turn that one down .

I will turn down a birkin coz im also mostly a crossbody girl, except when its a B25 in lizard. Theres just something about it… Anyways i prolly wont be offered it anyways lol— as per my SA: lizard is the hardest exotic to come by. Great way to tell mo No 😂

 

[**Chanel**]

I will turn down a birkin coz im also mostly a crossbody girl, except when its a B25 in lizard. Theres just something about it… Anyways i prolly wont be offered it anyways lol— as per my SA: lizard is the hardest exotic to come by. Great way to tell mo No 😂

Lizzie is beautiful, I can see why you are tempted. Don't give up hope, with H. you just never know when they might have a surprise for you 😉. I hope a beautiful lizzie will cross your path in the near future 🙏 😁.

 

[elliesaurus]

Unpopular opinion: if H. would offer me a Birkin right now, I would turn it down. I'm at Birkin peace for a while now, happy with the collection I have. I got my first Birkin many years ago and we all know how that goes...slippery slope haha. But as I grow older and life has changed, at this point I much more prefer shoulder/cross body bags. And I like lightweight bags.
Now, if a nice TDF Bolide would cross my path, then things could change, I probably would not turn that one down .

Did I write this post in my sleep? This is exactly where I'm at right now except I just got my bolide recently

 

[momoc]

Hey I have a new one: I think people who ask variations of “I’m offered X bag what do you guys think” really should provide further information if they actually want advice - like what specifics of that bag’s spec is bothering them, what is their style / wardrobe, what’s already in their collection etc etc

Otherwise it comes off as “hey I got offered this bag that I don’t really want, any chance I can find some people to convince me to take it even though I’m going to not fully love and even regret it?”

Or worse “I am thinking of flipping this bag, any potential buyers?”

…oh wait. Huh.

(Can you tell I’m grumpy and cynical?)

 

[FaubourgTropical]

Hey I have a new one: I think people who ask variations of “I’m offered X bag what do you guys think” really should provide further information if they actually want advice - like what specifics of that bag’s spec is bothering them, what is their style / wardrobe, what’s already in their collection etc etc

Otherwise it comes off as “hey I got offered this bag that I don’t really want, any chance I can find some people to convince me to take it even though I’m going to not fully love and even regret it?”

Or worse “I am thinking of flipping this bag, any potential buyers?”

…oh wait. Huh.

(Can you tell I’m grumpy and cynical?)

Joining you in the grumpy and cynical corner. Might be crowded soon and the post becomes a popular opinion hahaha.