When it comes to buying H, how much risk do you take?
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Fortunately, I was able to return that bag to the reseller. But, I learned my lesson the hard way.
I am a risk-adverse person so when buying H bags, I am very cautious.
As a general rule, I buy current bags only from the store and discontinued models (not discontinued leathers or colours) from trusted sources.
I don’t believe in authenticators (there, I said it. Please don’t stone me…
). There are just too many disclaimers and 'holes' in the logic of the process. If I am comfortable with the reseller, I take the risk.
Lastly, I am not a collector so I am OK with letting go the idea that I MUST have a Birkin or Kelly in retourne Barenia with brushed hardware, for example. Retourne togo is good enough for me. But if a HAC 32 in Barenia with brushed HW shows up….
As a general rule, I buy current bags only from the store and discontinued models (not discontinued leathers or colours) from trusted sources.
I don’t believe in authenticators (there, I said it. Please don’t stone me…
). There are just too many disclaimers and 'holes' in the logic of the process. If I am comfortable with the reseller, I take the risk.Lastly, I am not a collector so I am OK with letting go the idea that I MUST have a Birkin or Kelly in retourne Barenia with brushed hardware, for example. Retourne togo is good enough for me. But if a HAC 32 in Barenia with brushed HW shows up….
I am definitely not a risk taker unless it's from a reputable consignment shop .I too don't believe in authenticators .I shop on eBay for twilly or small items but bags I prefer store or the consignment shop I trust .
Thank you QuelleFromage for summing up my opinion up nicely. In the grand scheme of things, everyone possesses different tolerances, incomes, and reasons influencing their appetite for more or less risk. Certainly, if I had unlimited funds, I would patiently await every bag at the boutique, procure items from reputable auction houses, and settle transactions in cash. Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, I don't have infinite resources. As a collector and reseller parting with items, I actively seek out the best deals, embracing varying levels of risk with differing degrees of success. I too don't believe in authentication services, I've handled thousands of pieces to know what to look for.
It's worth noting that most resellers can be trusted if they exhibit good communication skills and a willingness to negotiate. I am not fond of impolite resellers who overlook serious buyers (excluding lowballers who waste people's time) or attempt to deceive with fake goods. Drawing from my own anecdotal experience, I've encountered super fakes from LV in the last six months. These items were initially repaired by LV but were unexpectedly canceled mid-repair. This has been emotionally devastating from a reputation and ego standpoint and has not been beneficial financially. So, take this account for what it is.
It's worth noting that most resellers can be trusted if they exhibit good communication skills and a willingness to negotiate. I am not fond of impolite resellers who overlook serious buyers (excluding lowballers who waste people's time) or attempt to deceive with fake goods. Drawing from my own anecdotal experience, I've encountered super fakes from LV in the last six months. These items were initially repaired by LV but were unexpectedly canceled mid-repair. This has been emotionally devastating from a reputation and ego standpoint and has not been beneficial financially. So, take this account for what it is.
About as risk averse as can be with bags. (Only from the store)
I would qualify myself as moderate risk. My philosophy on luxury and/or tangible big purchase items in general is that if I cannot easily afford to purchase it twice (ie, in the event it becomes lost/stolen/something bad happens), then I should not buy it in the first place. Just a personal preference in approach.
In 2023, I did the reseller route on:
— JPG Birkin from TRR in the exact combo I wanted (Havane GHW) at a very good price; it was heavily used/loved, so off to the H spa it went; at drop off, the SAs warned me that if the bag was not authentic, that H could/would destroy it; it came back from SF (spa) recently, so in-house authentication simultaneously done and successful
— B30 Bambou PHW Ghillies; not currently available in boutique; I was able to negotiate the price to $1000 over retail which I deem as a win (some of you are aware of my bambou saga/obsession these past several years); prior to buying from a Japanese eBay reseller via PayPal/credit card, bababebi confirmed it was a trusted seller but needed a few more pics to be comfortable confirming authenticity; I took the risk, bought the bag, imported it into the USA, and it looked almost brand new with stickers still on the hardware (so no H spa needed); I own lots of H items in various old/new leathers and feel pretty pretty confident in their touch/feel and this did feel authentic, but being such a large purchase, I still took all remaining photos for bababebi and utilized her services; bababebi confirmed authenticity and that it was made in 2016
So yeah, moderate risk — I do take a risk with H spa on my heavily used items with the potential confiscation by H, but I don’t worry too much. Of course, I would try to get my money back if an item was deemed fake, but if it’s all lost at the end of the day, I’m at least not in financial ruin given my cardinal rule above.
In 2023, I did the reseller route on:
— JPG Birkin from TRR in the exact combo I wanted (Havane GHW) at a very good price; it was heavily used/loved, so off to the H spa it went; at drop off, the SAs warned me that if the bag was not authentic, that H could/would destroy it; it came back from SF (spa) recently, so in-house authentication simultaneously done and successful
— B30 Bambou PHW Ghillies; not currently available in boutique; I was able to negotiate the price to $1000 over retail which I deem as a win (some of you are aware of my bambou saga/obsession these past several years); prior to buying from a Japanese eBay reseller via PayPal/credit card, bababebi confirmed it was a trusted seller but needed a few more pics to be comfortable confirming authenticity; I took the risk, bought the bag, imported it into the USA, and it looked almost brand new with stickers still on the hardware (so no H spa needed); I own lots of H items in various old/new leathers and feel pretty pretty confident in their touch/feel and this did feel authentic, but being such a large purchase, I still took all remaining photos for bababebi and utilized her services; bababebi confirmed authenticity and that it was made in 2016
So yeah, moderate risk — I do take a risk with H spa on my heavily used items with the potential confiscation by H, but I don’t worry too much. Of course, I would try to get my money back if an item was deemed fake, but if it’s all lost at the end of the day, I’m at least not in financial ruin given my cardinal rule above.
Following this thread in detail as this is a problem a few friends and I are testing our a few theories on. Curious -- how do people feel if multiple people/sources authenticate versus one? (IE on some pages here). TIA!
THIS. ^^^ All material things are subject to loss/damage/etc.
Could you clarify? We don't authenticate here at all.
Do some pages on PF not still authenticate? (Not this one, noted). But in general -- curious if there is any number of opinions that could offset the "risk" of a secondhand item for some (multiple authenticators, etc.)
If you read in the general handbag section or general shopping, there are tons of stories about authentication issues with multiples because multiple authentications create multiple results (eg. A says authentic and B says fake and C fake despite item being bought in the store and so on). So my view is that, if one decides to go for authentication, just go for one, the best in the business.
I'm with @Helventara, quality over quantity. I don't trust any authenticators whom I haven't worked with in depth, especially now that I have examined several superfakes.
ETA: Yes, there are other brand fora where authenticators will still offer opinions on bags - but not in Hermès.
I lean more risk adverse. I would have probably trusted the bigger resellers more when they were smaller companies and not dealing with the volume they do now. I don't think that all those companies can have the number of authenticators needed and those authenticators all have decades of experience or years of familiarity with the bags. As for resellers on social media, my concern is a superfake slipping through, due again to lack of experience. Of course there are resellers that have been doing this for decades and I'd have more faith in them. I am open to buying bags second hand, but for me those would only be bags that are before superfakes came into the picture. A 15 year old bag that someone bought but only used a few times and is in excellent condition I would buy, but a newer bag I would not.
I would only buy from legitimate businesses with solid return and authentication guarantees, not individual sellers. Of course mistakes can always happen, but there’s something much more comforting to me about buying from a business that has legitimate investors and employees Vs a platform with independent resellers or personal sellers. I’m not sure where that would put me on the risk adverse scale. I see nothing wrong with buying from a reseller or a preloved piece and there’s absolutely no way almost every single item on the big websites is fake, as some claim.
I should mention I am relatively new to owning Hermes bags and if I had the confidence to completely trust my own authentication skills, I’d probably consider individual seller profiles too. But the one thing I would prob never have the courage to do is wire money to an individual instead of PayPal or CC
I should mention I am relatively new to owning Hermes bags and if I had the confidence to completely trust my own authentication skills, I’d probably consider individual seller profiles too. But the one thing I would prob never have the courage to do is wire money to an individual instead of PayPal or CC
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