Hi
The waiting list opened at Bond Street and Sloane Street yesterday morning and closed by the afternoon. Although the relevant people in the stores know when the list is going to open they are not allowed to announce it until the actual day, so it means if you want to stand a chance of getting something you have to ring every day.
There's usually a queue, with two SAs sitting behind desks, and the items they have are restricted, i.e., only one bag per person (you can't order for anyone else at the same time, the person has to be present), with specific colours and hardware already specified. That means that they don't have all colours, and if they don't have what you're looking for - either because it's not on the list or has already been reserved - you can't order it. It's extremely inflexible in London.
I was at Sloane Street early yesterday and the black Birkins had already gone by the time I got there. A lot of people were asking for colours that weren't available and reluctantly taking a colour that wasn't really what they wanted - just to have one. The fact that there were two SAs and only one list being shared between them also meant you had to make up your mind very quickly - no time to think, otherwise you risked losing a given colour to the client sitting at the other desk. A complete nightmare!
The other thing about the London list is that if you've already placed an order on the Autumn/Winter 2008 list you're not allowed to order again this year until the next list opens in September 2009. If you do they just cancel all your orders - they are very thorough at checking names etc.
Similarly, if you've placed a special order, i.e., for a croc or ostrich etc, you have to wait for your order to arrive before you can can go on the ordinary list again - even if it's 2+ years for croc delivery. It's their way of making it as restrictive as possible.
I was lucky enough to order a 35 Rouge Garance Togo with PH. It wasn't really what I wanted but I'm pleased to have the choice on it, and will see how it looks when it comes in.
The next list will open in September, but my advice would be to try European stores if you can. They seem to have a lot more availability and if you're lucky you literally can pick something off the shelf - that NEVER happens in London.
Hope this helps.
I just guess if not so many people go there, it may open tomorrow? Might be impossible~
