when the london list open?

TPF may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, and others

#46
femme*fatale said:
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.
Click to expand...

Not entirely correct as I have one SO I'm waiting for and was told I could place another this year if I wanted to but I decided against it
 
#49
femme*fatale said:
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!
Click to expand...

While I envy the London gals being so close to Paris.... I have to say this ^ sounds horrendous. Queuing out the door for bags you don't really want. Awful.
 
#52
Can't wait to see your SO Mooks, I have to say you are very patient. I would have been tempted to buy another bag just to keep me going whilst I wait, but then I have no willpower when I get inside H :laugh:
 
#53
Luckily I have other things to occupy my money and mind too.....LOL!!

Of course since getting my Birkin last year I've also bought two shawls, a twilly, perfume, boots, a clic-clac, a keychain......and probably other things I can't remember right now
 
#54
Hi Mooks

Not entirely correct as I have one SO I'm waiting for and was told I could place another this year if I wanted to but I decided against it

Could I ask you whether you also placed your SO this year or whether it was last year? I was sure my SA meant that I'd have to wait until it came in before I could order again, but perhaps I got the wrong end of the stick.

Also, were you told you could place another SO or just a regular leather? Again, I was under the impression that once you'd placed an SO they like to alternate you between SOs and regular leathers.

It would help to know so I can press the point when I next see my SA. Since it's going to take so long to come in (I hope, since I have to get the money together!) it would be good to have a few Birkins in the fire, so to speak!

Thanks so much for your advice.
 
#55
From what I understand SO and PO are all at the discretion of the store manager. So if you have a good relationship with an SA, perhaps you know the manager personally, I am sure you can have as many PO's SO's as you like (or as many as the store manager can get away with).

The manager is there to make as much money as possible for Hermes and at the same time, to protect the exclusivity of the brand. I am quite sure that if you are really-really rich, Hermes will come to you, and you can have your personalised birkin made within 2 weeks. [ok I am guessing here, but people with first hand experience working for family offices can elaborate].

London has a huge list of clients - the last time i was in the store, the PO and SO list of bags go into the hundreds !

here is my take: I think you can judge by how high up you are on the list of clients:
1. If they could not tell you "when" the list be open in advance, you are just "ordinary".

2. If they can tell you the exact date in advance, you are quite high already,

3. but if you are a true VIP... they call you when the list is not even open yet in case there is something that might tickle your fancy....
 
#56
^ Yeah it's definitely not true that all that you can only get a birkin if you put your name down on the list. I was in Bond St today and the manager and another SA brought what must be a super VVIP client upstairs and kept bringing bags out from the back. The showed her a 35cm birkin etoupe with PH in swift (?), a gold shoulder birkin with PH, and another box of something special but didn't stay long enough to find out what is inside.

There must always be something in the back for these exclusive clients.
 
#59
alo6 said:
I don't think she ordered them. They were telling her what they had in the back.
Click to expand...

Vip clients pop in from time to time to see whats available(or are called) , because stores can recieve bags that are not on the po lists that have been sent from paris or other stores.:D
there are ALWAYS bags available
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top