Playing the Hermes Game | Bags for Breakfast

Everyone wants an Hermes bag, but what's the true cost of owning one of their coveted bags? We take a closer look.

Were you ever asked if you won the lottery what would you buy? For Fashion lovers, your mind would probably immediately think of an Hermes Birkin or a Kelly. Well unfortunately, even if you were a millionaire overnight, that is just not how it works to secure a Birkin bag. For those of you who know the process of securing an Hermes bag, you know the leg work that has to be done in order to be considered for a bag offer. If you’ve earnestly walked into Hermes, wide eyed and bushy tailed little bunny, and asked for a bag, and been told there’s a waitlist or met with a rude or sarcastic remark, this one’s for you. 

Take a close look next time you walk past an Hermes Boutique, do you see any bags on display or in the window? Not really. That’s because you can’t just go into Hermes and buy a bag. Can you imagine, even if you got the money to spend, you need to worship at the altar of Hermes and kiss the ring of the Hermes god’s themselves before you are considered one of the lucky ones. 

Usually, when you walk into any designer store, you walk in with the expectation that it’s the sales associates who should be worshiping you like the goddess that you are, but this is not the case at Hermes. In the House of Hermes, the SA’s are the gatekeepers of the Hermes Heavens and it is you who needs to do the worshipping in order to get to your Birkin bag dreams. 

Think of it like dating. Let’s set the scene. You meet, and for you it’s love at first sight, you know they have what you need and you want the sugar. But your SA isn’t too sure. Well, first you flirt a little. You need to become bff’s with your SA before you can spread your Hermes wings so that they can know that you are the real deal. 

Hermes wants to know you are “worthy” (but of course you are) of that coveted bag and that you’ve worked for because there are so few of them. This is where it gets interesting. The formula for a Birkin is as follows: repeat after me, Birkin bait + consistency = bringing home the bag. You might be wondering, what the f is Birkin Bait. Rightfully so. 

Essentially, Hermes wants you to spend at least the equivalent of the Birkin price on other items in the boutique, and prove your loyalty to the brand before they offer you a bag. You have to go through the pre-spend process with your SA, of approx a 1:1 ratio of the item on your wishlist, which usually amounts to about $10,000. The term for the items you buy on your journey to the Birkin, has been coined as Birkin Bait. Hermes wants to know you are a well rounded Hermes lover and dedicated to the brand before they offer you the goods. There is no knowing how long the game will last and no knowing who’s Hermes profile might beat yours to the punch. 

Hermes boutiques doesn't always just have Birkins laying around in the back like sitting ducks, it is the SA who has to make that request, or by chance your local boutique receives one, then it is up to the SA who they are calling to offer the bag to. 

It does not even end here. Say you get a bag offer, and you are invited to the back room where all good things happen in the realm of Hermes. You may find that your heart sinks to the ground when you are offered a bag that you have absolutely no interest in. In a perfect world, you would politely decline the bag and carry on. However you are not living in reality when worshipping at the House of Hermes. You may feel anxious about declining a bag you do not want because of all the effort you put into the pre-spend, you don't want to feel like it was all a waste. Of course, there are stories of people passing up an offer and then getting another offer, but most likely, you will accept that bag even if it it isn't what you love because you know that in the event that you decline your very first bag offer, you may never receive another bag offer for as long as you shall live and be promptly exiled from the hiearchy of those who conquer the world of Hermes.

So here is what will happen. Once your morale is low and your wallet is empty and your holding yet another meaningless item to you feeling how can I possibly be good enough in the eyes of Hermes to be offered such a bag....you finally do the right thing, which is search the internet for where you can sell all your Birkin bait that has left you high and dry.

This is where you start spiralling. You realize you have unlocked a world of Birkins, Kelly's, Constances, and more, in all colours you never thought you'd be so lucky to be offered, in leathers you didn't know even know you could choose! You unlocked the world of resale, where you can easily sell or consign your unwanted items and have an entire collection of handbags accessible to you at your fingertips. Now this may been a world you turned a blind eye to when you first began your journey for a bag offer, but now that you have been dragged through the wringer, there is no turning back. You think to yourself, how did I waste so much time and effort, lots of effort, when I could have just bought my dream handbag from Bags for Breakfast, your new bag fairy, right from the start.

Walking into a designer store can be an intimidating experience and the Hermes process ain’t for the faint of heart. But it doesn't have to be because you have Bags for Breakfast. Save yourself the trouble, the fights with your significant other over the exorbitant amount of double the money you spent on Birkin bait, and just shop with us. We promise, we will make it an unforgettably wonderful and seamless experience.