Will THIS make it easier to get an Hermès BIRKIN?!

SHOCKING news hit the luxury world on Wednesday when we found out that Hermès is being sued by two unhappy customers...but will this make it easier to get our hands on the ever illusive Hermès Birkin?! I'm going to delve into the ins and outs of this lawsuit (or what I can gather) as well as what could happen in the future and my general thoughts on this lawsuit against Hermès. We talk about the Hermès game so much in the luxury space here so this is a fascinating one...ENJOY!

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[Amy-xkok]

Haha maybe their goal wasn't to get a birkin, but rather take a stand against the absurd idea of needing to prove yourself worthy for a store to sell you the bag

[shh-ItsASMRgust]

The inconsistency that Cassie is talking about (regarding who gets the bag) could be a legal issue and kind of plays into unfair business practices. People are saying “i spent 25k and they promised me a Birken, but i didn't get it” sounds like deception and unfair business if true.

[rockergirl]

I love that someone had the balls to sue Hermes. Don't think anything will change in the game they play.

[mismatched]

In Canada this is known as 'tied selling' and is illegal

[sarahc]

Hermes have lost the run of themselves. You can make a bag limited, covetable, hard to get, make a waitlist, that is all fine. But making people jump through hoops, spend on items they don’t want in order to get something they will be offered that might not actually be the thing they actually wanted? Its bonkers. I honestly believe they are doing it in order to undermine the resale market. The same as Chanel are doing with their insane price increases. People SHOULD be able to buy and resell bags if they want. The only thing driving the price to insane amounts are the ludicrous practices of these fashion houses. I have to appreciate LV and Gucci for not doing this. It means you can get entry level luxury for a great price, you can get a 30 year old bag for less than £1k (as you should!) I think fair play to the people who have brought the suit against Hermes. Some of these fashion houses need taken down a peg or two!

[shortnotsweet]

Honestly, I’m surprised people have put up with that game for this long. It’s also insane that the SAs don’t get commission on these incredibly expensive items. A shakeup is long overdue.

[monique]

All I know is before I got my Birkin I was flat out told by my SA that I had to buy an Evelyne I didn’t want in order to bolster my portfolio. At this point we’d already spent well over $30k in my pursuit.

[jenapp]

Waiting for this to be a netflix documentary😅

[Perfectgirl-unmo]

Yes you feel “it’s not that deep” because you got one. I spent 25k+ and Sa told me “ oh I dunno I am torn between you and your friend. Buy a coat and watch and It will be you” that’s not okay. I don’t mind spending but where does it ends?

[msnkosi]

Is it that deep? Absolutely not. But is it illegal? Because crime is crime at the end of the day.

[nataliet]

I think that the class action is good for the collector and bad for the SA. If the underlying game is just the SA takes your name off the list if they don't like your vibe, well suddenly you start wandering if the reason you don't have a bag is because of your accent or skin color or gender... And some of that can be illegal in the United States

[fernandezyajaira]

I have never been interested in Hermes. I don’t like games. If I have the money to walk in a store and buy what I want; I don’t understand why a store would have the last word and say yes you get a bag or no you don’t. If I have the money what is the problem?

[krychickspp]

I don't understand why Hermes doesn't just do the Birkin by special order only, even if it takes a year or three to get it. That way you can get the bag you want exactly as you want it, be happy with it, maybe not feel the need to resell it and wait for the one you really want. I've been seeing a lot of comments about this where people simply want to have more transparency from Hermes when it comes to what you actually need to do to get a Birkin or other quota bag. I think that's fair. Even if Hermes loses the lawsuit you won't see a Birkin on everyone. They're still massively expensive and thus still quite exclusive, so I don't think that part of the lawsuit is an issue. If they do lose I expect them to increase prices to make Birkins equally difficult for an "average" person to ever get one anyway.

OTOH, my money is just as good as anyone's, so if a Birkin is available for sale and I have the money to buy it I should be able to buy it whether I've ever bought one previously or anything else from the brand or not. Should I want to sell the bag immediately or at any time after my purchase, it's my bag, I'll do what I want with it, including selling it to someone else if I need the money back for whatever reason. If I can't do that, where's the payoff on my "investment" bag, should I need it?? I shouldn't have to tap dance for years trying to get a bag I'd like or have or to pre-spend an equal amount as the Birkin may cost before *maybe being offered one. Sure, there are exceptions where people get lucky, but they are, in my experience with Hermes enthusiasts, few and far between. I think it will most likely be settled out of court as I'm sure Hermes doesn't want to turn over client records or have their business practices exposed in the discovery phase of the lawsuit. I can see this having a chance in the US, as refusal to sell someone something others can freely buy it can be seen as discriminatory due to gender, skin tone, etc. if you're never offered one even after a boatload of pre-spending. It will be interesting to see how it plays out.

Thanks for another great video!!

[mckeevamonroe]

Usually people don’t care unless it happens to them. “Is it that deep”? To you maybe not because you were able to get your hands on one without having to spend 20k on other items that you didn’t want just to be picked. I really think this lawsuit is for the people who feel used. Had you had the same experience I think you might feel differently. Just my opinion. I’m nowhere near even thinking about buying a birkin, it’s way out of my price range 🤣 but I can sympathize with the people who have been treated unfairly. Being on a waiting list Vs having to spend 1000s of dollars is not the same thing. As a bag lover I have empathy for those people and I think others should to❤

[V__Versace]

I always appreciate the fashion news and important updates from Cassie, but here I feel like asking whether “it’s that big of a deal” really misses the mark of one, the lawsuit and two, people’s feelings toward Hermes’ business practices. I think it’s arrogant and elitist to tell people to either hand over their money to buy things they may not want or buy a bag from a potentially sketchy, scammy reseller. Especially for people who are first time buyers and may not have, let alone have ever SEEN a Birkin in their life—why should that be some of their only options? Additionally, it is well known that Hermes current business model of choosing who gets what bag based on whatever the store’s criteria is encourages racism, stereotyping, and microaggressions against their customers. No business should ever get to decide whether or not you can buy their products - if you have the money and the product you want is available, that should the end of the discussion. Obviously, keeping their supplies limited and handcrafted in short supply isn’t an issue and wouldn’t hurt their exclusivity people seem care so much about, but not allowing people to purchase readily available goods for whatever reason is a huge problem. And that doesn’t even get into the legality of it that this lawsuit is alleging. Tying the purchase of a product to the purchase of another product is illegal, point blank period, so if Hermes is found to be tying their Birkins, they are breaking the law. I will also say, based on the fact that the persons bringing the suit are shoppers, Hermes Birkin tying would also be guilty of harming their livelihood and how much money they are able to make and (they likely won’t since it’s a class action but) they would absolutely be within their rights to sue Hermes for all their lost profits and for the amount in excess they’ve had to buy to be offered any past Birkin purchases. All this to say, I do think it is “a big deal” for the implications of their shady business practices and I don’t think that should be so flippantly dismissed…

[LulaWestLuxe]

IMO, I think this lawsuit only includes the Birkin to leave the door open for another lawsuit regarding the Kelly. Unfortunately (for consumers) H corporate has always been extremely careful about what they do and say around this topic. I think if push comes to shove, the SAs and SMs will be the ones thrown under the bus (no pun intended lol). Really intrigued to see how this plays out…

[suzyq]

If the Plaintiffs have anything in writing from an SA stating they need to buy items before they will be offered a Birkin, Hermes will have a problem.

[evap]

At my store in Canada, the SA told me that getting a bag depends or your purchase history… that was one month ago

[carolineholzwarth]

Lisa on Luxury Life in the Middle explains the lawsuit in detail and discusses the suit so a person can understand.

[thepricelist]

I don't think the games make Hermes exclusive. The price makes it exclusive. Also, there is a limited quantity produced. However, if I had $15k to spend and I could not buy what I wanted, that would be problematic. To tell someone who wants to spend $15k on a bag, "you can buy the $15k bag- if you prove you really want it by buying a lot of other things". It's ridiculous!