Getting a Birkin or Kelly

Continuity with the same Sales Associate and the boutique management's awareness of the client come up again and again in successful journeys, though no one has shown that they cause an offer. The Purchase Ratios collectors report at their offer spread widely and a high ratio does not ensure the requested bag. Small neutral configurations such as a Birkin 25 are described as harder to be offered and waits run from a first visit to well over a year. Paris appointment journeys follow their own path and are kept apart from home-boutique journeys.

The records behind this answer, with every source counted, are in its machine-readable version.

Reported waits run from an offer on a first visit, mostly while traveling, to more than a year. A few months is common in the reports; in competitive boutiques in Canada and the United States, waits of 12 to 24 months or more are often described. MyQuotaBag Data cannot compute a clean median yet because the reports do not count the wait the same way.

The figures and every source are in MyQuotaBag Data: How long do collectors wait before a quota bag offer?

Some clients are asked for their wishlist on a first purchase, others after months of purchases and some are still waiting to be asked. A narrow or much-requested wishlist is often described as taking longer and some offers differ from it, for example in color. Practice also differs by market: some reports from the United Kingdom and Europe describe a wishlist with little or no pre-spend and waits of several years, while one United States report mentions a newer wishlist system. Whether a wishlist expires and what happens when an offer is not on it each rest on a single discussion, so MyQuotaBag Data does not answer them yet.

The records behind this answer, with every source counted, are in its machine-readable version.

PurseBop's advice has not changed in years: choose one Sales Associate and stay loyal, visit regularly, show interest in the house beyond bags and “buy only what you love” (2017). Its September 2025 guide adds that purchases across departments show commitment to the brand.

Continuity with the same Sales Associate and a boutique manager who knows the client come up again and again in the successful journeys MyQuotaBag Data holds, though no one has shown that they cause an offer.

PurseBop reported in 2022 that Hermès receipts state the customer is buying for personal use and will not resell for commercial purposes. It reads this as a clear sign that Hermès does not want clients buying to resell.

The 2024 lawsuit alleged that Sales Associates earn no commission on Birkin bags and are paid on other categories (Business of Fashion, March 20, 2024). That is an allegation, not a finding.

PurseBop's July 2023 answer describes a declined bag as selling to another client within minutes and the refusal as a way for the Sales Associate to learn your taste. It also warns that an alternative you turn down, such as a different construction, may not be offered again.

Its advice is to be honest: “If you do not love the bag, you should not accept the offer.”

Before you answer, compare the offer with your wishlist: collectors describe some offers that differ from it, for example in color. See How does the Hermès wishlist work?

1. Be in France and connected to a local Wi-Fi network. The official website specifies the local connection and PurseBop reports that applicants must be in France (May 2024).
2. Apply the day before the day you want to visit, during the window the website shows: 10:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Paris time when MyQuotaBag checked on September 19, 2026.
3. Fill in the form: a preferred store, your name, phone number, email address and an identity document number, according to PurseBop's May 2024 guide.
4. Confirm your request from the email you receive. PurseBop reports that the answer arrives by email that evening, after 7:00 p.m., with a store and a time if you are selected.
5. The stores are closed on Sundays, so a Monday appointment is requested on Saturday.

In May 2024 PurseBop wrote that the three stores reportedly receive 10,000 or more online requests for possibly 30 to 60 appointment slots and that a purchase history at the three Paris stores does not affect the online draw. MyQuotaBag cannot verify those numbers and no Hermès figure appears in the materials it reviewed.

An appointment gives you time with a Sales Associate to discuss what you would like and to see what the store can offer that day. It is not the promise of a bag: the October 2026 Brief describes a Paris appointment in September 2026 that ended with no bag to offer.

You can also ask in a store whether a leather goods appointment has opened up, for example after a cancellation; PurseBop describes this as unlikely but possible (2023 and 2024). Belts and Small Leather Goods such as wallets need no appointment (PurseBop, June 2023). Journeys that start with a Paris appointment follow a different path from those at a home boutique and MyQuotaBag Data keeps them apart when it compares Purchase Ratios.

What collectors reported after a visit to Paris, counted report by report: Hermès collector reports in Paris.

Outdated. The 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. window that PurseBop gave in June 2023 is outdated.

The tax rules are official and they are changing:

• Japan. From November 1, 2026, visitors pay the price including consumption tax and get the tax back after customs confirms the goods are leaving Japan, within 90 days of purchase, instead of buying tax-free at the counter (Japan National Tourism Organization, July 20, 2026).
• Hong Kong. Hong Kong is a free port with no value added or general services tax (Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department, checked September 30, 2026).
• Singapore. Tourists can claim back the 9% GST on purchases of at least S$100 with a participating retailer, minus a handling fee, when they leave through Changi or Seletar airport (Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore, checked September 30, 2026).

Offers to travelers are reported, not measured. MyQuotaBag Data holds 28 first-person reports from Asia, 10 of them from Hong Kong. It describes an offer on a first visit as an exception, mostly while traveling. See Hermès collector reports in Asia.

Two caveats. Purchase history is reported to follow the client across countries, so a trip does not start a new profile (PurseBop, 2022). Your home country's customs rules apply to what you bring back.

PurseBop reported invitation-only sales in New York and Miami in the fall of 2024 and in Las Vegas from September 23 to 27, 2025. No date of a future sale appears in the sources MyQuotaBag reviewed.

At the Las Vegas sale, PurseBop reported:

• Ready-to-Wear at 60% off; shoes, home, fashion jewelry and scarves at 50% off.
• Timed entry, with a QR code and an identity check at the door; a guest had to arrive with the ticket holder.
• Phones placed in locked pouches and bags inspected at the entrance.
• Purchase limits on some items, such as twillys and shoes. Checkout lines of two hours or more later in the day.

Sources disagree on who sends the invitation: PurseBop's 2024 report says invitations come directly from Hermès, while its answer to a reader says they come from the client's home store. Collectors report that invitations come from the company rather than from their Sales Associate.

Collectors also report a sale in Paris, that small sizes last longer than large ones and that fine jewelry and tableware are rarely seen. MyQuotaBag has found no publisher source for these points.

PurseBop's March 2024 guide to the European and UK wishlist says it “expires in 12 months and must be renewed.” It adds that the Sales Associate does not tell the client the wishlist is expiring, so the date is yours to keep track of.

The 12 months is itself a change. A UK reader writing in PurseBop in November 2022 described her 2021 wishlist as valid for eight months and said the period had since moved to 12. Collector discussions still mention both periods, so it is worth confirming with your boutique.

The same March 2024 guide reports that a wishlist is usually not fulfilled in its first year and is more often fulfilled after renewal. That is one writer's experience in Paris, Dublin and London.

In the United States, PurseBop reported in July 2026 rumors that boutiques are introducing a formal wishlist system. No expiry period has been reported for it. See How does the Hermès wishlist work?

Offers that differ from the wishlist come up often in collector reports, most often in color, hardware or size. A UK reader writing in PurseBop in November 2022 said the bag she was offered was similar to her wishlist but not exactly it. She also noted there is no obligation to buy a bag you are offered.

PurseBop's August 2025 answer suggests accepting only if the bag excites you right away and you can see how you would wear it. If you hesitate, its advice is “doubt means don't.” It also reports that after a refusal the exact bag or one very close is often offered when it arrives in store.

Not every account is that even. The guide's answer on declining notes that an alternative you turn down may not come back. See What happens if I decline an Hermès quota bag offer?

PurseBop's July 10, 2025 answer says there is no set schedule: some clients shop weekly, others monthly or every other month, depending on budget, time and what they hope to add to a wishlist. It suggests texting your Sales Associate about pieces that interest you and booking an appointment when you are ready to shop.

Its July 24, 2025 answer, written for clients hoping for a quota bag, asks for more: visit once a month or more if possible, book ahead and make a purchase on each visit, small or large, across departments. It also says everyone's experience is different.

The two answers differ on whether every visit should include a purchase. Neither one promises an offer. For the habits collectors describe beyond visit rhythm, see How do I build a relationship with an Hermès Sales Associate?

In August 2022 PurseBop reported that the Paris and United States profile systems had been linked, so Paris boutiques could see US quota bag purchases and New York could see Paris ones. It added that clients in Asia had reported their profiles linked to Paris.

A March 2024 PurseBop answer describes a narrower link. Boutiques across Europe can see a quota bag bought elsewhere in Europe during the current calendar year, but not a client's spend history or other purchases. It gives the purpose as keeping clients from buying more than two quota bags in a calendar year.

The two accounts do not say the same thing about what follows you abroad: a linked profile in 2022, a record of this year's quota bags only in 2024. MyQuotaBag does not settle which applies to a given boutique today. The March 2024 answer also explains why Sales Associates abroad still ask about your collection: they want to know your taste.