Where can I get a Hermes Birkin bag without a waiting list?
 

We will go to Monte Carlo, Amalfi coast, Florence and Rome this July. I plan to buy a Birkin bag if I have a chance. Which Hermes store will be my best bet? Thank you.

You can't. No store actually carries them. They are on order and hand made, hence the we can't afford price.

I believe the waiting list is 6 years or so. Order it now and forget about it and be surprised 6 years from now lol.

lol, good thinking!

This is really funny, check it out.
http://www.fashionlines.com/2005/mar...endsBirkin.php

Maybe you should use the 6 year wait to do some weight training. :)

It's times like these that we need NYCFS or ThinG. :-(

Won't these bags be old news in 6 years time???

How much do they cost?

There are a few listed on ebay.co.uk

Just beware they are not all "real", although many claims to be.

This may sound unbelievable but my friend just returned from Paris with TWO Birkin bags. It's not as scarce as it seems, so just stop in the stores in whichever city you go, and.......good luck!!!

Hermes Birkin bags will NEVER go out of style. Good luck.

Why not check Monte Carlo? As the bespoke, uber-rich lifestyle is the norm there, you might be lucky. My friend's little sister just got one from the boutique there, and her mother and grandmother have had theirs since this past winter. Both were Monte Carlo buys.

Mucky: Sure, I think it's ok, why not. My only friend who actually owns one gives thousands of $$$ and hundreds of hours to charity every year. The bag was a present from her husband (himself a doctor who volunteers heavily in the community) after she passed the five year cancer survivor mark.

I have no patience with people who think they have the right to pass judgement on other people's lives and (legal) choices, especially when they know NOTHING whatsoever about them.

I agree, I'd like one but not the Birkin!
My Hermés scarves are as best as I can do and even that sets people off.

BTilke- don't justify yourself! You want it, you get it. There is no reason to bring up the idea of good deeds outweighing the purchase price because it is not about that. Money and what we do with it is a very personal choice and the do-gooders are just as welcome to buy what they want as the evil people. When you buy something, the only question is "do I have the money for it?" As long as you are comfortable with where your finances go, then if the answer is yes, it is yours.

And before anyone says anything about my use of the word "evil," I am not directing that at anyone. It was for contrast with the "do-gooder" label.

A tiny bit of perspective maybe-
Someone with the annual income of Bill Gates or Heidi Klum ( I like that coupling lol) sees a $3000 handbag in the same way that most people see a bag of groceries..You have to remember that not all of the world gets the same salary or is on the same budget.
If people did not buy them, they would not be
that expensive or hard to get - someone near and dear to me in the past used to say-<i>Worry about what is in Your pocket, Not someone elses..
</i>
So, Muck, do not despair, there are more people in the world who only shake their heads in disbelief over spending such amounts on a purse, than there are people who actually spend that much on a purse.

But there might be quite a few of us around who like to think of what color they would buy, if they bought one :D

Update: In the States, the waiting list is not available for taking orders.

The Birkin has been around forever. One of my friends got her mothers when her mom died. It's easily 25-years old, but looks relatively new.

However, I've found that many of the &quot;ladies who lunch&quot; and think nothing of spending a few thousand dollars for a Chanel, Hermel or whomever else's named bag, tire of these are the rest of us do our our very ordinary, less expensive handbags. I've seen plenty of these &quot;ladies&quot; purchasing good copies from their favorite vendor on Madison Avenue for all of $50, if they haven't already been down to Canal Street. Since there are so many copies of the Birkin around... and some very good copies, at that, why wouldn't you want it.

But, if your children are fed, the mortgage and car notes paid, no one is walking around in rags... have the money to spend and you'll be happy - buy away!

Mucky has been around a while and has posted some amusing and informative remarks also..we all have our opinions.

And show me a typical 12 year old these days that will have a clue as to what a Birkin bag even is! lol unless it comes with a built-in iPod :D

One doesn't know a person's situation when they ask where they can get a birkin bag. maybe lynnts1 is a philanthropist, someone who adopts children from third world countries. Maybe she has survived something and this is a gift? maybe her husband does well and wants to buy his lady something nice? whatever the reason, whatever we think about someone buying a bag for such cost, the point is - they make these bags because there is a market for them. And therefore, the work that goes into the bag is providing jobs for these people. The farmer who has the animal. the tanner, the skinner, the craftsmen - all these people survive and have employment because these people want a nice handbag to last a lifetime.

Thereadbaron, so true! I know someone whose husband bought his wife one after surviving cancer. And he is just a hard working, struggling kind of guy who was so thankkful the woman he adored survived.

Why do people assume &quot;lynnts1&quot; husband will pay for this bag.

She could be a finacially independent lady?

I agree with &quot;thereadbaron&quot; comments.

A beautiful handcrafted item (in this case a bag )is a work of love and should be treated likewise. Some people spend 3000 on a painting, other wants to spend it on a bag, if it gives the person pleasure, great!

And just where, do you suppose, is the hot button-pressing original poster throughout all of this???????

Intrepid1- click the name. This has been on her mind for a while, but she doesn't seem to post that much. I doubt she knew she would cause such a stir.

Intrepid, I think the OP is off lunching with Bill Gates and Heidi Klum...

:S-

Mucky - How people spend their money is their own business, but I understand how you feel.

You may come off as sounding a little harsh or judgemental but I believe your heart is in the right place. With each passing year there seems to more people dying of starvation and disease in the world. You sometimes wonder where the fairness is in all of this.

There seems to be too much emphasis placed on possessions &amp; designer labels rather than what really matters, but again it's their choice.

Frankly, I have seen handbags that are far lovlier than the Birken or Kelly Bag.

threadbaron - unfortunately trickle down economics doesn't really work. You can be pretty sure Hermes takes a majority of the money just for their name.

I too see Mucky's point but giving to charity and buying quality products are not mutually exclusive.
I have a burberry trench that's over 20 years old. So it has cost me about $15 a year--and gets cheaper every year.

After my third year in clinical practice I bought a vintage Kelly on Ebay (authentic) for less than half the cost being quoted here, and I fully expect to get decades of wear out of it which will &quot;amortize&quot; to a much lower cost per wear/per year. I actually do keep/repair what I buy so this is not just a rationale.

So -- be careful on ebay, but you can get a good buy, and no waiting! And while you're paying on Paypal if you are so inclined you can send in some hurricane K relief funds.

I thought they were considerably more than three grand. that's practically &quot;normal&quot; designer bag price these days (you can get &quot;lesser&quot; designer bags for half that)

You are right flygirl, much more.
Depending on the skins, they can exceed 5 figures.

SandC...I have been around a while, I see you have not been that much, but I still find it difficult not to lecture..I don't think it matters how long we have been on Fodors..it is just something that some of us do..
I would expect most men to say the same thing that Mucky said about buying a bloody handbag, my own husband thinks women are bonkers for wanting these precious purses lol...it is a guy thing..

I believe the OPs question was about advice as to where she can purchase this bag not about asking our opinions as to the beauty, value, appropriateness, etc. of such a purchase.

I know some people who think it is frivolous to travel as that money could be put towards retirement, charity, the local economy, etc. Clearly, I disagree.

&quot;And show me a typical 12 year old these days that will have a clue as to what a Birkin bag even is! lol unless it comes with a built-in iPod &quot;

I can't show you a 12 year old, but my boss has a 15 year old daughter who knows... this girl is into spending money. She is trying to convince Daddy that she &quot;needs&quot; a $1,500 Channel for her 16th birthday (It isn't going to happen)

i feel sorry for anyone who bought one before it was &quot;product-placed&quot; on sex and the city and will and grace. now it's just a mockery of itself and the equivalent of how the rolex is seen in asia or burberry plaid in europe...a sign of garishness and poor taste.

LOL, Daddy won't buy it but I wonder if Mom would like to buy it :) or have it ..

Actually, the bag is a bit too much on the big luggage looking side to me, I hate it when I look like my bag is carrying me..know what I mean?

I am falling for these soft soft leather shoulder bags that weight nothing..Burberry is nice as well as Prada :)

Hey the Birkin bag is not $3000. The price starts at $4000. Am I right? The rarer the pricier. Hope you find your bag but I think your best bet is in Paris babe.

This discussion reminds me so much of this true story...(BTW Hermes closer to $6000 + I think)
My MIL is a wonderful woman who raised her family on a Kansas farm...nothing frivious in her whole life.
About 20 years ago, we gave her a crisp $50 bill for Christmas with instructions to spend it on a new leather purse, knowing she could get a nice dark leather one at Sears/Penneys.
Then later I asked what purse she had chosen, she sheepishly said.. &quot;Well,...yes she bought a purse,... and shoes and a coat!&quot; She had hit Penneys at after Christmas sales and got all this for the $50. She laughingly said the purse she got held her money as well as a more expensive one!
This woman who is 100 now has more than a half a million $ in the bank and we all know how it got there!LOL..I never stopped teasing her!

StLSusan, good story. I wish I could be more like her!

all she wants is a handbag? whatever happened to getting a car for your birthday, like when I was a girl?

lynnts. if you really want one, go to the Herm&eacute;s website for the Europe locations and call because in the states the waiting list grew too long that they no longer take orders and won't tell you what's available where.
I'd just as soon as have one of those London Smythe bags or a Henry Bengulin.
I'll take one from anyone who wants to donate it to me ...lol

&quot;all she wants is a handbag? whatever happened to getting a car for your birthday, like when I was a girl?&quot;


The car is already in the drive.. (new Honda Civic) As for Mother buying her the purse... not likely. Mom is not the pushover here... see Daddy!