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Hermes Birkin


Allan
Posts: 4164
Posted: 14.04.2008 at 21.12


Birkin buyer says cracked code for Hermes "it" bag

By Belinda Goldsmith

SYDNEY (Reuters Life!) - The elusive Birkin bag made by Hermes is so sought after as a status symbol by women worldwide that the French fashion house has a two year waiting list for potential owners -- or does it?

Michael Tonello, a beautician turned fashion buyer, says he devised a system to bypass the much-talked about list and spent five years traveling between different Hermes stores to snap up Birkin bags to meet -- and profit from -- this pent-up demand.

Initially he sold them online but then began selling them at a handsome mark-up to wealthy private clients who didn't want to wait two years, with people aware that Hermes handbags are one of the few brands that hold or increase in value over time.

Tonello said cracking the code let him to buy hundreds of Birkin bags and he is now adamant that the waiting list is just a fantastic marketing ploy. So what was his trick?

"I would go into a store with a list in my Hermes Ulysse notebook and pile up scarves, shawls, bracelets, worth about $2,000. This made me seem a regular Hermes client," Tonello told Reuters in a telephone interview.

"Once I had that pile ready to buy at the last moment I'd ask for a Birkin and they would usually produce one of the back room. In 2005 I bought 130 Birkins in a three-month period -- and you tell me there is a waiting list?"

Tonello, who wrote the book "Bringing Home the Birkin," released this month, about his Birkin adventures, said he has receipts to back his story.

A spokeswoman for Hermes in Australia, Nicole Morgan, said the company was making no official comment on Tonello's book. *snip*


Shock horror an artificial shortage.

Post Last Updated:14.04.2008 at 21.14


ruru
Posts: 2142
Posted: 14.04.2008 at 21.48
OMG!

Tania
Posts: 4005
Posted: 14.04.2008 at 21.50
If that is true, it is VERY clever.

ruru
Posts: 2142
Posted: 14.04.2008 at 21.58
so this means i have hope to find my kelly on short notice too?

Online Now Daniel
Posts: 7508
Posted: 15.04.2008 at 03.06
Brilliant marketing ploy, but that's what it's always been. Limit supply to create demand. It's not like Hermes couldn't afford the extra stuff to meet the demand.

TootToot
Posts: 764
Posted: 15.04.2008 at 07.03
HAHAHAHA. i still dont think it is the most marvelous bag. its nice but i wouldnt wait around for 2 years for one.

GODandShopping
Posts: 287
Posted: 15.04.2008 at 07.18
haha...! NICEEEE

artnzee
Posts: 71
Posted: 15.04.2008 at 12.09
I'm not really surprised...

Allan
Posts: 4164
Posted: 16.04.2008 at 17.11
If you're in the states you can win one. And if you do I totally expect some form of compensation for notifying you :D

corrine
Posts: 1345
Posted: 16.04.2008 at 19.47
thats what it has always been about... you keep people waiting and they just want it more. no suprises what so ever to me...
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