You reap what you sow, Hermes. The French luxury label has been sued by two fed-up Californians, Tina Cavalleri and Mark Glinoga, in Northern California on Tuesday for playing too hard to get. That is a world-renowned fact that celebrity-beloved Hermès Birkin bags are revered, desired yet hardly owned. Thanks to the fashion house’s absurd scheming, even after paying thousands of dollars, clients are required to jump through a shopping obstacle course to actually get to the item they want to purchase, a Hermes handbag.
It is understandable why this hamster maze-like treatment may offend people who are required to purchase other luxury items from the retailer in order to obtain a Birkin that starts at nearly $10,000 and can be sold for millions. The Class-action lawsuit highlights the ‘scheme’ of the 186-year-old luxury retailer that allows only customers with ‘sufficient purchase history’ aka a list of shoes, scarves, jewelry, and other items to get closer to the holy grail of handbags, the Birkin. The plaintiffs are seeking unspecified monetary damages and injunctive relief, and it stirred a discussion on Reddit.
A Redditor on the Hermès Game thread wrote, ‘Hermes SAs do not get a commission on bags. The company believes the bags sell themselves so there is no commission given for bags. They haven’t given commission on bags in probably a decade.’ Another user shared they gained access to both a Birkin and a Kelly after dropping $20,000 on a watch. It is no secret that Birkins aren’t available for purchase on the Hermes website or available for perusal on walking into a Hermes store. It is treated like royalty as much as the person interested in getting their hands on it. The bags are revealed to shoppers in private rooms after deeming them worthy. That’s where their shopping history comes in handy. World-renowned celebrities like the Kardashian clan, Victoria Beckham, Jennifer Lopez, Cardi B have all flaunted a Birkin collection that would put the Hermes stores to shame. With commoners not even able to get their hands on one does seem like something Hermes could be punished for.
