"New" secondhand Hermes Birkin - How to tell if it''s authentic?

[Phoenix]

Hi all,

I have the option to purchase a secondhand Hermes Blue Jean Birkin 35cm. I gather that it''s not in mint condition, but somewhat rather worn, but not tattered, still ok (i''d describe the condition as "fair"). The seller is asking for abt USD3,500

So my Q''s are:

1) How do I tell if the bag is real? (The seller seems to be reputable but I don''t know for sure)

2) Is this a good price?

Thanks for yr help.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 8/14/2008 9:56:18 AM
Author:Phoenix
Hi all,

I have the option to purchase a secondhand Hermes Blue Jean Birkin 35cm. I gather that it's not in mint condition, but somewhat rather worn, but not tattered, still ok (i'd describe the condition as 'fair'). The seller is asking for abt USD3,500

So my Q's are:

1) How do I tell if the bag is real? (The seller seems to be reputable but I don't know for sure)

2) Is this a good price?

Thanks for yr help.

The price could be ok, but if it is on Ebay, be very careful Phoenix, there are a lot of fakes out there. Have you tried the purse forum? You could post it there in the authenticate this Hermes thread and the ladies there should be able to help you determine if it is real or not. Do you know what leather it is made from? Also be careful if the leather is cracked then there may not be a lot that can be done to fix it, but if it is a genuine bag with no major damage that just needs some TLC, the odd restitch etc, then Hermes can give it a service and clean and polish it for you. The downside to this is though it can take some time before you will see the bag again. Is the seller someone who has sold Hermes in the past? The thing is with these bags, is the only real way to know if it is a genuine bag or not, is to take it to Hermes for the spa treatment, they will not accept or work on fake bags. I have heard they won't authenticate a bag if you just take it into a boutique and ask unfortunately.

 

[Steel]

A great big Ditto to Lorelei !

Get thee to the purseforum and authenticate this thread for Hermes. $3500 is a lot of cash so you would want to be sure.

 

[Madam Bijoux]

There are plenty of horror stories about people getting swindled on E-Bay. I would never get anything from there - I would rather wait and pay the full price for a new bag from an H store and know that I have the real thing.

 

[diamondfan]

NO NO NO!

I got swindled with an Hermes bag as did a friend of mine, lost thousands and Ebay did NOTHING. Please, please, it is not a good idea. Only an Hermes store would know for sure, mine was considered a great copy but I paid nearly 2000.00 for it over 5 years ago...they post photos of REAL bags but send you fake ones...do not do it.

 

[moremoremore]

Yeah, no way. There is NO way to tell if it''s fake, and therefore, imo, a total waste of money...I myself have sold real bags on ebay for a steal but I''ll never buy another one on ebay..even if I think I am pretty good and seeing their feedback, what other items they sell, etc....The fakes are so good I bet Hermes staff couldn''t even tell if it was fake...

 

[Phoenix]

Thank you, everyone, for replying, Lorelei, Steel, Madam Bijoux, DF and MMM.

The seller is not an eBay seller. Whilst it''s true that we ourselves have put things on eBay, eBay vendors do not have a great reputation generally. The seller is a local vendor and I have the option of taking it to Hermes to have it authenticated. So I might do that. But the price does seem a bit dubious, ie. too cheap for a Birkin. One of my friends who is a great Hermes follower has told me that something like this should fetch at least twice that amount. So maybe it''s not the real deal after all.

Thanks again.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 8/17/2008 8:20:36 AM
Author: Phoenix
Thank you, everyone, for replying, Lorelei, Steel, Madam Bijoux, DF and MMM.

The seller is not an eBay seller. Whilst it's true that we ourselves have put things on eBay, eBay vendors do not have a great reputation generally. The seller is a local vendor and I have the option of taking it to Hermes to have it authenticated. So I might do that. But the price does seem a bit dubious, ie. too cheap for a Birkin. One of my friends who is a great Hermes follower has told me that something like this should fetch at least twice that amount. So maybe it's not the real deal after all.

Thanks again.

As far as I know Phoenix, Hermes won't authenticate a bag if you take it into the boutique and ask, the only way is to ask for a cleaning and service, then they will accept the bag or not. A BJ Birkin in good condition could fetch considerably more money such as twice the amount of this one certainly or even more, but much is dependant on the actual condition of the bag. I would say to pass as there is no way of knowing if the bag is genuine without actually buying it. Even if the seller tells you that you can take the bag into Hermes for verification, I have heard from very knowledgeable Hermes buyers that they will not do that nowadays. Also even for the knowledgeable, there are ' superfake' bags out there which have been known to fool even the most discerning purchaser, so do be careful.

Here is a genuine BJ Birkin from a reputable seller, you can see the prices that these bags can fetch!

http://cgi.ebay.com/Blue-Jean-Togo-Palladium-35cm-HERMES-BIRKIN-BAG_W0QQitemZ150283180779QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item150283180779&_trkparms=72%3A1077%7C39%3A1%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C240%3A1318&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

 

[purrfectpear]

Whoa, cute bags but I draw the line at a $14,000 purse

You can get a decent used BMW for that

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 8/17/2008 9:58:23 AM
Author: purrfectpear
Whoa, cute bags but I draw the line at a $14,000 purse

You can get a decent used BMW for that

 

[moremoremore]

LOL...me too....

Though I have sold some real ones at prices that make me cry since I'll never ever wear them...and sometimes they don't even sell...I have a red marc jacobs that is about 2 years old and I wore about 3 times and still have the inside NM tags on it...it was about $1200 originally and I'm listng it at $300 since I'll never wear it and people just don't want to spend a lot on ebay since the high risk of it being a fake....

If it is too good to be true....ya know...there are deals out there, but that's too much money to risk..

 

[Phoenix]

Thank you for your input and suggestions, Lorelei, MMM and PP.

I thought the best thing to do would have been to take it to an Hermes store, as you suggested, Lorelei, to ask to have it serviced. However, I''ve decided against the purchase after all, as the bag seems more worn out than I originally thought, even if it is a real Hermes.

Thx again for all yr help. I will continue to dream abt owning one!

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 8/22/2008 9:44:00 AM
Author: Phoenix
Thank you for your input and suggestions, Lorelei, MMM and PP.

I thought the best thing to do would have been to take it to an Hermes store, as you suggested, Lorelei, to ask to have it serviced. However, I've decided against the purchase after all, as the bag seems more worn out than I originally thought, even if it is a real Hermes.

Thx again for all yr help. I will continue to dream abt owning one!

I think you made the right decision P. If you doubled the budget you might be able to find a decent one, there is a good reseller in NJ, if you could buy from the States - www.dueteveryday.com and also

http://decadesinc.blogspot.com/search? q=birkin in LA. These are very reputable resellers, so it wouldn't hurt to keep your eyes open.

I hope you can get one, Hermes bags are incredible! Does it have to be Blue Jean in colour?

 

[Phoenix]

Date: 8/22/2008 9:47:32 AM
Author: Lorelei

Date: 8/22/2008 9:44:00 AM
Author: Phoenix
Thank you for your input and suggestions, Lorelei, MMM and PP.

I thought the best thing to do would have been to take it to an Hermes store, as you suggested, Lorelei, to ask to have it serviced. However, I''ve decided against the purchase after all, as the bag seems more worn out than I originally thought, even if it is a real Hermes.

Thx again for all yr help. I will continue to dream abt owning one!

I think you made the right decision P. If you doubled the budget you might be able to find a decent one, there is a good reseller in NJ, if you could buy from the States - www.dueteveryday.com and also

http://decadesinc.blogspot.com/search? q=birkin in LA. These are very reputable resellers, so it wouldn''t hurt to keep your eyes open.

I hope you can get one, Hermes bags are incredible! Does it have to be Blue Jean in colour?

Thank you, Lorelei, you''ve been incredibly helpful.

I think I made the right decision too. The bags on the websites you suggested look gorgeous. I will contact them for details.

It does not have to be a BJ. I also LOVE the orange and off-white ones (not sure what their official Hermes names are

). If money were no object, I''d love to have a red crocodile Birkin or Kelly.

 

[SuLi]

I really recommend posting your question on the Purse Forum. If you have pictures of the bag, there is an authentication section within the subsection for Hermes. The people there are pretty knowledgeable...BUT, keep in mind that they are not experts so there is always a chance that someone could be wrong. I do believe that Hermes will not authenticate a bag for you unless you are bringing a bag in for servicing (spa treatment) and if they determine that it''s not authentic at that point, I''m not entirely sure what they do. I''ve heard of stores confiscating a replica item.

Good luck!

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 9/15/2008 3:00:14 PM
Author: SuLi
I really recommend posting your question on the Purse Forum. If you have pictures of the bag, there is an authentication section within the subsection for Hermes. The people there are pretty knowledgeable...BUT, keep in mind that they are not experts so there is always a chance that someone could be wrong. I do believe that Hermes will not authenticate a bag for you unless you are bringing a bag in for servicing (spa treatment) and if they determine that it's not authentic at that point, I'm not entirely sure what they do. I've heard of stores confiscating a replica item.

Good luck!

Phoenix isn't getting that bag now SuLi, but thanks for your input though.

 

[Phoenix]

Date: 9/15/2008 3:01:35 PM
Author: Lorelei

Date: 9/15/2008 3:00:14 PM
Author: SuLi
I really recommend posting your question on the Purse Forum. If you have pictures of the bag, there is an authentication section within the subsection for Hermes. The people there are pretty knowledgeable...BUT, keep in mind that they are not experts so there is always a chance that someone could be wrong. I do believe that Hermes will not authenticate a bag for you unless you are bringing a bag in for servicing (spa treatment) and if they determine that it''s not authentic at that point, I''m not entirely sure what they do. I''ve heard of stores confiscating a replica item.

Good luck!

Phoenix isn''t getting that bag now SuLi, but thanks for your input though.

Thank you, SuLi and thank you, again, Lorelei.

Still yearning after an Hermes!!. Went to the local Hermes store the other day and they told me the waiting list is definitely closed!

. I then asked them what happened to my name which I put down 3 yrs ago and they said they would look into it and get back to me. They never did!!