There has always been whispers of a “wait list” at Hermes if you want to buy a Birkin or a Kelly bag. Not even Sex and the City’s Samantha could get her hands on the leather luxury. And at that time the price was under $5000. Now. Birkin can go for anywhere between $10,000 and $250,000.

Times have cetainly changed, but apparently the process of buying a Birkin has not. Allegedly there are still wait lists and now there’s also a rumored “purchase history” which requires clients to buy thousands of dollars of Hermes goods to even be shown a Birkin bag.

And three Birkin bag lovers in California are so sick of being shut out, they’re taking their fight to a power even higher than an Hermes Sales Associate….

Federal Court in San Francisco.

The class action suit was originally filed by two California consumers and has now been joined by a third.

The lawsuit claims:

“The nominal price of a Birkin bag is a facade, masking a hidden lottery systemt that forces consumers to purchase sustainable amounts of Hermes ancillary products to ‘qualify’ for the mere opportunity to buy a Birkin.”

In an April filing with the court, the attorneys for Hermes called the lawsuit “far-fetched”. And they told the Business of Fashion:

They “strictly prohibit any sale of certain products as a condition to the purchase of others.”

But the Plaintiffs’ lawsuit claims say that’s exactly what happens when you go into an Hermes boutique and try to buy a Birkin. They say clients need to build a substantail “purchase history” first, spending thousands of dollars on other Hermes products such as jewelry, scarves or clothing. This they say, violates anti-trust laws and is an unfair, anticompetitive business practice.

After weeding through both sides of this story, I decided to go to get the skinny on this bag beef from an expert. The man who literally wrote the book on it: Michael Tonello.

Tonello penned the hilarious and oh so true book “Bringing Home the Birkin”which was published in July 2009. It tells the story of how he spent years traveling the world to visit Hermes stores and score a bag for his clients. He successfully purchased millions of dollars worth of Birkins and brought them to many happy people.

I had to ask him if he was at all suprised that its come to this…a lawsuit over the inability to bag a Birkin.

Nope.

He was just surprised it didn’t happen sooner.

He told me:

“Hermes has been playing handbag games for a very long time.”

His explanation on how to solve this bag battle?

“Hermes is a brand store, right? So why can’t it be like every other store? You go in and buy what you want. Simple as that. Why all these games? Why all the lies? The “waiting list”, the “pre-spend”, or having to establish a relationship with a Sales Associate? Honestly, it’s just tiresome.”

With all of the reported “trouble” about getting a bag in the boutique, why not turn to the secondhand market? Sites such as Fashionphile have a ton of options for sale.

But, Tonello says, while it’s easier than going to the boutique and possibly having to drop thousands of dollars on other items… buyer beware.

“The single major issue with buying on the secondary market is the issue of authenticity. If you truly want to be assured of authenticity then the only place to buy anything is at the brand name retail store.”

So yes, the online sellers have increased (and available) options for those who don’t want to go to the boutiquie. Tonello says it’s had a BIG effect on the allure of the Birkin and the Kelly bags:

“What other handbag sells for double or even triple its original retail price? The resale market for Birkin and Kelly bags is insane. And contrary to popular belief, I think that Hermes loves resellers.”

They may love resellers, but there’s no love lost between the storied fashion house and the three plaintiffs in this lawsuit who are most likely going to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to fight a company that’s been in business for almost 200 years.

Legal experts say this is going to be a hard case to win. Since Hermes doesn’t have a written rule or rules about who can buy a Birkin or Kelly, it’s all hearsay and rumors. And that’s not going to win a lawsuit.

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