It’s one of the most coveted handbags in existence, and Hermes reportedly goes to extreme measures to ensure not just anyone gets their hands on a Birkin bag.
A new investigation by French fashion publication Glitz found that employees of the luxury fashion house use Google to ‘analyse’ the addresses of prospective Birkin buyers to ensure their homes are prestigious enough.
Staff also reportedly ‘scrutinise’ potential owners’ social media accounts, the investigation claimed. If workers later spot a customer listing the bag for sale on their social media, both the client and employee responsible for the sale are allegedly blacklisted.
It comes in addition to the other hurdles that customers must jump over to secure the status symbol, which was named after British actress and singer Jane Birkin, and typically start at £10,000 and go up to millions of pounds.
Journalist Louis Pisano wrote on X: ‘Hermes is allegedly stalking their clients. A Glitz investigation has revealed that Hermes employees are Googling clients’ home addresses to determine whether they have a prestigious enough address to be deemed worthy of a Birkin or Kelly.
‘Hermes is also allegedly scrutinizing clients’ social media accounts and the content they post. After a quota bag is purchased, they continue to monitor for resale activity, which, if detected, results in an immediate blacklist for the client.
‘One sales associate told Glitz, “Every new client is automatically a suspect”. Signals associates use to identify the “right” client for a quota bag include wearing an Audemars Piguet or Richard Mille watch, while a flashy Rolex can spark mistrust.’
Customers are additionally thought to require a long, consistent shopping history with the French brand before being offered a Birkin, meaning thousands may be indirectly spent on the bag.
It’s loved by stars, including Heidi Klum, pictured with a Birkin in 2022, but Hermes allegedly ensures that not just anyone can get their hands on the coveted accessory
The Daily Mail has contacted Hermes for comment.
Once in store, customer attire and behaviour is also judged – with specific items, including an extravagant Rolex, serving as an instant red flag for sales associates, the outlet reported.
Despite the intense requirements, it costs Hermes just about $1,000 to make the bag, analysts told The Wall Street Journal.
Insiders told the Journal that Hermes shoppers must spend $10,000 on other goods, like shoes and scarves, before they’re invited to purchase a basic model.
To be considered for a rare, limited-edition purse, Hermès regulars must spend around $200,000 on other items in-store, it is claimed.
Even when the coveted offer is made, shoppers are shown a single bag they’ve been invited to buy and are not allowed to specify its colour.
‘Each piece is crafted by hand in Pantin, France, at the Hermès atelier, by one expert craftsperson,’ Rachel Koffsky, who is the international head of handbags and accessories at Christie’s, previously told the Daily Mail.
Koffsky added that the bag was designed after a ‘fortuitous meeting’ took place in 1983 with British film star, style icon and singer, Jane Birkin.
Pictured: Singer Katy Perry out and about in London in May 2019 – holding a bright orange Birkin
Model Jenny Hall is also a fan of the coveted bag (pictured at the premiere of Goal in London in 2005)
Birkin was frustrated that she couldn’t find the perfect-sized handbag, so she and Jean-Louis Dumas, the chief executive of Hermes, sat down on a flight to London and sketched out the desired bag.
In exchange for creating the now-famed purse, Birkin, who died in 2023, received a royalty from Hermes every year.
The birth story of the luxurious bag has alone attracted buyers around the world and contributed to the hype.
‘It’s a great narrative,’ David Dubois, an associate professor of marketing at the business school Insead, told The Wall Street Journal.
The bag, however, wasn’t always so hard to get, and it was originally sold on the shelf at Hermès boutiques in the early ‘90s.
The drastic economic shift arrived between 2008 and 2009, during the financial crisis, Matthew Rubinger, a chief commercial officer at 1stDibs, an online marketplace, said.
‘Once (the limited edition versions) started getting above $100,000, things got more serious,’ Rubinger explained, adding that the idea of a no-logo bag was easily available to rock during every season – never going out of style.
For many fashion aficionados, these iconic accessories are an ultimate status symbol reserved only for celebrities, socialites, and the ultra-wealthy.
British actor and singer Jane Birkin was the inspiration behind the bag (pictured in France in 1960)
While the cheapest Birkin bag costs in the region of £10,000, they can cost millions. (Pictured: An employee holds a £95,882 crocodile Hermes Birkin Bag for the press to see during a private opening for the new Hermes store on Wall Street in 2007
Some of Hollywood’s most elite actors, singers, and models, including Kim Kardashian and Jennifer Lopez, have been spotted gripping a Birkin bag.
Kim, a Birkin mega-fan, is said to have a collection of bags ranging from $50,000 to $500,000.
The ‘it bag’ has caused such hysteria that people have done nearly anything to get one.
Some people have gone as far as to bring in freshly baked cookies, offered Beyoncé tickets, a trip to the Cannes Film Festival in a private plane, and even handed over a wad of cash to the associates- just to get a Birkin for themselves.
Birkin collectors explained that serious buyers who want to ‘qualify’ must invest in other items that aren’t as desirable as the handbag, including watches, shoes, and silk scarves.
When new shipments arrive, Hermès sales assistants refer to their specific lists of wealthy clients waiting to snag a bag.
The detailed process resulted in the company being sued by two customers who claimed the company forced clients to jump through very pricey hoops in order to earn the opportunity to purchase one of the bags.
In March, two Californians, Tina Cavalleri and Mark Glinoga, hit the brand with a class-action lawsuit, alleging that they were required to purchase other luxury items from the retailer in order to obtain a Birkin.
According to The Fashion Law, Hermes was accused of antitrust and unfair business practices after taking advantage of the ‘unique desirability, incredible demand and low supply’ of the designer bags.
The pair accused Hermes of using the hard-to-get bags to boost their sales of other products.
They claimed that shoppers are often told to develop a close relationship with their sales associate and work their way up to eventually procuring the handbag by purchasing other items first.
In response, the company said in a court filing that it does not require its customers to buy other products in order to get one of the famed bags. The case was dismissed in September 2025.
All the convoluted steps shoppers must allegedly take to secure a coveted Hermès bag
It would appear that one does not simply walk into Hermès and buy a coveted model – like the Birkin or Kelly – which will already seem them parting with, potentially, as much as $250,000.
There are, reportedly, complicated ‘games’ one must play just to be offered a chance to buy one, let alone get anywhere near securing the It-girl accessory within their possessions.
While there are no real formal steps, insiders and fashion influencers have over the years offered their insights into shopping at the luxury brand…
1. Build a ‘relationship’ with the sales team
In 2022, TikTok influencer Audrey Peters said that ‘essentially what you do is pick one sales associate, you text her how she’s doing, you check in with her and see what new stock they have’.
This, she alleged, puts you in good stead with the brand – and you can start your bag-buying journey.
‘Go visit basically as often as you can that’s realistic for your bank account and for your schedule,’ she said.
‘And whenever you go, it’s suggested that you buy a little something-something. Basically every item that you’re buying is getting you closer to getting an offer for a Kelly or a Birkin.
‘Because the more you buy, the more likely a sales associate is to give you an offer for one.’
However, as per the Glitz investigation, even this claim has sparked suspicions in recent years, with Hermès associates reportedly being wary of being seen as too pally with prospective buyers, lest they get accused of favouritism.
2. Buy different types of ‘things’
Once you’ve secured a sales associate who you enjoy working with, the next step is, reportedly, to start buying items to indicate that you’re serious about your future as a potential Birkin or Kelly owner.
‘You should focus on ready-to-wear, high-end jewellery and furniture,’ influencer Roma Abdesselam told the Daily Mail in 2024.
‘The easiest way to get what you want is by being an Hermès customer that actually enjoys what the store has to offer besides Kellys and Birkins.’
Anaya, another content creator, agreed, reporting that she often purchased her personal items and even gifts for others from her sales associate.
However, the most important thing to keep in mind here is ‘consistency,’ when it comes to purchasing.
And, per many of the threads on the The Hermes Game subreddit, it’s rumoured that items like fine jewellery (watches in particular), homeware and furniture can earn the sales associates an alleged higher commission.
‘Hard to sell’ items, like bookends and chess sets, are also a high commodity for commission, one Reddit user alleged.
Sales associates do not earn commission for any quota bags.
Even after you score the Birkin, too, it’s important to keep buying, especially if you ‘want access to upcoming items,’ Anaya told the Daily Mail.
‘I personally like many of their goods for gifting so I’m always buying something… big or small,’ she said. ‘This keeps the relationship.’
3. Don’t buy too many bags
Glitz said the other ‘red flags’ associates reportedly keep an eye on are shoppers who purchase less revered ‘non quota’ bags just to rack up their presence in the store.
This, the outlet said, simply comes off as ‘opportunistic’. On the contrary, furniture comes across positively.
4. Get a ‘leather appointment’
According to Glitz, clients must – at some stage of the journey, but it is elusive when – get a ‘leather appointment’. This lets them put in a request for a bag.
As of 2019, this has been operating on a lottery based system in Paris, which replaced long heaving queues at physical locations.
However, even such an appointment doesn’t guarantee a Birkin or Kelly.
5. Accept that may not get exactly what you want
Although the excitement of getting offered any Birkin or a Kelly may be absolutely tantalising for some customers, the truth is – according to past reports – that you often have little control over what your sales associate will have available for you.
Hermès boutiques around the world can, it is understood, only purchase a certain amount and style of Birkin bags bi-annually, and rarely know what they will look like ahead of time, according to Sotheby’s.
So, what happens when you get offered a neon-yellow Birkin instead of a brown crocodile one you were hoping for?
According to Anaya, it’s not bad form to turn down a Birkin or a Kelly offer from your sales associate.
‘Not everything is for everyone,’ she admitted. ‘I’ve had instances where I thought I want something and when it came in… I had changed my mind and it didn’t hurt our relationship in any way.’
6. Wear the right accessories
Much like you have to spend money to make money, it appears you have to spend money on other designers just to prove you’re worthy of a Birkin.
Glitz’s investigation claimed that as well as Hermès reportedly scrutinising their home addresses and online presence, there are other tastemarker signals.
For instance, Audemars Piguet or Richard Mille watches are a go – but Rolexes appear ‘flashy and vulgar’.
