How Do I Determine the Exact Color of My Hermès Bag Purchased on the Secondary Market?

Dear PurseBop

If buying preloved and the bag doesn’t have the sales tag/receipt, how can we find out the exact color for every collection/season? Some are so similar while others vary greatly. Makes looking for the right bag/color so hard!

Dear Preloved Bag Purchaser:

If you purchase a bag on the secondary market and it does not come with the original receipt there a few ways to determine the exact color of the bag if it is not obvious. Clearly, the common classic colors are easier to identify than the seasonal colors that may have appeared for one or more seasons.

One way is to submit your bag to the Hermes Spa at the closest boutique to your home or in Paris. They will assess your bag, clean it if necessary, and determine the color and year it was produced. There is a code inside the bag that corresponds to the year it was made. Once the year is known the color can be determined because they know what colors were produced each year.

A second way to determine the color is to ask an experienced or longterm Sales Associate in the boutique closest to your home or where you may travel such as Paris. They may be familiar with the color of your bag from the year it was produced and be able to tell you the color.

Finally, the reseller you bought the bag from may be able to identify the color as well. There are many color charts online that may assist you in determining the color of your preloved bag and what colors were produced during what year and season..

Good luck with finding the color of your bag.