HERMES from Japan

How do Japanese sellers date a HERMÈS bag?

By the 刻印 (kokuin), the blind stamp inside the bag, which carries a letter that indicates the year of manufacture. Hermès used a letter inside a circle from 1971 to 1996, a letter inside a square from 1997 to 2014, and a letter without a frame from 2015 onwards, so Japanese listings state the stamp as, for example, □M刻印 or Z刻印, and brand-resale shops sort their Hermès stock by it. The stamp is a date, not a verification: OneMall is a proxy buying service, not the seller, and does not guarantee authenticity. Ask for a clear photo of the stamp, the hardware engraving and the interior before ordering, and read them alongside the seller's statement.

• 刻印 — the blind stamp; ○ (1971–1996), □ (1997–2014), no frame (2015–)
• □M刻印 / Z刻印 — how sellers write it: frame plus letter
• 付属品：箱・保存袋・レインカバー・クロシェット — box, dust bag, rain cover, clochette
• 国内正規店購入 — bought at a Japanese boutique, as stated by the seller

Which HERMÈS bags, leathers and hardware appear in Japanese listing titles?

The model, the leather and the hardware colour, all in katakana, and all three are needed to identify a bag. Birkin is バーキン, Kelly is ケリー, Picotin is ピコタン, Garden Party is ガーデンパーティ, Evelyne is エヴリン and Bolide is ボリード; the leathers that recur in listings are トゴ, エプソン, トリヨンクレマンス and スイフト; hardware is ゴールド金具 or シルバー金具. Size is written in centimetres after the model name.

Where in Japan is secondhand HERMÈS sold?

Through licensed dealers first and private sellers second. Japanese dealers in used goods hold a 古物商 licence and verify the identity of the people they buy from, and the brand-resale shops, pawnshops and department-store buy-back counters that hold that licence sell their Hermès stock in store, on Rakuten and through shop accounts on Yahoo Auctions. Private owners list on Mercari and Rakuma, where scarves, bracelets and small leather goods are common and bags less so. All of these deliver only inside Japan, which is why an overseas buyer orders through a proxy.

What do HERMÈS condition notes mean on a Japanese listing?

They describe the leather surface, the corners and the hardware separately. Japanese sellers write the flaw and where it is; brand-resale shops add a letter rank whose definition is their own, so compare photos rather than ranks. On Hermès the notes most often concern corner wear, handle darkening, hardware scratches and, on Evelyne and Garden Party, the canvas.

• 角スレ — corner scuffing
• 持ち手の黒ずみ — darkened handles
• 金具小傷 — small scratches on hardware
• 型崩れ — loss of shape
• キャンバス汚れ — marks on canvas
• 未使用 / 未使用品 — unused
• 刻印不鮮明 — stamp hard to read

Can every HERMÈS item be shipped from Japan, and what does the order cost?

Leather and canvas goods can be shipped; exotic leathers cannot. Crocodile, alligator, lizard and python are species regulated under CITES, the Washington Convention, and OneMall's prohibited items list states that items regulated under the Washington Convention cannot be shipped, so do not order a bag or strap in those leathers. For everything else the cost has two dates: at order time the yen price, OneMall's service fee, shown before you confirm, and the seller's domestic shipping if charged; after arrival at our Japan warehouse the international shipping for the method you choose, with the orange box optional. Import duty or tax is decided by your country on delivery and, for a Hermès bag, is likely to apply.

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Which Japanese keywords find HERMÈS listings?

エルメス plus the model in katakana, and for bags the stamp letter or the leather. Scarves are listed as カレ with the size (カレ90), and bracelets by model name.

• エルメス / HERMES — the brand
• バーキン30 トゴ / ケリー28 エプソン — model, size, leather
• □刻印 / 刻印有 — stamp shown
• カレ90 / ツイリー — scarf sizes
• クリック / ケリーバングル — bracelets
• 美品 / 未使用 / 付属品完備 — fine condition / unused / all accessories