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Bringing Home the Birkin: My Life in Hot Pursuit of the World's Most Coveted Handbag | 
 enlarge | Author: Michael Tonello
Publisher: William Morrow
Category: Book
List Price: $25.95
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Rating:  41 reviews
Sales Rank: 11695
Media: Hardcover
Pages: 272
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.1
ISBN: 0061473332
Dewey Decimal Number: 381.177092
EAN: 9780061473333
ASIN: 0061473332
Publication Date: May 1, 2008
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Product Description
An insider's hilarious, whirlwind account of his years spent globe-trotting in search of the holy grail of handbags: the Birkin For more than twenty years, the Hermes Birkin bag has been the iconic symbol of fashion, luxury, and wealth. Though the bag is often seen dangling from the arms of celebrities, there is a fabled waiting list of more than two years to buy one from Hermes, and the average fashionista has a better chance of climbing Mount Everest in Prada pumps than of possessing one of these coveted carryalls. Unless, of course, she happens to know Michael Tonello . . . Michael's newfound career started with an impulsive move to Barcelona, a vanished job assignment, no work visa, and an Hermes scarf sold on eBay to generate some quick cash. But soon the resourceful Michael discovered the truth about the waiting list and figured out the secret to getting Hermes to part with one of these precious bags. Millions of dollars worth of Birkins later, Michael had become one of eBay's most successful entrepreneurs—and a Robin Hood to thousands of desperate rich women. With down-to-earth wit, Michael chronicles the unusual ventures that took him to nearly every continent, from eBay to Paris auction house and into the lives of celebrities and poseurs. Flirting with danger, Michael recounts the heady rush of hand delivering his first big score to famed songwriter Carole Bayer Sager in Paris; how he had to hire thugs to rescue a bag that one of his "shoppers" held for ransom; and the story of the Oscar-worthy performances that allowed him to snag "reserved" bags from other, less dogged Birkin seekers. Whether he's relating his wining and dining, buying and selling, dodging and weaving, laughing and crying, or schmoozing and stammering, Michael is a master raconteur who weaves together tales of hunting Birkins in the world's most posh locales, memories of meals that would make any gastronome salivate, anecdotes of obsessed collectors with insatiable desires, and sweetly intimate stories about his family, friends, and finding true love. The result is a memoir that is distinctive, fun, page-turning, and as addictive as its namesake.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 36 more reviews...
 Hard to evaluate for all concerned...... November 21, 2008
Lin (Puget Sound)
This book was hard for me to evaluate because the evaluation depends on who will be buying this book & for what purpose.
For example, if you are buying this book to learn a bit about the HERMES Birkin handbags, then you will get something out of this book, since the author (through his travels) became an expert Birkin buyer during his years as a Birkin "re-seller" . With this in mind, Tonello explains the HERMES bags in this book throughout the chapters, and he even shows some nice color photos of the major "coveted" bags, along with a few photos of the main characters mentioned in the stories.
The nice thing is that while the reader is learning about the BIRKINS, the reader will also be extremely entertained in the process. Tonello's writing style is easy and fun! Each chapter flows nicely from one to the other. I read the book in two days.
Or.....if you are buying this book to learn EXTENSIVELY about the Hermes label, then you may want to buy anhother book more specific to HERMES (eg: maybe look into a HERMES reference-buying guide). The reason I say this is because this book is not only about HERMES, but it is also about Tonello's life during his life as a re-seller.
If the reader is looking for an entertaining book on the life of an actual "re-seller", then the reader will enjoy this book because Tonello explains the learning curve he experienced---from beginner to highly experienced. The world of the 'secondary market' will be appreciated by reading this book, because Tonello experienced many of the ups and downs typical of re-sellers' lives. Example, Tonello would travel all over the world looking for specific Birkin bags to re-sell on Ebay... And by doing this, he met many wealthy buyers of the highly coveted Hermes bags & products (eg: the famous HERMES scarves).
If the reader is not prepared to appreciate what this book is truly about, then, yes, he-she may be dissappointed in reading this book (as a few reviewers were).
However, if the reader is ready to accept the purpose of this book (ie: a person's experiences as a re-seller of a famous product), then the readers will enjoy this book & get something out of it.
Great read by the end I still wanted.... November 15, 2008
artandluxury (Dallas, Texas)
to know more about him.I bought this book because I have been reading up on the Luxury industry. I thought it would be a fun read...and it was. I gained an insight into how Hermes has this whole marketing machine to keep the bag hard to get. It works...just look at the amount of fakes sold on EBay and the prices they get....I think the author gives us insight into the clients that buy...well because they have a passion for the scarves etc..Then there are those clients who buy because of a logo..or because it is the "it" bag. I think the last part of the book is the best part. Mr. Tonello focuses on what should be important. Another review criticized Mr. Tonello for not talking more about the Birken bag and how it is made etc...Well for those reviewers..why should he....why don't they go to Hermes themselves and find out. I wished the book at the end would have given us insight into what he is doing now.
Yes there probobly could have been some improvements but I have to say it has been a very long time since I read a book straight through until the wee hours of the morning.
Mr. Tonello took a risk and just created his own path for that time in his life. I think what he did sounded like fun. But the more important thing is that Mr. Tonello gained better insight into re-evaluating his life and making changes. That...
WITTY AND WINNING November 5, 2008
Gail Cooke (TX, USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Many of us probably have an idea of what a dream job would be. How about one that takes you to some of the most beautiful cities in the world where you stay in the finest hotels and dine only at 5-star restaurants? Plus, when you're not in Paris or on Capri you don't even have to go to the office, you simply work at home in your pajamas.
Sound too wonderful to be true? Well, it surely is for most of us but not for Michael Tonello who tells us all about it in the highly amusing, can't-believe-he-really-did-this memoir Bringing Home The Birkin. As the affluent know a Birkin is a handbag made by Hermes with retail prices in five figures and more than difficult to obtain. Evidently the two-year waiting list makes a Birkin even more desirable.
Tonello had already seen a good bit of the world as a beautician
who traveled about prettying up the already pretty for commercial photo shoots. He was happy with his current home but had grown weary of the unfriendly Cape Cod winters. A recent assignment has taken him to Barcelona where he found he loved the people, the food, the sunny clime. When an opportunity to take a job there surprisingly appeared, he packed his designer duds and moved to Spain.
His euphoria was short lived because almost as soon as he had unpacked his job vanished just as quickly as it had appeared. What to do, how to make ends meet and keep wine at table? On an impulse he listed one of his Hermes scarves on eBay and it sold - at a nice price. Further, he was the recipient of emails from those who had lost out on his auction and wanted to know if he had more. Tonello soon realized that these were "serious collectors," and that there might be a great deal of money involved.
As he writes, "I didn't let my ignorance get in the way of my avarice. I intimated that this was only the tip of the iceberg. Well, I've always been a strong believer in the power of positive thinking - I really wanted it to be the tip of the iceberg."
For Tonello wanting made it so. It wasn't a great leap from scurrying around, finding and buying older patterns of Hermes scarves for his burgeoning list of clients to buying and reselling (at a healthy profit) the extravagantly priced, impossible to get Birkins. How could he possibly climb to the top of the daunting two-year waiting list? Where would he find the funds to purchase these more than pricey handbags?
He is one dauntless, determined fellow and his story is a carousel of chuckles, costly cuisine, and luxurious lodgings. Michael Tonello really brought home the Birkins and lives to tell his fascinating story while still enjoying Spain where, as he puts it "excuses to celebrate include getting out of bed in the morning and the ability to breathe for long periods of time."
This reader doesn't need an excuse to celebrate the refreshing honesty, wiles, and wit found in this memoir .
- Gail Cooke
 Can't remember when I enjoyed a book more! October 25, 2008
HeyJudy (East Hampton, NY USA)
From the clever perfection of the title, BRINGING HOME THE BIRKIN, through the last heartfelt pages, I cannot remember enjoying a book more than this memoir by Michael Tonello.
BRINGING HOME THE BIRKIN is fairly short, yet it's packed with every sort of adventure a reader could hope to see. There's romance, there's luxury travel, there's a kidnapped handbag chased by thugs and there's tragedy, each reflected through the unfailingly honest and funny prism of Tonello's point of view.
By the end of the book, any reader who is not familiar with the Hermes product line will have become an expert on the subject; similarly, the world of the online eBay merchant also is revealed.
All of this is offered by way of Tonello's sprightly prose and his hilarious world view. At the memoir's end, he says that he doesn't know what to do next, but it is very obvious that he is going to become a travel writer. I'm looking forward to his subsequent books.
absolutely fabulous!! October 22, 2008
onehermesgirl (warrenton, virginia United States)
If you love a funny story and are interested in fashion at all, you will likely enjoy this read. Could not put it down and read in a few hours. A great narrative about a fellow who learns how to obtain the elusive and exclusive Birkin handbag from the famous fashion house of Hermes, Paris. A birkin hunter/lover, I was completely lured in at hello; but I think most anyone would enjoy the tale, especially the climax of the Birkin kidnapping, which had me laughing out loud. Tonello's classification of the usual Hermes staff is hysterical and spot on. Photos add interest and help to solidify the story. I hope Tonello writes more.
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