Great advice! I’ve been successful both routes - at my local boutique with about 1:1 spend and in Paris twice with about 1/4 spend like you mentioned. In fact I watched one of your videos before my first Paris appointment and used your tips which I’m sure helped me score a bag, so thanks for that! I feel the local boutique route is far less stressful and enjoyable overall, but my second Paris appointment was actually very easy and stress free because I went into it without any expectations vs the first. It is definitely a journey as they say!