The value of a Birkin bag skyrockets from the moment it leaves the Hermès store.
That’s partly because not just anyone can buy the bag. Only customers with a significant purchasing history with the brand will have the opportunity to purchase a “quota bag,” such as a Birkin or a Kelly.
But even Hermès’ most loyal shoppers can’t choose exactly the Birkin model they want. The brand allows boutiques to purchase a select number of Birkins per season, and the style of the bags is rarely known in advance, according to Sotheby’s. The notoriously opaque process, nicknamed the “Hermès game,” has only generated more desire for the bag — even becoming the subject of a class-action lawsuit this month.
Handbag enthusiasts try to sidestep the Hermès game and score the bag their heart desires, spending tens of thousands of dollars on the resale market. Thanks to its exclusivity and status as an investment piece, a Birkin bag’s value far exceeds its sticker price of approximately $12,000.
“The resale value of Birkin and Kelly bags in particular has exceeded that of gold over the past decade,” says James Firestein, founder of luxury resale and authentication platform OpenLuxury. Fortune.
Before starting his own company in 2022, Firestein spent ten years as a luxury authenticator, including two years as director of authentication at Rebag. Over the course of his career, Firestein has seen a “perfect storm” of factors that “amplify this wild ride upward.”
“I know of several cases where people have doubled their money by buying it 10 years ago and reselling it today in pristine condition,” he said.
“It’s like buying a Picasso”
For some buyers, a Birkin bag is not luxury arm candy, but a valuable investment. Of the Birkin owners he’s worked with, Firestein estimates that 75% actually use the bags, while the remaining 25% keep them in storage as an investment.
“It’s kind of like buying a Piccaso and keeping it in your house because you can look at it and enjoy it,” Firestein said. “But then in a few years you ship it and trade it in for something else.”
The value of an Hermès bag can increase dramatically over time, Firestein said, depending on its color, material and condition. Demand for second-hand items is so high partly because the resale market offers shoppers more options than the Hermès store, where customers are allowed one quota bag per year and rarely get to choose the exact model they want.
Firestein said the biggest price increase he’s ever seen was on a Black Togo 30 Birkin, which doubled in value in five years. But price increases can be driven by trend cycles and changing demand, so it can be a “gamble,” he said.
“I wouldn’t say at this point you should jump in with both feet,” he said. “But if you bought it in 2012 and sold it in 2019, that’s different.”
The Birkin Legend
Before handbags were spotted on the arms of Jane Birkin and Cardi B, Paris-based Hermès started out in 1837 as a maker of horse harnesses. Over six generations, it grew into a ready-to-wear and leather goods powerhouse known for its craftsmanship.
As for the iconic Birkin bag, the legend goes: In 1984, the late actress Jane Birkin sat next to Jean-Louis Dumas, then executive chairman of Hermès, on a flight from Paris to London. Birkin said she couldn’t find a bag that suited her needs as a young mother. That’s why she sketched her dream design on a sick bag, according to CNN. Dumas has provided the bag with equestrian elements, giving it the characteristic Hermès look.
“It was more of a subtly old-fashioned brand,” Firestein said of Hermès’ status before the Birkin craze.
The Birkin slowly but surely achieved ‘it bag’ status thanks to its presence on the arms of many celebrities in the 90s and 2000s. Sex and the city. But it wasn’t until the 2010s, when the online resale market reached the masses, that the hype became stratospheric.
Firestein credits e-commerce with allowing shoppers anywhere in the world to buy a second-hand Hermès bag. Meanwhile, online forums let people share the secrets of the Hermès game, once exclusive to the 1%. The Birkin became a collector’s item over time, and underground demand continues to fuel the resale market.
What’s in the bag?
Some people may covet Birkin bags because they are so hard to come by, but fans also celebrate the brand’s artisanal production and 200-year tradition of craftsmanship.
Unlike LVMH and Kering brands, which often share factories, Hermès only uses its own factories, Firestein says. Brands owned by conglomerates, such as Balenciaga, Gucci and Saint Laurent, also tend to use mass-market materials that are cheaper and easier to obtain, Firestein explains.
“Their leather factories are exclusively affiliated with Hermès and they only make Hermès leather,” he said. “So you’re buying some of that heritage, but then you’re also buying higher quality material that they’ve been using for many, many years.”
Compared to other brands, Hermès quality is “of the highest level,” according to Firestein. And although he works with 43 different luxury brands, he admits to an affinity for Hermès bags.
“They are built to last for generations,” Firestein said. “And ultimately they are just beautiful luxury objects, almost like sculptures.”