As much as we’d love to fill our closets with every designer label we can think of, luxury fashion is just that—a luxury. When the moment comes along for you to finally get yourself a chic investment piece, it’s worth reading up on everything you need to know beforediving deep into your bank account. Of course, when you’re looking to buy a piece from Hermès, liketheiconic Birkin bag, the rules of the gameare a little different. Luckily, we got the inside scoop on how to buy an Hermès bag straight from an expert so you can go in confidently with all the facts.
Thanks to the high demand that comes with an Hermès label, getting your hands on one of its iconic bags can be tricky. To make the purchase easier on you, we asked Sarah Davis, the founder and president of luxury resale website Fashionphile, for everything you need to know, including where to buy an Hermès bag and what makes them so special. See what she has to say below.
Why is an Hermès bag so special?
Hermès has established itself as the ultimate in luxury accessories. If I tell you to picture an Hermès scarf, belt, or handbag, an iconic image instantly comes to mind. You may have seen a royal in a scarf, your favorite basketball player in an H belt, and celebrities of all types with Birkins on their arms. Relative scarcityand high price point have created an insatiable demand for the Kelly and Birkin bags in particular.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Is an Hermès bag an investment?
Absolutely, an Hermès bag is an investment. The minute you drive your new Birkin off the Hermès lot (or walk out the front doors of an Hermès boutique with your new bag in hand), it goes up in value by thousands, depending on the specs of the bag. It’s important to remember that some investments are better than others. When buying and selling houses or Hermès bags, you can make or lose money. Success depends on timing, the scarcity of the style, the condition, the age of the bag, and your purchase price.
How much is an Hermès bag?
There are quite a few smaller Hermès handbags readily available onits website, like the Aline for $1300. A standard Birkin 30 runs over $10,000 or significantly more, depending on the type of leather or material. The same bag in crocodile or alligator retails at three to four times that. The problem isn’t only that Hermès makes it very difficult to get your hands on a Birkin, but it also limits the number of Birkins you can buy per year. This hyper-limited supply and pent-up demand have created a robust resale market.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Which Hermès bag should you buy?
While it may sound like fun to start an investment portfolio of Birkins, most people just don’t have the money to jump in10 grand at a time. A lot of people who are interested in buying a bag they love aren’t banking on a huge return, but you don’t have to go in for a Birkin or Kelly to get both! The Hermès Constanceand Evelyne are elegant, iconic styles in classic shapes, and they really keep their value.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Where can you buy an Hermès bag?
Obviously, you can buy most Hermès bags straight from Hermès. It may take you a while, but you can buy a Birkin straight from the boutique. You just can’t walk into an Hermès boutique and buy a Birkin immediately.It must be ordered, and there is a waiting list. You also can’t buy the Birkin, Kelly, or most ofHermès’s more iconic styles online. If you want a Birkin or Constance, for example, and live in Biloxi, Mississippi, you will need to drive to Atlanta, Georgia, or Houston, Texas, to buy your bag from Hermès. But when you buy from Fashionphile, there are nowaiting lists,and everything is available online.
Scroll down to see some of the chicest Hermès bags you can buy right now.
Shop Birkins
Hermès
Chevre Mysore Horseshoe Birkin 30 Etoupe Blue Saphir
Not everyone can buy a Birkin. Shoppers must prove their commitment to the brand – by continuously shopping there. From what previous Hermès shoppers and managers say online, to even be considered for a bag, you must shop at the same Hermès store, use the same sales assistant, and “build a relationship” with the store.
Some bags are allocated via waitlists, others offered at the sales associate's discretion. Others are reportedly offered on a first-come-first-serve basis, particularly at the brand's original flagship location in Paris.
For many years, the Birkin topped all Hermès bags in demand and resale value. However, today, the Mini Hermès Kelly bag indisputably tops any list of handbags with the best resale value.
It may take you a while, but you can buy a Birkin straight from the boutique. You just can't walk into an Hermès boutique and buy a Birkin immediately. It must be ordered, and there is a waiting list. You also can't buy the Birkin, Kelly, or most of Hermès's more iconic styles online.
Some areas of the US have smaller, less competitive Hermès stores where it may be easier to be offered a mini Kelly than a Birkin 25, such as in your situation. Other big city locations such as New York City and Beverly Hills are highly competitive and being offered a mini Kelly is akin to winning the lottery.
Both Hermès and Chanel's starting prices for bags are in the thousands of dollars, with Chanel's most affordable offering at $1,700. Hermès prices are overall higher, with Birkin prices starting at over $9,000.
The value of a Birkin bag skyrockets from the moment it leaves the Hermès store. That's partly because not just any regular person can buy the bag. Only customers with a sizable purchase history at the brand are offered the opportunity to buy a “quota bag,” such as a Birkin or a Kelly.
Hermès has a monopoly on Birkin bags, so the suit alleges, and the Hermès Game amounts to tying, a potentially anticompetitive practice in which buyers are required to purchase additional, unwanted goods as a precondition of receiving a desirable product.
If you buy a Birkin bag straight from a Hermès boutique, you'll only be able to buy two luxury handbags per year. This means you could invest in one Birkin and one Kelly, but no more. This two-bag rule allows Hermès to keep on top of orders and also maintain the exclusivity of their accessories.
Sales associates are “directed to only offer Birkin handbags to consumers who have established a sufficient 'purchase history' or 'purchase profile,'” said counsel for the plaintiff in the complaint.
These colors, Noir (89), Rouge H (46), Etoupe (18), Gold (06), and Orange H (93), have been joined over time by Blanc (01), Etain (8F), Rouge Casaque (Q5), Craie (10), and Blue Nuit (2Z). Together, they are considered the classic colors of Hermès.
For a long time, the Birkin 35 was the most popular size, however as trends have shifted towards more compact bags, the Birkin 25 is now the most searched for size. The smaller size is more popular than the larger bags if you want to carry the Birkin by its handles rather than use the shoulder strap.
May 31 (Reuters) - U.S. consumers suing French luxury house Hermes (HRMS.PA) , opens new tab have broadened their lawsuit accusing the company of forcing buyers to spend thousands of dollars on other products before they can purchase one of the company's famed Birkin bags.
Did you know that there are over 80 Hermès bag styles in production? These include Lindy, Picotin, Evelyne, Bolide, and many others. Figuring out how to buy an Hermès bag in most styles is pretty easy. They can be purchased from Hermès online or from a brand boutique.
Birkin bags can double in value in 5 years — some styles up to $450K — and are a better investment than gold: luxury expert. Hermès' highly coveted Birkin handbag becomes even more coveted after it leaves the store — doubling in value in as little as five years, according to a luxury expert.
The Hermes Birkin and Kelly bags are known as 'quota bags,' meaning that buyers can only get a maximum of two of these bags in any calendar year. Hermes bags are extremely exclusive, and buyers have to be offered them in order to make a purchase.
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