Don’t put all your eggs in one basket? Clearly, they hadn’t heard of Hermès. If anyone had placed all their eggs in the $17,000 Parc Soleil d’Hermès picnic basket, they’d be sitting in a winning position today. Investments aren’t considered expenses, which is why stocks and gold have traditionally taken precedence. But when spending on a Hermès handbag like the Birkin or Kelly actually makes you money, what do the finance people say to the fashion people?
With Hermès, it’s almost a given, you win by simply securing a Birkin (and scoring one is a win in itself). Financially speaking, Hermès bags have proven to be better investments than stocks, especially as markets plummeted and gold wavered. Once a mere fashion statement, these bags, now powerful status symbols, can climb from $9,000 retail to auction prices of $200,000.
The Birkin is the holy grail of the fashion world, and its momentum in the secondhand market shows no signs of slowing. In fact, an Art Market Research report stated that luxury handbags are no longer just accessories but “the only collectible category focused on women.”
Handmade, coveted, and hardly attainable
Buying stocks is as easy as clicking a button. Buying a Hermès, on the other hand, is a journey. The brand doesn’t just want your money, they want your loyalty. Walking into a Hermès store and walking out with a Birkin? Almost impossible. Only customers with extensive purchase histories are offered the opportunity to buy “quota bags” like the Birkin or Kelly.
“You would need to be a loyal customer and maybe wait one to two years to get one,” said Joanna Uzunova, founder of vintage luxury resale platform Luxe Buyers’ Club. “In the grand scheme of things, if you’re really into the brand, it’s not a very long time. It’s the reward for patience.”
Fortune shared that reaching a 1-to-1 spending ratio is a prerequisite: to buy a $12,000 handmade Birkin, you’d first need to spend $12,000 on other Hermès products.
The Birkin wasn’t an overnight sensation
With 188 years of heritage, Hermès has always prioritized craftsmanship over mass production. Quality reigns supreme, even when it comes to choosing their clientele.
A TikTok clip recently went viral showing Samantha Jones, the iconic S** and the City character played by Kim Cattrall, hunting down a red 35cm Birkin in a 1998 episode. Viewers today were stunned to discover that the coveted bag then cost just $4,000.
According to Daily Mail, the price rose steadily: $5,000 in 2002, $9,000 in 2009, and $11,000 by 2019. At auctions today, six-figure Birkins barely raise eyebrows. In 2016, Christie’s sold a Himalayan Niloticus Crocodile Birkin with diamond-encrusted gold hardware for a jaw-dropping $300,168 at a Hong Kong auction. In 2022, a Faubourg Neige Birkin fetched an astonishing $400,000.
A 2020 study by Credit Suisse and Deloitte revealed Birkin values grew by an average of 38% that year, more than double the S&P 500’s 16.3% gain.
Even pre-owned Birkins receive princely treatment
If money is no object, getting your hands on a pre-owned Birkin might actually be easier than chasing a new one. Unlike Hermès’ tightly controlled direct sales, the pre-owned market offers more direct access to these treasures.
Pre-loved Hermès bags are treated like heirlooms, carefully preserved to stay in near-mint condition. Their astronomical price tags are justified by their pristine quality and the fulfillment of a lifelong dream. Especially when you consider that the average wait time for a Kelly is between 6 months to 2 years, and for a Birkin, between 1 to 3 years.
With growth practically guaranteed and a bucket-list moment fulfilled, isn’t it a win-win?
