The Crazy Economics of the World’s Most Coveted Handbag
You could double your money in five minutes by snagging a Birkin handbag at your local Hermès boutique and flipping it. But getting your hands on the world’s most coveted purse is a lot trickier than it sounds.
You could double your money in five minutes by snagging a Birkin handbag at your local Hermès boutique and flipping it. But getting your hands on the world’s most coveted purse is a lot trickier than it sounds.
A basic black leather Birkin 25 costs $11,400 before tax at Hermès. Buyers can walk out and immediately sell it to a handbag reseller like Privé Porter for $23,000 in cash. Privé Porter will then resell the Birkin on Instagram or at its Las Vegas pop-up, possibly the same day—brand new, with receipt—for up to $32,000. All this for a bag that analysts estimate costs Hermès around $1,000 to make.
The unique economics of the Birkin have flipped the usual power dynamic between shopper and store worker. At Hermès, it's the buyer who must curry favor. Some of the wealthiest women in the world have brought homemade cookies for their sales assistant, offered Beyoncé concert tickets, trips to the Cannes Film Festival in a private jet, and even envelopes of cash—all in the hopes of scoring a Birkin.
Read more on WSJ here.
You could double your money in five minutes by snagging a Birkin handbag at your local Hermès boutique and flipping it. But getting your hands on the world’s most coveted purse is a lot trickier than it sounds.
A basic black leather Birkin 25 costs $11,400 before tax at Hermès. Buyers can walk out and immediately sell it to a handbag reseller like Privé Porter for $23,000 in cash. Privé Porter will then resell the Birkin on Instagram or at its Las Vegas pop-up, possibly the same day—brand new, with receipt—for up to $32,000. All this for a bag that analysts estimate costs Hermès around $1,000 to make.
The unique economics of the Birkin have flipped the usual power dynamic between shopper and store worker. At Hermès, it's the buyer who must curry favor. Some of the wealthiest women in the world have brought homemade cookies for their sales assistant, offered Beyoncé concert tickets, trips to the Cannes Film Festival in a private jet, and even envelopes of cash—all in the hopes of scoring a Birkin.
Read more on WSJ here.
You could double your money in five minutes by snagging a Birkin handbag at your local Hermès boutique and flipping it. But getting your hands on the world’s most coveted purse is a lot trickier than it sounds.
A basic black leather Birkin 25 costs $11,400 before tax at Hermès. Buyers can walk out and immediately sell it to a handbag reseller like Privé Porter for $23,000 in cash. Privé Porter will then resell the Birkin on Instagram or at its Las Vegas pop-up, possibly the same day—brand new, with receipt—for up to $32,000. All this for a bag that analysts estimate costs Hermès around $1,000 to make.
The unique economics of the Birkin have flipped the usual power dynamic between shopper and store worker. At Hermès, it's the buyer who must curry favor. Some of the wealthiest women in the world have brought homemade cookies for their sales assistant, offered Beyoncé concert tickets, trips to the Cannes Film Festival in a private jet, and even envelopes of cash—all in the hopes of scoring a Birkin.
Read more on WSJ here.
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