Why Go For A Pre-Owned Hermes Birkin Bag?
According to Statista, Hermes Birkin Bag is comprised 40 percent of all pre-owned luxury goods purchases in the United States in 2018. And for a lot of reasons, the pre-owned luxury goods market continues to grow.
In fact, Luxe Digital reports that from 2018 to 2021, the luxury resale market has grown at quadruple the rate of the primary luxury market.
So, if you’re wondering if it’s okay to buy a pre-owned Hermes bag, the answer is, that it is more than okay. It is actually fashionable to purchase handbags from the resale market.
4 Advantages Of Getting A Pre-Owned Hermes Birkin Bag:
If you wish to buy the quintessential Hermes Birkin Bag, then you may not even have a choice.
1. The Demand: Many Want It
In general, the luxury goods market is down. Ironically, however, there is a rising demand for some luxury items. For instance, Vogue reports that an online shopping store in the UK experienced a 430% spike in demand for Hermes handbags.
When you think about it, the rising demand for Hermes handbags is not implausible even in the current context. The pandemic has induced people to make conscientious buying decisions; that is true.
But the timelessness of Hermes bags, their superior craftsmanship, the expectation that they would last for decades, and the fact that they’re the ultimate status symbol, make them a worthy investment. Hence, someone making a conscious effort to cut back on conspicuous consumption may not necessarily object to buying a Hermes Birkin Bag.
That timeless “Sex and the City” line, “It’s not a bag, it’s a Birkin,” pretty much sums it all up.
2. The Supply: Birkins Are Scarce
The same scene that gave us “It’s not a bag, it’s a Birkin” in “Sex and the City” shows Samantha Jones doing some dissembling to get ahead of a five-year Birkin waiting list.
Indeed, one of the primary reasons you may have to buy a pre-owned Birkin is the fact that you can’t get it any other way – at least not readily or immediately. While the Hermes waiting list is a thing of the past, getting a Hermes Birkin Bag or even a Kelly is still not as straightforward as going to a store and asking to see one.
Moreover, Hermes has a branding strategy. It is a consummate master at creating desire, and scarcity is the very fuel that keeps desire burning. Therefore, Hermes would hardly make a Birkin – its most iconic product – readily available to anyone who asks for it.
3. Handmade Hermes Birkin Bag Is A Nice Elegant Touch
Most people have to wait to be offered a chance to buy a Hermes Birkin Bag. And usually, the opportunity only comes after being a regular at a Hermes store, racking up a significant amount in purchases, and developing a good relationship with a sales associate.
Additionally, Hermes limits the number of Birkins a person can buy in a year, even for regulars.
A Birkin is entirely handmade by Hermes artisans in France, and it takes 48 hours to make one Birkin bag. That’s a total of six eight-hour workdays. As you can imagine, this is one of the main reasons a Birkin is so expensive and scarce.
If you want a customized Birkin with your choice of skin and material, colorway, hardware, and preferred size (Birkins range from 25 cm to 40 cm wide), then you will definitely have to wait. It may take a year before you can get your made-to-order Birkin.
4. Sustainability: It’s the Responsible Thing to Do
But sustainability is one of the primary reasons you may want to buy a Hermes Birkin from the secondary or resale market.
Even if you are so well-heeled and so well-connected that you can get one of the latest Birkins now if you paid a visit to Hermes’ rue du Faubourg store, you may want to reconsider and opt for a pre-owned Hermes Birkin Bag instead.
The fashion industry has a severe impact on the environment. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change attributes 10.02% of global carbon dioxide emissions per year to the fashion industry. The fashion industry utilizes approximately 1.6 trillion liters of water each year and produces significant chemical wastes and microplastics.
Aside from pollution, there is also the vast amount of waste that the consumption of fashion products produces. The fashion industry yields over 92 million tonnes of waste per year, most of which are burnt or end up in landfills.
And fast fashion has only exacerbated the problem. Fast fashion refers to pieces that are cheap to manufacture, easy to dispose of, and designed for short-term wear or short-lived use.
Of course, no one can accuse Hermes of being fast fashioned. Far from it. A Hermes handbag is designed to be used for a long time and to wear really well, and you are unlikely to find one throwing away a Hermes Birkin Bag.
Even so, sustainability standards should apply to all, even to Hermes and the world’s leading luxury fashion houses. And for consumers, practicing sustainability means being responsible and being intentional about purchasing behavior.
As such, instead of buying brand new anything, buy pre-owned as much as possible. This tenet is especially applicable to luxury handbags. The exceptional craftsmanship that goes into each Hermes bag ensures that even a pre-owned Birkin should still last you for decades.
5. Unique Designs: When You Like It Rare
One other reason you might consider buying a pre-owned Hermes Birkin Bag is that you can probably purchase unique designs and limited editions only in the secondary market.
For instance, most people have a higher chance of obtaining a Diamond Himalaya Birkin in the resale market. The Himalaya, made from Nile crocodile leather, is named such because artisans painstakingly and expertly dyed the leather to go from smoky grey to pearly white, evoking the Himalayan rocks and snow caps. It also features diamonds and white gold hardware.
The Himalayas sell for hundreds of thousands of pounds, and they are extremely rare. Even so, you’re still much more likely to scoop one up from the resale market than directly from a Hermes store. It will not be easy, but it’s a possibility.
Pre-Owned Hermes Always Makes Sense
Considering the demand and supply dynamics of a Hermes Birkin Bag, it makes sense to go for a pre-owned Hermes Birkin. And it is also a fact that buying pre-owned is the more sustainable option.
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