To be fair, the handle was replaced eight years ago...plenty of time for the rest of the bag to degrade if stored in poor conditions. It also honestly looks like someone used shoe polish on it or something in the past and it's now degrading.
Share a Train Wreck
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To be fair, the handle was replaced eight years ago...plenty of time for the rest of the bag to degrade if stored in poor conditions. It also honestly looks like someone used shoe polish on it or something in the past and it's now degrading.
So I was doing my usual vintage trawl through the self-list sites and came across this vintage treasure …
Did Noah use it to carry hay on the ark?! Between the dry rot, the water stains, the rips on the corners, this bad boy bag has definitely Seen Things.
It could be yours for only $7200…
Did Noah use it to carry hay on the ark?! Between the dry rot, the water stains, the rips on the corners, this bad boy bag has definitely Seen Things.
It could be yours for only $7200…
Is it sold? Something similar popped up in https://forum.purseblog.com/threads...can-this-hermes-be-saved.972522/post-35704339
Nope. This one still does have its turn lock - but has holes in the canvas in one side.
If the price was a lot lower, I could see value in trying to save it - hours and hours of gentle conditioning, scrubbing the canvas, liquid leather on the corners… but this bag needs a lot of help.
I remember seeing one, maybe during COVID (?) sell in better then this but still rough condition for a few thousand. I didn't jump on it, even though I really want it. I hope I have other opportunities for similar bags in this leather/fabric combo.
Maybe $2K would be more of a fair price, but that is just me. I imagine one would have to spend quite a few pennies at H spa getting this up to speed, if even possible.
That’s what takes it from “poor baby” to absolute train wreck - it’s so fragile, that an amateur learning restoration could easily destroy it, and a pro like Hermes spa or our own dear Doc would probably need a lot of billable man hours (I’m pretty sure that leather needs dozens of layers of light conditioners) and after all that, it would look shabby and worn still.
A good-used condition HAC 50 is currently selling on most reputable resale sites for $11k-20k. So for the cost of the bag and spa services, you could buy something that has been cared for and looks great.
I'm not an expert in Hermes, but I do think the fabric HAC 50's sell for less. I think you're quoting full leather. I also don't have experience with the leather spa's, but they would charge $5k for reconditioning?
Agreed, you can find a HAC 50 for much less. Just saw one at auction in all leather go for maybe 7K€.
It could cost $5K though to rebuild a bag like the one above: new handles, new corners, new panels - it would add up.
Unless one wants a battered look (some do), it's usually better to buy in good condition than assume spa can/will repair a deeply worn bag.