Why so many Birkins available on the resale market?

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The root of the difficulty is Resellers.

Hermes does not mass produce its goods.
there is a limited supply:
this means that for the most desired items there is a ready market to resell brand new items at a premium;
as a consequence Hermes introduced systems to screen buyers.
This was recognised a few years ago (read the book 'Bringing Home the Birkin) and buyers started to play Hermes at its own game. In some countries this fuelled the problems that upset you.

The willingness or otherwise of staff to source items that are not in stock (especially at the moment when time is limited) will depend on how shoppers interact with them.

You question the business model.
Some consultants would advise Hermes to increase the retail price of its items to a point where demand more closely matches supply: the $10,000 Birkin might become $50,000+
I am just curious about the fact that Hermès has no issues with the many bags that resellers are selling at double the price. How do they get their hands on so many quota bags if Hermès is so particular. Just asking..maybe not the right thread?
 
I am just curious about the fact that Hermès has no issues with the many bags that resellers are selling at double the price. How do they get their hands on so many quota bags if Hermès is so particular. Just asking..maybe not the right thread?

I think the resale market is a massive business with many "recruits" that build their profiles through shopping for customers who can't get their hands on some items or don't have the same interest genuine customers have. I've seen many people buy things just because of the perceived status that comes with owning something-Hermes. If you ask them about the color or leather they wouldn't have a clue! These types usually use personal-shoppers (as they call themselves).
I follow multiple re-sellers just to see what kind of items do they offer and what quota bags do they get; the things they post for sale fly in seconds! I think this makes it really easy for them to build huge VIP profiles.
 
I am just curious about the fact that Hermès has no issues with the many bags that resellers are selling at double the price. How do they get their hands on so many quota bags if Hermès is so particular. Just asking..maybe not the right thread?

I agree.
To use the words of a famous fictional character, "It's just baffling to me."
 
I think the resale market is a massive business with many "recruits" that build their profiles through shopping for customers who can't get their hands on some items or don't have the same interest genuine customers have. I've seen many people buy things just because of the perceived status that comes with owning something-Hermes. If you ask them about the color or leather they wouldn't have a clue! These types usually use personal-shoppers (as they call themselves).
I follow multiple re-sellers just to see what kind of items do they offer and what quota bags do they get; the things they post for sale fly in seconds! I think this makes it really easy for them to build huge VIP profiles.
That may be part of it and I wish it were just that. Unfortunately : My personal perception - and certainly very unpopular - is that a lot of the - non organized, not recruited - private buyers in particular buy in order to then sell their store fresh K and B for one reason only: for a massive profit. In other words, a huge investment business has developed. For me, this is also supported by the fact that until a few years ago, all these store fresh bags, etc. with receipts were hardly offered on ebay or Vestiaire Collective.
 
That may be part of it and I wish it were just that. Unfortunately : My personal perception - and certainly very unpopular - is that a lot of the - non organized, not recruited - private buyers in particular sell their store fresh K and B for one reason only: for a massive profit. In other words, a huge investment business has developed. For me, this is also supported by the fact that until a few years ago, all these store fresh bags, etc. with receipts were hardly offered on ebay or Vestiaire Collective.

100% agreed and actually very popular; I've seen it and heard of it - heard people say I buy whatever they offer because I can immediately flip it for a profit.
 
and of course, anyone, (whatever their justification) who proudly announces that buying a new bag at a huge premium from a reseller is something they see no wrong in doing so, is supporting that sector of the market and depriving genuine customers from bags they could buy in an Hermes store


no doubt this comment should really have been posted in the unpopular opinion thread
 
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I always wonder how resellers have that many B/K bags to sell. Most of them only sell bags and not offer any H jewelry or accessories, and some resellers even have 4-5 quota bags with fresh bills each week. I am not sure how people get quota bag offers without purchasing other stuff and dont know how resellers and their clients still get that many offers for quota bags, given quota bags are often limited to 2-3/ person each year.

But i feel like the market seems a bit saturated at this point. I heard from many H owners that resellers often take a huge commission for each bag. They even give low ball offers (lower than retail value) for entry bags like C/Lindy etc.

just want to share some of my observations so far. I am still very new to this:smile:
 
What really confuses me is the trend I've seen on Fashionphile over the last few weeks or months: a little while back, there was typically 700-something Hermes bags for sale. Now there are over 1,000 H bags for sale on the website! And as some have pointed out the asking price for new Bs and Ks have significantly increased!

But given the increase in number of bags for sale, doesn't this mean that the inventory isn't shifting? And that sooner or later, prices will need to come down for the bags to actually sell?

I think that with stores gradually reopening, vaccination being rolled out, and the economic impact of COVID taking its toll, even less people will be willing to pay these insane prices from resellers...

Does anyone else share this view? Or have a different view?
 
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I’ve noticed that Fashionphile’s inventory of birkins and Kelly’s (especially in the small sizes, B25 and K25s) are really low compared to years past so they’re priced a lot higher currently. For ex, There is A B25 in black togo for $25K USD on the site. Insane. Pre-pandemic, I’ve only seen this exact spec go as high as $20-$21K. And forget about mini Kelly’s ii.....haven’t seen one on FP since 2019. I bet if they got one in, they’d be listing it for an obnoxious amount since this is prob the hardest bag to get in boutiques...
 
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I’ve noticed that Fashionphile’s inventory of birkins and Kelly’s (especially in the small sizes, B25 and K25s) are really low compared to years past so they’re priced a lot higher currently. For ex, There is A B25 in black togo for $25K USD on the site. Insane. Pre-pandemic, I’ve only seen this exact spec go as high as $20-$21K. And forget about mini Kelly’s ii.....haven’t seen one on FP since 2019. I bet if they got one in, they’d be listing it for an obnoxious amount since this is prob the hardest bag to get in boutiques...
They’ve gotten mini Ks, even exotic ones, and they sell within an hour at crazy prices.
 
What really confuses me is the trend I've seen on Fashionphile over the last few weeks or months: a little while back, there was typically 700-something Hermes bags for sale. Now there are over 1,000 H bags for sale on the website! And as some have pointed out the asking price for new Bs and Ks have significantly increased!

But given the increase in number of bags for sale, doesn't this mean that the inventory isn't shifting? And that sooner or later, prices will need to come down for the bags to actually sell?

I think that with stores gradually reopening, vaccination being rolled out, and the economic impact of COVID taking its toll, even less people will be willing to pay these insane prices from resellers...

Does anyone else share this view? Or have a different view?
Also, remember that there are new “handbag” styles in the H line up which can account for much of the quantity increase you are seeing. The “To Go” wallets are considered handbags by FP and together with the newish mini lindy, account for almost 200 listings on their site. Regardless, it definitely seems like a decent time to get a bag resale if you’re interested in the larger sizes.
 
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I wonder if the main clients for these insane prices are royalty of small countries that don’t have H shops. Definitely not regular people. Just a thought.
We’ve seen many (not royalty) forum members purchase resale at admittedly high prices. I think it’s just that waiting time is worth more to different people and some have been funneling their previously spent vacation funds to luxury since travel is shut down. I mean if you typically take a $20k annual vacation and pick up a $10k bag while there, but couldn’t travel this year, I could maybe see how spending $20k to get the same bag without the travel seems like an ok prospect. (Not for me but I can see how someone could make the conclusion.) It’ll be interesting to see how close to “back to normal” we get and when.
 
With the amount of birkins and kellys floating around in the secondary market, I wonder if they’re mixed with super fakes. If B and K are so hard to buy from boutiques, how do we explain the abundance in the resellers? I don’t want to play the 'game' and honestly, nothing besides B and K and a few shoes, interests me from Hermes. I do not wear scarfs, do not like their homeware designs, and all of my jewellery are custom made by a local jeweller. Yet, I just cannot bring myself to buy from reseller.
 
Yes, resellers take a huge commission for bags too. I’m based in Singapore, and have dealt with some well known resellers. Our resellers are doing so well they are ballin.
Fresh from store:
B25/k25 - $5-6k commission
B30/K28/C -$2-3k commission (or more now)
K20 - $6-7k commission
Rodeo charms/picotin/Lindys: they will offer few hundred to $1k less than retail

Reselling H bags is a great $$ business to be in! No doubt they spend a lot and take risks to build up inventory and reputation to get bags.
I am surprised we don’t talk much about reseller commissions here. Is it a taboo to talk about it? If we could be open, could this be a more transparent place? Or am I opening a can of worms? :girlsigh:
 
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