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The Birkin bag resale craze may have hit its peak, serving up a dose of reality for Gen Z aspirational luxury buffs coveting the Herm\u00e8s accessory as their next big investment piece.<\/p>\n
The luxury handbag flung across the elbow of celebrities like Cardi B and Heidi Klum has appeared to have lost some of its appeal on the secondhand market, new data shows, though it continues to sell for higher than its eye-popping five-figure retail value. Birkin bags are a particularly hot commodity on the resale market because of how difficult it is to get the product new, requiring a customer to be a loyal Herm\u00e8s shopper or build a relationship with a sales associate.<\/p>\n
According to Bernstein Research\u2019s Secondhand Pricing Tracker, the average resale premium for Birkin and Kelly bags\u2014a metric representing the auction price compared to its retail cost\u2014has fallen from 2.2 times its original value in 2022 to 1.4 times as of last month. That means a Birkin originally bought for $10,000 and resold in 2022 would have fetched for $22,200, while a bag originally retailing for the same price and resold at auction today would be worth about $14,000 on the resale market today.<\/p>\n
Birkin bags, prized by many for the exclusivity associated with buying the bag, became a pandemic resale darling as wealthy shopping unaffected by COVID-related economic woes, sought out the in-demand bag on the secondhand market, as Herm\u00e8s produces a limited number of the accessory each year. However, 2025 has marked the end of a \u201cluxury supercycle\u201d according to Berenberg analysts, as consumers face headwinds like inflation, and retailers fail to woo aspirational shoppers. A Bain & Co. report released this summer also found the luxury market contracted 3% in early 2025, losing about 50 million customers.<\/p>\n
Simmered-down resale prices for the Birkin bag is bad news for Gen Z\u2019s aspirational luxury dreams, perhaps quieting a trend of young big spenders scooping up luxury items in hopes of making a profit on the secondhand market.<\/p>\n
Luxury retail brands are targeting Gen Z, who have entered the luxury market earlier than generations past, but are still developing their taste for what products they seek out. Some members of this young generation\u2014with a penchant for investing and side hustles\u2014have channeled their love for the finer things into a lucrative entrepreneurial effort.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhoever says handbags aren\u2019t an investment are lying,\u201d one TikTok user said in a 2023 video. \u201cWhat I\u2019m holding in my hands [an Herm\u00e8s Birkin bag] is undoubtedly a better investment than the S&P 500, stocks, and gold.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
James Firestein, founder of luxury resale and authentication platform OpenLuxury, said the appreciating value of a Birkin is no joke, claiming the resale value of the handbag and its Kelly counterpart, over the last decade, has outpaced gold.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know several instances where people have doubled their money based on buying it 10 years ago, and reselling it today in pristine condition,\u201d Firestein told Fortune<\/em> <\/em>last year. \u201cIt\u2019s similar to buying a Picasso and holding it in your home, because you can look at it, you can enjoy it. But then you ship it off in a couple of years and trade it for something else.\u201d<\/p>\n Birkin\u2019s resale value compared to more traditional assets, though still steep, is perhaps overexaggerated: $10,000 invested in the S&P 500 a decade ago would be worth about $30,000 to $40,000 today, while a Birkin bought 10 years ago for the same value would be about double its value, according to a report released last week by secondhand retailer Rebag. The analysis indicated Herm\u00e8s bags appreciated an average of 92% on the secondhand market during the last decade.\u00a0<\/p>\n While luxury items like a Birkin bag can soar in value during a period of high demand, most luxury goods are vulnerable to the very trends that once made them popular.\u00a0<\/p>\n Jessica Ram\u00edrez, cofounder and managing director at retail data firm The Consumer Collective, told Fortune <\/em>that beyond economic struggles, Birkin bags may be losing some resale value just because trends are slowly shifting. According to Ram\u00edrez, resellers wanting to get the most on a secondhand sale have to time their initial purchase before the item gains too much popularity and resell it at the height of its influence. That peak has likely passed.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom a market perspective and from a brand perspective, you want to cater your trends in the early days and see how early adopters are going to take and mature them, so you can get that mass,\u201d Ram\u00edrez said. \u201cIt works in reverse for a collector or someone who\u2019s trying to make profit.\u201d<\/p>\n The good news for resellers is despite Birkin prices cooling off at auction, the Herm\u00e8s arm candy is still in rarified air: The Rebag report found Herm\u00e8s was still the top brand on the secondhand market. When actress Jane Birkin\u2019s original Hermes Birkin sold for more than $10 million at Sotheby\u2019s in Paris earlier this year, it was record-breaking. According to the auction house, it became \u201cthe most valuable luxury item ever sold at Sotheby\u2019s Paris.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\nResale risks<\/h2>\n