Are You Workin’ for a Birkin?

If you spot a Hermes Birkin bag on the arm of your fav celebrity and decide you’d like to buy one for yourself … well, you may quickly realize that’s something that’s much easier said than done. Beyond the hefty Birkin bag price tag, these particular luxury purses are notoriously difficult to snag. It’s not like you can just walk into a Hermes boutique and pick up a Birkin right off the shelf. No, these bags are often hidden away “in the back” and you’ll need to make a special request — a request that you can sometimes be denied if the sales associate simply doesn’t like the look of you.

So, what gives? Why exactly does this culture of exclusivity surround the Birkin bag and what can you do to snag a Birkin for your own collection? Here’s everything you need to know.

Why are Birkins So Exclusive?

There are several reasons why Hermes’ Birkin and Kelly bags are so exclusive. According to an interview with Insider, Hermes Birkin bags are, in fact, the most expensive luxury purses in the world, with price tags ranging from $40,000 to $500,000. Additionally, Birkin bags hold their value exceedingly well, increasing in value at a rate of 14% per year, according to some studies.

Originally created with actress Jane Birkin in mind, today, the bags are all created from hand in France using high-end materials such as calf, alligator and ostrich skins. Despite some celebs’ massive Birkin collections, Hermes places a limit on how many bags that a client can purchase within a year and, to extend this exclusivity further, the brand, as implied above, only allows certain clientele to purchase one of these bags — and, in many cases, even then, the client in question won’t be permitted to pick the Birkin color or style of their choice. There are a limited number of Birkin bags made each year and, it’s estimated that there are only about 200,000 in existence.

How to Snag a Birkin

 

So, what should you do to claim one of these 200,000 bags for your own?

First, you’re going to need to look the part. As one Vox article reports, a Hermes sales associate told one buyer that a potential customer should look “deserving” of a Birkin before even asking to see one (make of that what you will). On the flip side, you can also try to go to a Birkin location that’s situated in an area where it’s a little more difficult for sales associates to judge clientele (and their wealth). For example, the same Vox article reported that clients found great success at Las Vegas Hermes stores, as it’s not uncommon for the clientele there to be dressed in a variety of ways and, after all, one never knows which customer just won a huge amount of money at the slot machines.

It also helps, Vox noted in the article, to develop a strong relationship with your local Hermes sales associates. You can do this by going into the store on a regular basis and making much smaller purchases, whether that be accessories, perfume, etcetera. Of course, you’ll want to be as friendly as possible to woo your sales associate of choice, but without going over the top. If you haven’t gotten onto that sales associates’ good side, you may hear a range of excuses regarding your Birkin request. Customers report hearing that they’ve been put on a wait list (hint: the wait is never over). Or a sales associate might just say that they simply don’t have any Birkins in stock and that they have no clue when they’ll get more and, no, they have no idea if other Hermes stores have them in stock and, again, no, they won’t put in a call for you.

But is that all a lie on the sales associates’ parts? Not always. Hermes told The Daily Mail that each Hermes store director only has knowledge of their own store, and they place orders for items like Birkin bags twice a year and then those bags come in anywhere from six months to a year later. So, in some cases, snagging a Birkin bag all comes down to luck — walking into a boutique at the right time, wearing the right clothes, talking to the right sales associate who just so happens to have a bag in the back.

Your Most Realistic Option?

The easiest way for you to add a Birkin bag to your collection? For many shoppers, it’s much, much easier to buy a pre-owned Birkin bag. Not only does this allow you to purchase a Birkin at (occasionally) a lower price point, but it also means that you have near-immediate access to a Birkin. No waiting around on waitlists that may or may not exist! Additionally, you won’t be forced to take whatever a Hermes boutique has on offer at the time; you can shop around for the exact Birkin bag that you want.

So, as you shop for a pre-owned Birkin bag, how can you ensure that you don’t buy a fake? There are a few signs of a counterfeit Birkin that you can watch out for.

According to Eluxe Magazine, you want to look firstly at the way the bag sits. If the bag slouches or droops at all, it’s likely fake, as a Birkin’s leather makeup means it always stands straight. Additionally, look at that leather, which should always have that distinct leather smell. The stitching should be even across the entire bag — no messiness. The interior of a Birkin bag is always chèvre goatskin. If you’re purchasing a bag that was made post-2000, it will feature a lock and key stamped with a matching number. And, lastly, the inside of the bag should sport a stamp that says, “Hermes Paris Made in France.”

Buying a Birkin with Luxury in Reach

Luxury in Reach offers an extensive collection of Birkin bags, in an array of colors and sizes, starting at $10,900. Shopping with Luxury in Reach is easy and there are no sales associates who are going to decide whether or not you’re “worthy” of a Birkin. Additionally, you never need to worry about buying a counterfeit purse when you shop with Luxury in Reach, as you might when purchasing a pre-owned purse elsewhere. As soon as we receive a bag, our top authenticators use a combination of their advanced knowledge and AI technology to authenticate that bag, before it even makes it onto our site.

Have a Birkin that you want to sell? Any luxury handbag collector knows that a Birkin is one of the best bags to resell for some of the greatest ROI that you’ll see on a designer bag, and Luxury in Reach makes the reselling process easy. All you have to do is submit an online form with all of the information on your Birkin bag, wait for our quote, and then ship the bag to us. After we verify the authenticity and condition, you get paid. It’s that easy.

So, whether you’re shopping for a Birkin or selling an old standby, Luxury in Reach makes the entire process seamless.

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