Skyrocketing bag prices, is HERMÈS about to follow?
HERMÈS bag prices back in 1997, 90 cm scarves cost $275, and 45 cms cost $100. There were no twillies, triangles, or 70 cm, but mousselines were plentiful and came in two sizes, and the cashmere silk GMs were so sturdy they rarely pilled or pulled. Birkins wasn’t easy to find, but my Kellys were occasionally on display, and Constances could be had for the asking (and they couldn’t give the Kelly Danse away).
The old HERMÈS bag prices.
A certain chest pain arises when looking back at the old prices. If only! Those 32 cm Sellier Kellys on display in the mid-aughts were $6,500. My first Birkin purchase was $8,900 (or thereabouts) for a 30cm in Raisin. I remember looking at reseller websites back then, thinking, “who is gonna pay for that crazy markup price??” when those crazy markup prices are about half what we are seeing now. Prices seem to be increasing exponentially, and as a customer, it’s hard to keep up.
So many in the media seem unable to research what HERMÈS bags cost.
However, so many in the media seem unable to research what HERMÈS bags actually cost. How many “news” articles have we read where any given HERMÈS bag is deemed to cost $20,000 or more? (Hey, Newsweek: no Vert Bosphore Birkin, even in exotic, will sell for $110,000. That’s the reseller’s wishful thinking.
To some extent, of course, it can get a bit confusing for most people who don’t keep up with the HERM`ÈS bag offerings and the ever-changing prices. The same HERMÈS bag style can have different prices depending on the leather used or the structure.
HERMÈS 2022 Pricing
As of now, HERMÈS has announced that it’s time for another price increase – which admittedly does happen around this time every year.
As it happens, as of this writing, the prices have not completely changed over yet. Therefore, I will include the “old” prices along with an estimate of what the new price could be. These “estimates” are based on the limited confirmed increased prices I have listed above (reported by HERMÈS clients), ranging from 2% to 5%. I have rounded the estimated number up or down to the closest $25, as Hermès tends to do, rounding down when the price is about to hit “large” numbers (e.g., a new thousand), which Hermès may want to avoid.
My Disclaimers
NOTE that HERMÈS does NOT tend to increase prices by an even percentage or across the board; some prices may not change at all, depending on the style of the bag or the leather; occasionally, some prices are decreased as well. In particular, I find that exotic bag prices do not tend to increase by the same percentage as regular leather – it’s usually less. Please note the estimate column is solely a suggestion. The 2021 price column is accurate, as reported by members of The PurseForum; the new price estimate is based on the 2021 number plus 2-5%. Note also that the percentage I am choosing is somewhat arbitrary, but as HERMÈS tends to round their prices to the nearest $25, deciding to estimate a percentage by a few points either way (say, 3.5% instead of 3%) isn’t going to make a huge difference ($5000 x .03 = $150, $5000 x .035 = $175).
I will update the charts below with confirmed 2022 prices, but PurseBlog and I need your help to do this! PurseForum price threads are a member-generated source of information. When you purchase a bag, please visit this thread, which is the PurseForum 2022 price thread. Quote the last post, remove the “
