With other fashion houses’ skyrocketing bag prices, is HERMÈS is about to follow suit?
Shopping at HERMÈS 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 still weren’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
There is certain chest pain when looking back at the old prices. If only! Those 32 cm Sellier Kellys on display in the mid-aughts were $6,500. A Birkin purchase was $8,900 (or thereabouts) for a 30cm in Raisin. 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.
Another slightly irritating issue about current prices, markups, or sales values is that so many in the media seem unable to research what these 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. Oh, and P.S.: don’t delete comments that question easily verifiable information.)
To some extent, of course, I understand that it can get a bit confusing for most people who don’t keep up with the offerings and the ever-changing prices. The same item can have different prices depending on the leather used or the structure.
HERMÈS 2022 Pricing
Now, as I’m writing this article, HERMÈS decides to announce that it’s time for a price increase – which admittedly does happen around this time every year. So while I have a trove of price information for you…..a lot of it will be slightly outdated.
Never fear! We’ve done our best to get as much of the new information as possible, and I am passing along some guesstimates for the rest.
As it happens, as of this writing, the prices have not completely changed over yet. Therefore, we 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).
The article was adapted from purseblog.com.