AIBU to speculate on how much a $10,000 handbag actually costs to make?

[mumsfretter]

I have always been at the price of designer handbags and would never buy one because I can't afford one hate to buy into extortion for vulgar shows of wealth.

But how much do they really cost to make? I am sure much more of the cost is to pay for the branding and therefore why just why would you pay for the branding of a company?

The Fendi Mink bag at $10000 just makes me feel nauseous.

About $5 in a sweat shop.

People pay for the name. Mink also isn't cheap, so you have to factor in the materials. What is it lined with? It won't be above $200.

You could buy a car and drive your lipstick and phone around for that price....

true worra but not sure what one would keep in a $10,000 handbag, certainly not wet wipes and boiled sweets.

it's terrible that people are exploited in this being paid a pitance and a big company isn't paying them a half decent wage, morally how could anyone buy these designer goods?

mumsfretter, my bag is full of junk, sticky sweets and grotty tissues yuk, most certainly not worth pinching,

To be fair, Mrsfuzzy there is just as much exploitation in cheap pile it high clothes shops. So I know it's not a good argument but I just feel that if someone has that much money for a handbag it should go to better use.

It's not just designer goods though mrsfuzzy, it's mobile phones, computers, tea, coffee, chocolate, fruit etc etc.....

I suppose it all the people wages behind the designing the bag.

It's not just the materials. I would love a disigner bags and shoes as I belive they would last a life time

And, morally speaking, how does someone justify shopping at Primark?

It's people's money they can spend it how they wish.

Not sure this helps but when I worked in retail (specialist goods along this line not supermarket high turnover stuff) we had to mark up to goods, we got cost from manufacturer and had to add 55 per cent plus vat. So I guess the retailer and vat cut accounts for over a third of the ticket price.

I was just pointing out that low cost clothes manufacturers are just as likely, if not more, to be using sweatshops/ child labour. So buying designer goods isn't a moral dilemma for that reason. Although it could be if you object of the use of fur or crocodile skin etc.

Personally I think you pay your money, you take your choice. A good bag can last 20 years.

If it costs £10,000 it's not going to be made in a sweat shop. If they are only expecting to sell 50 of them and have to pay the wages of the design team, marketing team, production team etc etc then a good proportion of the cost is going on things other than the actual materials.

I don't use handbags at all personally.

Apparently for the expensive crocodile skin bags, they farm the crocodiles especially and then they kill them in a horrible, painful way so they get nice unbroken skin to use. just another reason not to like Victoria Beckham for carrying one, although she was probably given hers.

It won't be anything like that amount of money, but it won't be cheap. I have an lv which I got for Christmas last year. I have used it daily (and carried round sweets, drinks, and assorted toys in it) for a year. Apart from the handles which have softened and darkened slightly it is like new. No loose stitching, zip still perfect, etc. it was expensive, but I've had expensive bags which have looked well used in a matter of weeks. So yes, it was expensive, and no it couldn't possibly have cost anything like what I paid for it to make, but the quality of the workmanship and the materials speak for themselves

rogersmelly

What's an lv bag?

I am not so sure about the workman ship and materials costing so much to justify the price. I remember seeing a plastic Channel handbag which was moulded not hand stitched on sale for around £600!
I know their designers are not paid massive amounts.

It's all about customers buying into the brand. To gain the btrand image they plough zillions in including giving the bag away or actually paying celeb's to use them.

Ultimately people who buy designer handbags are really paying the lion's share to the marketing team which creates the brand to suck you into buying it.

Therefore, by buying the brand you are effectively paying for yourself to be sucked in!

A bag that fancy won't be made in a back alley. Yes, there will be marketing etc to be paid for but the materials and workmanship will be worth it.

I like to tell myself it would be more ethical to only buy Chanel couture as that stuff isn't made in a sweatshop. Sadly I haven't made my first billion yet.

I listened to the head of marketing at Gucci in an interview once. He said that if they made their handbags too cheap they didn't sell, but it was impossible to make them too expensive! He agreed it was ridiculous, and that the bags cost much, much less to make, but cheaper items devalued the brand in the customers eyes.

They make them so expensive so that people who are that way inclined can wave them about and show everyone that they can afford something that expensive.

It's all about show.

The jokes on them! If someone were to mention their XX bag or by XXX designer I wouldn't have a clue. Probably just thing (eurgh - ugly old bag).

I'm fortunate enough to have visited the Louis Vuitton workshops in Asnieres, just outside Paris. They're standards of training, apprenticeships and staff welfare are outstanding, and it is easy to see why Louis Vuitton bags made there are so expensive. They offer 3-5 year training apprenticeships. Of course, there are also massive marketing and operational overheads too. I'd rather pay more for a bag that I know has been made by a company that looks after all its staff, than something made in a sweatshop in China. If a handbag is hand-stitched it may take up to 10 hours to make. If skilled staff are paid a decent but low wage, say £20 an hour - that's £200 in initial staffing costs. Add in cost of materials, overheads, marketing, etc. it's easy to see why a good quality handbag costs in the high hundreds.

What I detest is when "luxury" brands have goods made in sweatshops. That really is something that is disgusting and why I won't buy certain luxury goods.

They're = their. Sorry I forgot to proof read before posting.