This handbag costs as much as a house - AIBU to think it's hideous?

[ScreamingValenta]

This handbag has just sold for £162,500

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-44463624

Why? What's nice about it? Gold-coloured crocodile skin? It doesn't even appear to be a convenient size or comfortable to carry.

Handbag experts - What am I missing here?

I've used a £100 Radley bag daily for about 3 years now and the leather still looks great.

It smells like a toilet, mind [boak]

i like it. Never pay more than 175 for a bag in my life. BUT, van Gogh's the sun flowers is worth 6 million, it's a glorified bank note. Or art.

This is like that.

It's a Birkin, it's highly coveted. No other bags I own are comparable in quality to my Birkins or Kellys. The leather is absolutely luxurious and each atelier achieves perfection. That particular bag is definitely not to my taste, but I'm sure many would love to add it to their collection.

Idontbelieveinthemoon

There's no longer a waiting list for Birkins - there hasn't been for quite a while.

Economics of supply and demand would say that if there is a waiting list, then they aren't charging enough for their bags.

I know, I know...

Actually Marie Antoinette wasn't nearly as vain about luxuries as she is portrayed to be. She in fact never said "Let them eat cake". Some years when their people were starving, she and her husband told the children they wouldn't have Christmas presents that year, as it wasn't right to spend money on luxuries when their prom were suffering.

I still don't see the appeal of such an expensive bag. My grandfather (who was in fact a very wealthy man, but had grown up in poverty and lived very simply) said that the more stuff you had, the more you had to worry about it.

The argument “id spend £6 on a bag in Primark” seems to forget what awful working conditions Primark sets which is a big reason why they can sell so cheaply.

Primark are no worse than anyone else. You think Next are better, or M&S? No, they just charge more.

the more stuff you had, the more you had to worry about it.

I agree with this. From my perspective, a handbag has to be usable, rather than being a display item. Beyond a certain price, I would be afraid to use a bag in case it got damaged or stolen.

It's hideous...but what do I know, I'm currently using this

I like Birkins, I think as 'luxury' bags go, I like them far more than Chanel, for example. This is ridiculous though.

I like nice handbags but I just don't like the Birkin. It must be one of the most copied bags out there, mainly at the cheap end of the market.

serious arm clutter , no man would lug that useless lump around.

must be the diamonds because otherwise it just looks like junk from a market stall.

Looks chavvy. Seen similar in tk maxx. Sale price is shameful. Poor lovely crocodile. Think of all the life changing third world cleft pallets and eye ops that could be fixed for the sale price of that silly bag.

I don't like it and the fact that is made out of crocodile skin is disgusting. Oh and yes I am vegetarian as is DH and have been for over 30 years and no I don't wear or use leather.

I don't get designer shoes, handbags or clothes. I know even if I won the lottery I would not be paying silly money for any of them.

Of course rich people are entitled to spend their money how they like and if they have more of it than sense then so be it.

The person that said rich people give more to charity - well some of them might but I think you will find that, on the whole, the poorer people are more likely to donate

I've just read that Stella Mc Cartney is selling copies of Meghan's second wedding dress (the halter neck dress she wore at the evening reception) in viscose for £3500.

I can't get het up about it I'm afraid.

This bag hasn't been bought to be used, it's just a collectible that will hold its value, like a piece of art or an antique.

I've never spent even a three figure sum on a bag, let alone a 6 figure one.

However I have lived in the developing world, where, I was told, the rent for a (basic) room to live in was about £2/month for the city were I was. I've spent more than that on a drink. Many times. I'm very fortunate to be able to live somewhere nicer than what you'd get for £2/month. Should I never buy drinks when out though I can easily afford it?

For most of those on this site, a six figure sum is a fortune/life changing. For many people around the world, it would be a much, much smaller sum - in the same city as above, it cost £20 to perform a hernia operation on a child, possibly life changing surgery. Yet many couldn't afford that - £20 would have been life changing to that family. 'Expensive' is all relative.