Can someone explain the appeal of expensive Hermès bags to me

[KellyK2026]

I don’t know how, but I recently got sucked into watching a bunch of Love Luxury videos on YouTube which features rich people buying expensive Hermes bags. Can someone please explain the obsession with Hermes bags? To me, they look very basic or just plain ugly. I cannot fathom why someone would pay £20,000-200k on a bag which costs a fraction of that price to produce and was mostly made in China. I’d rather get a good quality bag which has been handcrafted locally for £200 or less. Someone please explain it to me?!

You really can’t understand that people like different things? 🫤

Well, I do have a very well used crocodile bag that I picked up at the charity shop. It is beautiful leather that I do enjoy using.

No, I can’t understand why someone would pay that amount of money for a bag that is mostly manufactured in China. Absolutely not.

Same! It’s a bag!

Made in China doesn’t automatically mean poor quality. But it is a concept that people are buying rather than an item. Same at a cheaper level with clothes and other items in fashion over those that are not. You are buying a badge that others recognise as luxury and that gives you status within certain circles. Fortunately for them, those bags hold their value reasonably well compared to some items - for now.

Well, an awful lot of the crocodile skins don’t come from China. They come from Australia so have been raised by Australian animal welfare standards with the staff being paid Australian rates and conditions and Australian workplace safety standards.

Absolutely none of that comes cheap. https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2020-11-10/hermes-mick-burns-plan-to-build-huge-crocodile-farm-nt/12823662

And Google AI says that Hermes’ and LV manufacture in-house in France so, again, not cheap.

There is no way I would ever play the ridiculous Hermes game or pay that much for a bag.
I dont personally like this style of bag and some of them are just downright ghastly and lacking in taste like the picnic one and the doll one with a face and arms and legs on it.
The Kelly is quite nice but £20,000 plus? Absolutely not.
You'd be mugged before reaching the end of your road in the UK so how could you take it out?

Omg 😦 people kill crocodiles 🐊 to produce some ugly crap for rich people to buy at insane prices?

I’m not a particular fan of Hermès and their bags, but they claim they are handcrafted by leather artisans in France and they have a school where they teach the craft. Other than that, many people buy them because they are a status symbol or as investment pieces (as some people do with Rolexes and other similar items) since they can sell them privately above their original purchase price (given they operate on a waitlist/pre-spend system and there are lots of people who don’t want to play the pre-spend game and would rather buy them off someone else directly at a higher price).

It is deceiving customers to put ‘made in France’ on the label when what they actually mean is that the finishing touches were made in France but the main bulk of the work is done in a factory in China which will make a whole host of far cheaper bags for other brands. I’ve never really brought into the appeal of brands so maybe that’s why I just don’t get it.

I sure Hermes still manage to make a large profit. Expensively materials is only part of concept that make these bags so sought after. The price itself is part of the exclusive appeal.

That’s what I think. All the logistics of taking a Hermes bag out. You’d have to think about how far you’d be walking to reduce the mugging risk. Then if you go out to eat you’d need a chair to put the bloody bag on so it doesn’t get messed up. Then you’d be really cautious about what you put in the bag incase anything leaks or stains it. Sounds like a logistical nightmare!

Well, it most definitely isn't made in China (mostly or at all). It is entirely made in France.
And the quality is exceptional. It simply isn't the same as even a well-made locally crafted 200 pound bag.
The videos are misleading, I think. In my opinion, it is silly to buy an Hermes bag for, say, $10,000 new (the resale prices are higher - which also makes the bag an investment) if affording it isn't extremely easy to you. Someone who is also juggling a car payment, a mortgage, well, to me they do look misguided. They are using their Hermes bag to try to suggest they are far wealthier than they actually are, which is a strange way to behave. I always wonder, if no one ever saw you with that bag, would you still want it? But, if the money is a tiny amount to you, the quality is there and the design is classic.

The croc farm threw me as well. Humans are heinous, aren’t they? Animals that have been around since the dinosaurs being made into handbags.

Oh my gosh I didn't realise farming crocs for their skin was legal 😳 how awful! Why would anyone buy something so inhumane?

I've travelled all over the worked with my Birkins and Kellys and have never once thought about any of these things. If you're genuinely interested in a sensible discussion, the Purse Form would be a much better place.

It's disgusting to farm crocs for their skin, just to make bags, belts and shoes. I would never, ever buy or use anything like that. Charity shop or not.

But I’ve literally watched videos of people selling on their Hermes bags because they didn’t feel safe walking with them. So it does happen and it’s something I’d personally be worried about too.

Oh they do alligator, croc, lizard and ostrich too as part of their ‘exotic’ collection…

Honestly, it's a bag - stop being silly. If the bag's insured, there's no problem. Use and enjoy.

People love to talk about ‘but leather is a byproduct!’, as though any one of us in the Western world needs to be consuming animals at all. A crocodile reared for a hand-made product is being given more dignity than a cow reared for McDonalds.

The people who buy these bags seek the validation of others. Look at what I can afford. I believe you can’t just buy one either, aren’t you vetted and put on a list? They might perhaps argue that they want to buy top quality craftsmanship but there is plenty of that around without the “kudos” of buying a Hermes. But they aren’t seeking the craftsmanship, its ego and wanting people to know how special they are. These brands go the other way for me, despite their high price points, they seem tacky. It isn’t just Hermes either. I see people with YSL, Chanel, Dior - I just assume they have bought a fake, again for the validation. It all seems a bit sheeplike.

Clearly it’s a status symbol and wealth signifier. It’s how they let other rich people know that they belong in the club. I think they’re beautiful bags.

How is it being silly when people have sold on their bags because they didn’t feel safe carrying them?