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?!

I don't get it either. Pricey bags and shoes do nothing for me.

Even if I won the lottery I couldn't see me spending more that £200 on either.

Xx.

They’re such granny bags too!

The appeal seems to be the kudos of being “guest listed” rather than the actual bags themselves.

Hermes really have pulled a blinder here fooling the gullible into spending such insane amounts of money.

So you're not in the position to speak like you do. A quick google search does not make you an expert! Some people "live" for fashion and the history of the fashion houses. I should imagine people buy them for the prestige, history, service, exclusivity, quality etc... But as everyone is different, the answers won't be the same!

They are worth it because that’s what people are willing to pay just like anything else. They are not for me but there are plenty of things I would splurge on if I could. Not sure why you care so much about other people’s choices?

So? That's their choice.

@KellyK2026, perhaps you could have looked carefully at the bags of these "friends of yours" who have purchased from Hermes and regretted it. Pick up the bag, look at it, learn about the leather, learn about the history of the brand and the design.
And I struggle to understand why these "friends of yours" have regrets. They didn't like the bag? Then sell it for a profit? What's the loss?

@Bobbieiris @XelaM For seventy thousand years they were caught to eat and other body parts were to be utilised in other ways. The teeth were probably used as necklace pendants. They are still eaten now. I can buy crocodile in my local butcher.

Hermes and LV are comparatively very new to the market. And they make handbags from the skin rather than pendants from the teeth.

I would like to point out that crocodiles are top predators. There is nothing that takes them on once they get past a certain size. We just don’t have large, meat eating, hunting animals except the crocodile. And since unregulated hunting was banned some years ago, the crocodile population has exploded. Overpopulation in wild animals is never a successful management strategy and crocodiles are not excluded from that.

I don’t necessarily disagree with you there. I have enough money to buy several birkin bags right now if I wanted but, for me, I don’t understand the appeal. Even if someone came up to me and held a gun to my head and said ‘you either need to drop 10k on a birkin or give 10k to charity right now’ I wouldn’t hesitate. I’d give it away because I seriously do not see how a bag is worth that much when 10k can go so much further elsewhere. Believe me, I have family members who live for fashion. They wear 80k Rolexes and everything has a label. I’d also say, and again this is just my experience, they are some of the most emptiest and unfulfilled people in I know who would get themselves into debt over a brand. It’s like they are chasing happiness through material objects. And, that’s probably shaped my worldview. They think it’s a status symbol but to other people it looks like desperation.

People lie. To make it seem less like they said yes to turn an instant profit.
Its all part of the Hermes game that keeps the resale market so insane.

This is so weird, why are you focussed on one thing that you could buy but don’t want to? There are plenty of high end things that we probably don’t want, why does it matter if other people value them more than you?

Oh there’s many things I think are overpriced and not worth it. Hermes bags are just one example.

I have a relative who worked for Hermés and I went to one of their events in Paris ( in my M and S outfit!) I really enjoyed people watching and looking around at all the scarves and bags etc . They employ loads of people and encourage all sorts of creatives, so from that point of view I’m a fan of the company but couldn't afford their products. I do search the charity shops in case I see one of the scarves tho! . (The employees don't get freebies btw)

I do get the whole charity shop thing. I’ve seen people get Hermes bags for about £400 in a charity shop. That does make more sense to me as you’re buying it at a much more reasonable price.

You're entitled to feel however you feel, but trying to discredit others simply because they don't share your way of thinking isn't right. People value different things. Some would sell a kidney for a bag, while others would give that money to charity. Horses for courses.

Wait til you hear what people do to chickens, sheep and cows!

you might have done better posting in AIBU. S & B has lots of very wealthy people on here, I mean I love having a look at what’s in fashion, even though it’s well outside my nonexistent budget. But if people want to spend £k on a bag, or clothing or jewellery or perfume or beauty products, private school why not? If I was a millionaire I wouldn’t spend my money on any of it or designer cars (although I would love a swimming pool😂), but I can understand why people do, and good on them.
If you’re not a vegan I don’t understand how you think one type of farming is better than any other (obviously poaching a wild animal is reprehensible, but that’s a totally different situation).
I think fast fashion is probably worse for the environment than a one off purchase of a very expensive item.
i’ve picked up some really nice kitchen stuff in charity shops before now, again well outside of my budget new, best was a coffee pod machine and milk frother for £10.00, the pods are quite expensive but I love my weekend ‘posh’ coffee, and thank whoever donated every time I use it☺️.

Weird comment.

How so?

@TheSandgroper but still, it's a crocodile 🐊 I am terrified of them and they are predators, but seems wrong to farm them just for fashion. Seems a bit old fashioned like with real fur or hunting elephants for ivory

Sounds like we think similarly about most things but the croc farming.

Here’s where I take issue with croc farming:

• They are apex predators who, in the wild, cover large distances. In a farm this isn’t possible. It also often results in crocs getting stressed and ripping off each others limbs.
• Their life span in the wild is 70 years and they are killed at 2-3 years old in a farm. This is really significantly less.
• Because of their thick protective skulls, the methods of killing them are often extremely painful and aren’t instant like they would be using a gun on a cow.

See my comment above. Croc farming is drastically different and not comparable. Please educate yourself.

It’s disgusting.

The expensive bag fetish is obscene too. It makes me sick.

Yep. None of my business. But I’m allowed to say hey.

It’s barbaric, honestly. And even if you sit there and say ‘well I don’t care about animal welfare’ reptiles carry pathogens that mammals do not. By putting crocs in farms it becomes a breeding ground for pathogens which are harmful to humans, all for the sake of fashion. And it’s unnecessary considering how many alternatives there are out there.

@KellyK2026- your posts on this thread show your title is wrong, you don’t want anyone to explain the appeal to you, you want a thread of people posting “oh gosh you are so right! There’s no reason anyone sensible would buy one and you are so obviously a better person than those who have one!”

I don’t own a Hermes bag btw- but I do know people who do and who just use them as bags. Bit of a tip, they don’t appear on cheap crappy tv programmes about wealthy shoppers. There are people who’s job it is to source luxury items that are hard to get for their clients, but their clients are also paying for discretion and it would trash their business to go on that sort of show.

I explained why they are worth it; it’s part of the admission price to the club.