Ebb and Flow - 2023 Mid-Year Market Report

A Deep Dive into the Year's Hermes Auction Dynamics

In the world of luxury handbags, auction markets offer intriguing insights into the shifts and trends of these coveted collectibles. The auction market plays a pivotal role in setting the benchmark for valuations. This article delves deep into the auction dynamics of various handbag categories, highlighting the performance of each in 2023 compared to previous years. While some bags continue to ascend in value, others are dipping, so here I attempt to paint for you a comprehensive picture of the current state of the Hermes handbag auction market.

Leather Birkins

Representing the core of the handbag auction market, regular leather Birkins (which excludes Limited Editions, Special Orders, Exotics, Sellier Birkins or Birkins with hardware other than Gold or Palladium) are down 5.55% so far in 2023 compared with 2022’s auction average. The only size whose auction prices have increased on average is 30, which has climbed 0.99% since 2022. Birkin 25s are down 8.3%, Birkin 35s are down 3.85% and Birkin 40s are down 9.09%. The Fall and Winter seasons tend to offer a higher volume of bags that the Spring and Summer seasons, so any of these trends could easily be reversed by the end of the year. At the close of 2022, regular leather Birkins overall were down 3.82% compared with 2021, prior to which, averages had climbed continually since 2017.