<p class="financial-disclaimer">The offers and details on this page may have updated or changed since the time of publication. See our article on <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/best-handbags-to-buy-investment-hermes-row-chanel-bottega-realreal-2024-8" target="_blank">Business Insider</a> for current information.</p><p class="ingestion featured-caption">Hermès makes some of the world's most coveted handbags — so coveted that they resell for more than their retail price.Edward Berthelot/Getty Images</p><ul class="summary-list"><li>Handbags can make a good investment — sometimes selling for as much as double their retail price.</li><li>Bags' performance on the secondhand market depends on several factors including condition and style.</li></ul><p>It's not <a target="_blank" class href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-girl-math-toxic-tiktok-trend-2023-10">girl math</a> — handbags can be a great investment. Not only are they actually usable, unlike stocks or bonds, but certain ones can be resold for more than they cost.</p><p>That's a good thing for those who love to shop because <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/rare-hermes-birkin-kelly-bag-auction-price-investment-christies-2024-5">handbags from the most exclusive brands can cost</a> five figures or more.</p><p>"People are shopping more with an investment mindset and less trend-driven, and I think that comes down to people understanding they can resell these items in the circular economy," Kelly McSweeney, a senior merchandise manager at luxury secondhand retailer <a target="_blank" class href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-the-realreal-is-using-ai-to-find-fakes-2024-5">The RealReal</a>, told Business Insider. "They are understanding more the value that their closet holds. If they have an item they haven't worn, they can get a percentage of that initial purchase back and then put that back into their wardrobe."</p><p>The secondhand luxury goods market reached about $50 billion last year, an increase of 4% to 6% from the year prior, Bain <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bain.com/insights/long-live-luxury-converge-to-expand-through-turbulence/">reported</a>. There was <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/luxury-handbags-most-fakes-counterfeit-how-to-tell-hermes-gucci-2024-7">growing interest in "preloved timeless bags"</a> in the US, the report found. Meanwhile, a McKinsey <a target="_blank" href="https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/retail/our-insights/welcome-to-luxury-fashion-resale-discerning-customers-beckon-to-brands">report</a> found that bags and shoes make up more than a third of all resale purchases.</p><p>In its annual Resale Report, The RealReal looked at which bags are selling for the highest percentage of the manufacturer's suggested retail price and which are selling for even more, a trend partially driven by the scarcity model adopted by certain luxury houses, like <a target="_blank" class href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hermes-became-ultimate-status-symbol-2024-2">Hermès</a>.</p><p>"It really comes down to availability in the primary market and then exclusivity, so depending on the brand's strategy for releasing a bag," McSweeney said.</p><p>Of course, a bag's condition also plays a role. Resale value is highest for bags that have never or barely been used. That said, bags that are not in new condition can still sell above MSRP, McSweeney added.</p><p>Bags that are classic — full leather, lacking too much ornamentation, styles that return season after season — tend to fare best on the resale market long-term, which is one reason bags like the <a target="_blank" class href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jane-birkin-bag-status-symbol-best-luxury-investments-2023-7">Hermès Birkin</a> and Chanel Kelly routinely show up on lists of the best investment bags.</p><p>These are the bags that, on average, have the highest resale value compared to their market value.</p>