WHAT I’M LISTENING TO
There are people with Birkin bags and then there are the rest of us. This purse, made by Hermes, the French luxury…www.npr.org
GNANASAMBANDAN: Everyone wants to be a part of a club that’s just out of reach.
WELTMAN: That’s the soft part (laughter) that we’re poking at in advertising, you know.
SMITH: It feels a little sinister that they’re, like, marketing right to our soft spot. It’s like we’re helpless.
WELTMAN: Well, they didn’t put the soft spot there, you know. You’re the one that has the itch, you know.
The thing is, there are a TON of Birkin bags sold on eBay:
Hermes Birkin bags tell the rest of the world that you are one of the elite. Browse on eBay for a great selection to…www.ebay.com
I suppose if you buy on eBay there’s a question of authenticity that there wouldn’t be if you purchased it at the Hermes store itself. Although, can you REALLY tell the difference between a quality fake and a true bag anyway? In any event, it appears there are some safeguards that the eBay sellers are a least trying to implement to make it seem as if their product is real. For instance, one seller includes this information with the product:
This Birkin is stamped H in a box with the craftsman’s id and a 2004 year of production
Arrives carefully packaged in Hermes dust bag and in an Hermes Box (box maybe imperfect)
100% Authentic Hermes Birkin 35cm bag in Gold Togo leather with Palladium Plated hardware. This Birkin is stamped H in…www.ebay.com
Not that I am in the market for a Birkin bag, but if I ever WAS, I would be inclined to buy one off eBay, just to sidestep all the drama of actually having to buy a bag from the store. The woman being interviewed in the Planet Money episode essentially admitted that she BROKE DOWN IN TEARS because she wasn’t able to get one. At least she was able to laugh about it after the fact.