An Hermès Birkin bag is one of the most coveted and luxurious fashion accessories in the world – but with prices starting at $12,000 a bag, it’s not accessible for most.
The Birkin cannot be bought over-the-counter at an Hermès store, with customers having to build up a shopping history at the brand to even be ‘offered’ a chance to purchase it – but now, shoppers are going wild over Walmart‘s $78 version.
The leather purse looks strikingly similar to a Birkin and comes in a range of colors including olive, black, elephant gray, emerald green, ivory white.
It is being lauded by shoppers online, with hundreds of TikTok videos dedicated to the fashionable bag.
‘I wonder if the Walmart Birkin bag knew it was going to embody all of 2024,’ a TikTok user @yourfinestpardon said in a recent video, while showing a picture of the Walmart tote bag.
‘A normal Birkin is $30,000 to $80,000 plus, depending on the bag,’ the fashion content creator continued.
‘The idea of the Birkin is that you see it, you know you can’t afford it – you can’t even get an invite into the store to buy the Birkin.’
‘And not everyone invited to the store can even purchase a Birkin – it is that elusive. So Walmart just said well how about we make a Birkin and we make it $80.’
Shoppers are going wild Walmart’s $78 version of the famous Hermès Birkin bag. The Walmart ‘dupe’ is seen left while a real Hermès Birkin is seen right
It is being lauded by shoppers online, with hundreds of TikTok videos dedicated to the fashionable bag
According to the TikTok user, reviews for the bag are saying it’s as good as the real deal.
‘It’s making the average human being able to buy a bag that looks exactly like the Birkin,’ she said.
‘And the people who are spending $30,000 plus on a Birkin are probably not happy about it, because capitalism is not based on taking a luxury item and making it affordable for everyone,’ she pointed out.
On Walmart’s website, a description of the bag reads, ‘Stylish and simple appearance, practical internal structure, reasonable partition, easy to use.’
It is now sold out in almost every color online.
‘I love the Wirkin!’ one enthusiastic fan wrote in the comment section of the TikTok video.
‘The best outcome of this: asking a rich lady, “Oh cool did you also buy this bag at Walmart?” and watch the meltdown,’ laughed another.
Others weren’t as sure about the bargain Birkin.
On Walmart’s website , a description of the bag reads, ‘Stylish and simple appearance, practical internal structure, reasonable partition, easy to use’
An Hermès Birkin bag is one of the most coveted and luxurious fashion accessories in the world. Jennifer Lopez is seen with a Birkin in 2022
‘It looks like a Walmart Birkin. And after a couple uses … it will definitely look like a Walmart Birkin,’ one naysayer chimed in.
‘Unless this is real, long lasting leather it’s nothing new under the sun… Bought an Hermès dupe in China 10 years ago… unfortunately didn’t last…’ agreed another.
Made from materials like crocodile and alligator skins, as wells as luxe leathers with fancy names like Tadelakt and Monsieur Grainee, Birkin bags take a minimum of 18 hours to hand craft.
The ‘basic’ model costs around $11,400 before tax if bought direct from Hermès, while special editions can run into the hundreds of thousands.
However, analysts told The Wall Street Journal to make the pricey purses, it costs Hermès just about $1,000.
Dedicated shoppers have gone out of their way to snag the purses, which are made in a limited supply, and normally only offered to clients who have an extensive purchasing history with the brand.
Insiders told the Journal that Hermès that shoppers must splurge $10,000 on other goods like shoes and scarves before they’re invited to purchase a basic model.
To be considered for a rare, limited edition purse, Hermès regulars must spend around $200,000 on other items in-store, it is claimed.
Even when the coveted offer is made, shoppers are shown a single bag they’ve been invited to buy and are not allowed to specify its color.
Anyone lucky enough to snag a Birkin from Hermès can sell it to an online reseller for around $23,000, with that retailer then listing it for around $32,000.
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