Frequently asked questions
Bagonomics in detail. For anything not answered here, contact us.
About Bagonomics
What is Bagonomics?+
An independent data publisher tracking the global luxury handbag market through proprietary indexes, cross-platform aggregated pricing, and editorial guides. Think Bloomberg or Liv-ex, but for handbags.
Are you a marketplace? Can I buy bags here?+
No. We don't sell handbags. We may link to external resale platforms (Fashionphile, Rebag, Vestiaire) as a convenience to readers, but those are independent operators.
Are you affiliated with Hermès, Chanel, or any brand?+
No. We are completely independent. All brand names are used here for editorial reference only. Trademarks belong to their respective owners.
Do you give investment advice?+
No. Everything on this site is informational. We are not investment advisors. Past performance is not indicative of future results. All decisions to buy, sell, or hold are your sole responsibility.
Indexes & methodology
What is the Bag Market Index?+
A composite of the 100 most liquid luxury handbag variants weighted by trading volume, with a 10% cap per component, square-root volume weighting, and chained divisor across rebalances. Constructed like the S&P 500 but for handbags.
What's in your sub-indexes?+
Hermès Index, Chanel Index, LV Index, Investment Grade Index, Premium-to-Retail Index, Discontinued Index, and Liquidity/Volatility experimental indexes. See /indexes for full list and methodology.
How often do indexes rebalance?+
Weight rebalance every quarter. Composition reviews twice a year (January, July). Buffer rules at ±20% prevent flip-flopping. Full schedule documented per index.
Where does pre-launch index data come from?+
Values prior to 2026-Q2 are anchored to the publicly published Knight Frank Luxury Investment Index handbag track, interpolated daily with seeded noise for visual continuity. Live aggregations from our backcast pipeline progressively replace these as cross-platform sales data is collected. This is transparently documented.
Data sources
Where does your data come from?+
Public auction houses (Sotheby's, Christie's, Bonhams, Heritage Auctions); brand websites and Internet Archive for retail history; aggregated cross-platform sales from Fashionphile, Rebag, Vestiaire, The RealReal, Yoogi's Closet, and eBay; Google Trends and Reddit for hype signals; European Central Bank for daily FX rates.
Do you publish individual sale prices?+
Never. We only publish statistical aggregates — medians, percentiles, standard deviation, sample sizes. No individual listings or sale URLs are republished. This is both a legal and editorial commitment.
Are prices in USD?+
Yes, all published statistics are normalized to USD using ECB daily reference rates. Retail prices show original currency alongside USD on regional pricing pages.
Tools
What's a CAGR?+
Compound Annual Growth Rate — the average annualized return over a period. Computed as (end_price / start_price)^(1/years) - 1. We show CAGR 1y, 3y, 5y where data is available.
What is 'premium to retail'?+
The percentage by which a variant's secondary-market median is above (or below) its current retail price. Positive means secondary > retail; negative means secondary < retail. Calculated per variant against same-country retail.
What's the regional pricing calculator?+
Compares retail prices across 15 countries with VAT and non-resident tourist tax refund considered. Helps you understand where to buy as a traveller. See /tools/regional/[variant_id].
Can I save bags to track them?+
Yes — the watchlist (bookmark icon on variant pages) stores favourites in your browser. Account-based watchlists with email alerts are on the roadmap.
Authentication
Do you authenticate individual bags?+
No. We aggregate fake-rate statistics across platforms but do not authenticate specific items. For individual authentication, use a third-party service (Authenticate First, Entrupy, Real Authentication, Bababebi).
Which resale platforms have the lowest fake rates?+
House-authenticators (Fashionphile, Rebag, Yoogi's Closet) consistently run below 0.5% fake rates. eBay sits around 14% across handbag categories. Full breakdown on the /authentication page.
Buying & selling
Where can I buy a Birkin?+
Officially: only from Hermès boutiques, by allocation (no public waitlist). The boutique selects clients based on purchase history. See our /guides/hermes-allocation playbook. Secondary market: house-authenticated resale platforms (Fashionphile, Rebag) or established aftermarket dealers.
What's the safest place to sell a bag?+
Fashionphile and Rebag offer the strongest authentication and direct payment. Vestiaire Collective has wider European reach but takes longer. Auctions (Sotheby's, Christie's) work for top-tier items. Yoogi's Closet and Madison Avenue Couture are well-regarded aftermarket dealers. See /tools/platforms for fee comparison.
How do I know what my bag is worth?+
Use our quick valuation widget on the homepage or browse to the specific variant page (e.g., /models/hermes/birkin/birkin-30-togo-noir-phw) to see current median, IQR, and premium to retail. For insurance valuation, consult a licensed appraiser.