Premium to retail

Definition

Premium to retail is the percentage difference between the latest secondary-market median price and the current boutique retail price in a chosen country, both in USD. Positive premium means the bag trades above retail (waitlist scarcity); negative means it trades below retail (depreciation).

premium = (median_secondary - retail_usd) / retail_usd

Country convention

Retail varies by country because of VAT, taxes, and brand pricing strategy. By default we use US retail. The variant page exposes a retail_country parameter so you can change the baseline — for example, a French retail comparison shows lower premium because pre-tax French retail is cheaper.

Reading negative premium

Negative premium-to-retail is normal for non-waitlist bags. Most Louis Vuitton Neverfull configurations trade at -25% to -40% premium because supply is abundant. Hermès Birkin and Kelly are the major exceptions — chronic positive premium reflects the rationed retail supply.

Caveats

Retail price snapshots can lag brand changes by 1-7 days. Mid-quarter price adjustments by Hermès or Chanel are reflected at the next refresh. Premium calculations always use the most recent retail snapshot available.