All I want for Christmas is a Hermes Handbag: Wealth Building in Luxury Assets

I have an actuary acquaintance who paid a small fortune for a Louis Vuitton handbag, much to the irritation of her actuary husband. She argues that she derives much pleasure out of using her designer bag daily, while her husband only gets to use his equally expensive set of golf clubs occasionally. She has more reason to brag than ever about her decadent purchase, as luxury handbags are increasingly becoming considered assets in the true sense of the word. Big money has been changing hands between collectors of vintage designer brands, and some lenders happily accept luxury bags as security against loans. A personal asset lender says it has handed out the equivalent of about R4m to cash-strapped handbag owners who need money for private school fees or to fund a business venture. It could be easier for you to borrow against a luxury handbag than against a portfolio of investments like shares. Make sure you ask for a Hermes or vintage Chanel for Christmas, as some brands are more valuable than others. And, beware: there are lots of very good-looking fakes out there. – JC

On the day of the Hermes fashion show at Paris Fashion Week, Borro, the UK personal asset lender, reveals a number of their clients are using luxury bags from the designer as collateral for loans. In response to popular demand, we launched a service offering loans against handbags from the classic French fashion house Hermes in December 2013 and since then, business has blossomed.
Just last week, a client in London brought in a Hermes blue crocodile skin Birkin bag, with a value of £40,000 new (more than R700 000), and secured a £16,500 loan (R300 000).
In the US, Borro worked with one client to lend $30,000 (R35 000) against another Hermes crocodile Birkin bag. These types of loans are not unusual. We have seen other clients borrow £12,500 for school fees against a burgundy crocodile Hermes Birkin bag, and another who borrowed £10,500 against a slate grey crocodile Birkin.
Since launching this proposition in December last year, the lender has issued £210,000 against designer bags, with an average loan value of £9,000 (about R160 000).  Using both its in-house valuation experts, as well as external third party valuers, we authenticate and value the handbags, and offer clients up to 60 per cent of the market value of the bag based on its condition and age, as well as market desirability.
The classic designer bag is very collectable, especially to the fashionista. The Hermes Birkin bag in particular is exceptionally sought after, but buyer beware – there are myriad fakes and replicas flooding the market, from the primitive to the exquisite.Provenance is imperative when purchasing so always buy from authentic dealers and respected auction houses.
The luxury handbag market is not only high growth, but a global market that is synonymous with our wealthy clientele. We decided to add high end handbags to our asset classes to match demand for loans against these assets, and have seen clients capitalise on the service ever since.
One came to us with a vintage Chanel 2.55 handbag which she used to secure funds for launching her own online business. All the handbags we lend against are checked and authenticated by an internal and external authority to make sure they are the genuine article, and if possible we ask for proof of purchase too.”

http://www.biznews.com/wealth-building/2014/10/want-christmas-hermes-handbag-wealth-building-luxury-assets/