Quick answer
Seven steps, and you can stop at any of them: photos, a price band, a firm offer by phone within 20 minutes, a same-day visit in London or an insured courier elsewhere, about 15 minutes of authentication, an ID check, then payment within 2 hours of authentication on a UK banking day. On a visit you keep the bag until the money is in your account, and nothing is deducted.
The Sale in Seven Steps
Step 1: The Photos
Daylight, no filters, and the whole bag in each frame. Send:
- Front and back, straight on.
- The base, where corner wear shows first.
- The inside, including the lining and pockets.
- The date stamp. Our date stamp checker turns the letter into a year.
- The hardware, close enough to show any scratches.
- The receipt and the box.
Photograph any scuffed corner or mark straight on. A clear photo of it now is what keeps the figure fixed on the day. We buy bags made from 2012 onwards in complete sets, and what we buy lists every model.
Steps 2 and 3: The Estimate Band, Then the Firm Offer
The calculator gives a band, never a single number, because nobody has seen the bag yet. It is the midpoint for the details you picked, plus or minus nine per cent. A Kelly 25 in Togo with palladium hardware, in Noir, Gold or Etoupe, excellent condition and a full set, shows £13,500 to £16,200 today. That band is not an offer, and nobody is bound by it.
The firm offer is different. A specialist looks at your photos, prices the exact bag against current demand and rings you within 20 minutes with one figure. That figure holds when we see the bag. It changes only if the bag is materially different from the photos, and then we show you what we found and you are free to walk away.
Step 4: The Visit or the Courier
In London
A buyer comes the same day to your home, your office or a branch of your own bank, at a time you agree on the call. Parking, concierges and meeting in a bank are covered on selling a Hermes bag in London.
Everywhere Else in the UK
We book and pay for a fully insured courier. The bag is covered to the full offer value from the moment it leaves your hands, and it is authenticated when it reaches us. Ask the specialist how a return is handled before you send it, so you know exactly what happens if you decide not to go ahead.
Step 5: Authentication
It takes about 15 minutes. The buyer checks the stitching, the heat stamp, the blind date stamp, the hardware, the leather and how the bag is put together, and matches all of it to the receipt and your photos. In London it happens in front of you, and you are welcome to ask what is being checked. Our guide on how to tell if a Hermes bag is real walks through the same checks.
If it does not hold up
We stop, tell you plainly and charge nothing. We do not make a cut-price offer on a bag we have doubts about, and a courier bag goes back to you insured.
Step 6: ID and Proof of Ownership
We take photo ID and proof of address on every purchase, without exception. It confirms the bag is yours to sell, and it protects you as much as it protects us. The original receipt is the proof of ownership: it ties the bag to a purchase and, next to your ID, to you. Payment only goes to a UK bank account in your name.
The checks protect you as well. Under section 22 of the Theft Act 1968, receiving goods you know or believe to be stolen is handling stolen goods, so a buyer who skips these checks is one to avoid. For exotic leathers, bring any CITES paperwork that came with the bag; our page on selling an exotic Hermes bag explains what that covers.
Step 7: Payment
Payment goes by Faster Payments within 2 hours of authentication, on a UK banking day. Faster Payments usually lands between UK banks in seconds. The figure that arrives is the figure agreed: no commission, no fee, and no charge for travel, the courier or authentication. On a visit you keep the bag until the money shows in your account. Check your banking app, then hand it over.
No Obligation at Any Stage
Asking for a price commits you to nothing. You can stop after the band, after the offer, after the visit is booked and even after authentication, right up to the moment the money is sent, without giving a reason.
What You Keep Compared With Consignment
Selling outright gives you one figure, paid today. Consignment can show a higher headline, but this is what typically comes off it:
| On a £15,000 bag | We Buy For CashMoney today | Consignment Or Resale2 to 6 months |
|---|---|---|
| Headline price for the bag | £12,000 | £15,000 |
| Seller commission20% to 40% is the going rate on consignment | £0 | − £4,500 |
| Authentication fee | £0 | − £75 |
| Photography and listing | £0 | − £120 |
| Insured postage, both ways | £0 | − £90 |
| Payment handling | £0 | − £150 |
| Price cut to finally shift itMost consigned bags are reduced at least once | £0 | − £1,500 |
| In your account | £12,000in your account in 2 hours | £8,565in 2 to 6 months, if it sells |
Worked example on a £15,000 bag, using commission rates publicly advertised by UK resale platforms. Your figures will differ. It is the gap between the headline and the payout that never does.
Our comparison of the best places to sell a Hermes bag adds auction and marketplaces, and the guide on how to sell a Hermes bag covers getting the bag and its paperwork ready.
Sources: Stripe, how Faster Payments in the UK works; Theft Act 1968, section 22 (handling stolen goods); GOV.UK, CITES imports, exports and commercial use; GOV.UK, UK bank holidays.