Quick answer
Know the year and the spec, have the full set and a dozen honest photos, and compare every offer as the amount that lands in your bank. As a benchmark, for a complete Birkin 30 from 2012 onwards in Togo, excellent condition, we currently pay about £10,600 to £12,700 with nothing deducted. Whoever you sell to, never hand the bag over until the money shows as cleared in your own banking app.
The Seven Steps at a Glance
Each step is explained below with the detail that decides the price. This guide is one of our guides to selling a Hermes bag; the others cover where to sell and how to check a bag is genuine.
Step 1: Find the Year
Every Hermes bag carries a blind date stamp: a letter pressed into the leather without ink or foil, sometimes inside a shape. Before 2015 it is usually on the strap near the body; since then, mostly inside on the left interior panel or under a tab. A torch held low across the leather shows it. Bags made from 2012 carry one of these:
| Years | Stamp | Letters |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 to 2014 | A letter inside a square | P = 2012, Q = 2013, R = 2014 |
| 2015 onwards | A plain letter, no frame | T = 2015, X = 2016, A = 2017, C = 2018, D = 2019, Y = 2020, Z = 2021, U = 2022, B = 2023, W = 2024, K = 2025, G = 2026 (reported) |
Hermes does not publish its letters. The 2026 letter is what collectors report from the first bags to surface.
Many buyers have a cut-off (ours is 2012), and the year has to fit the bag: Christie's points out that Evercolor leather was only introduced in 2013. Plain letters also ran from 1945 to 1970, so a plain K alone does not prove 2025; the receipt settles it. Our Hermes date stamp checker covers every letter back to 1945.
Step 2: Gather the Full Set
A buyer prices everything you hand over, not just the bag. Find:
- The lock, the keys and the clochette, the small leather bell the keys live in. The keys carry a number that should match the one engraved on the lock.
- The orange box, with its lid and ribbon.
- The dust bag, and the rain cover if yours came with one.
- The original receipt. It shows the year, where the bag was bought and that it was yours to sell, all in one document.
- CITES paperwork for crocodile, alligator, lizard or ostrich, if it came with the bag. Our page on selling an exotic Hermes bag explains why it matters.
Do not look for an authenticity card: Hermes does not issue them, and Christie's states that any Hermes item sold with one is fake. A complete set sells faster and for more, and some buyers, including us, buy complete sets only.
Receipt missing?
Search your email and the loft before you write it off. If it has gone, ring the desk on 07939 590661: there are cases we can still work with, and we will tell you straight away whether yours is one of them. Auction houses and consignment services will also consider a bag without one.
Step 3: Identify the Exact Spec
"A Birkin" is not a price: the same model can be worth twice as much in one leather as in another. If you cannot tell a detail, say so rather than guess; a specialist can read it off good photos.
Model and size
The number in the name is roughly the width in centimetres: Birkin 25 to 40, Kelly 20 (the Mini) to 35, Constance 18 and 24. Smaller Birkins and Kellys currently fetch more. The Birkin sizes guide has the measurements.
Sellier or Retourne
For a Kelly: Sellier is stitched on the outside with sharp, rigid edges; Retourne is stitched inside out, so it is softer and rounder. Buyers price them differently.
Leather
Togo, Epsom, Clemence, Swift, Box, Chevre, or an exotic. Our guide to Hermes leather types shows how to tell them apart by grain and feel.
Hardware
Gold, palladium, rose gold, ruthenium or brushed. The colour of the Hermes Paris heat stamp usually matches it.
Colour
Use the Hermes name if you know it. Noir, Gold and Etoupe always have buyers. Seasonal brights sell for less unless the bag is rare.
Condition
Store fresh, excellent, good or fair. Corners, handle tops and the inside edges show wear first. A horseshoe stamp beside the date stamp marks a special order, which is worth materially more.
Step 4: Photograph It Properly
Every buyer prices from photos, and an offer made on flattering ones is the one that drops on the day. Shoot by a window in daylight, with no flash and no filters, on a plain background. Take:
- The front, straight on, with the whole bag in the frame.
- The back, straight on.
- The base, showing all four corners and the metal feet.
- Each side.
- Close-ups of every corner. Corner wear is the first thing a buyer looks for.
- The handles, top and underside.
- The inside, with the lining visible.
- The Hermes Paris Made in France heat stamp.
- The date stamp, sharp enough to read the letter.
- The hardware: turnlock or clasp, straps and zip pull.
- The lock and keys, with the numbers readable.
- The box, dust bag and receipt together. Cover any card number on the receipt.
Photograph the worst of the wear straight on: an honest close-up of a scuffed corner gets an offer that holds. Our own form starts with six of these photos, plus one of the receipt.
Step 5: Get Offers You Can Compare
Get at least two figures and ask each buyer the same questions. A consignment valuation is an estimate of a future sale price before commission; an outright offer is the money itself.
| Ask | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Is this what lands in my account? | Consignment platforms typically charge 20 to 40 per cent commission, sometimes plus fees. A £15,000 sale at 30 per cent leaves £10,500 before fees. |
| Is the offer firm? | Ask, in writing, what could change it on the day. The only honest answer is a bag that differs from its photos. |
| When am I paid? | The same day, after an auction, or whenever a buyer is found. |
| Who carries the risk in transit? | Insist the bag is insured to the full offer value from the moment it leaves your hands, and ask who arranges it. |
| What if it fails authentication? | Ask how the bag gets back to you and who pays for it, and get the answer in writing before it leaves your hands. |
| Can the price be cut? | Many consignment agreements allow reductions after a set period. Know your floor before you sign. |
As a benchmark, we pay about £10,600 to £12,700 for a complete Birkin 30 from 2012 onwards (Togo, palladium, a core colour, excellent condition), with nothing deducted. The Hermes price guide has our bands for every model and size.
Step 6: Choose How to Sell
There are five realistic routes, and each one wins in a different situation:
- An outright specialist buyer: paid within days or the same day, no commission, but below a patient resale price.
- Consignment: the highest headline, less 20 to 40 per cent commission, after weeks or months.
- An auction house: best for rare pieces. Christie's and Sotheby's both hold handbag sales in London.
- A peer-to-peer marketplace: you keep more, but do all the work and carry the fraud risk.
- A pawnbroker: a loan against the bag, for when you want it back.
Our comparison of the best places to sell a Hermes bag works through what you keep each way on a £15,000 bag, and when consignment or auction genuinely beats a cash sale.
Where we fit
We are one of those options: an outright buyer. A firm offer within 20 minutes of your photos, a same-day visit in London (see selling a Hermes bag in London) or an insured courier elsewhere, and payment within 2 hours of authentication on a UK banking day, with no fees. The limits: bags made from 2012 onwards, complete sets only. If yours is older or incomplete, auction or consignment is the better route and we will tell you so.
Step 7: Get Paid Safely
The price is only half of it: the handover is where a sale can go wrong. Whoever you sell to:
- Check the buyer is who they say. Any UK company can be looked up free on the Companies House register.
- Exchange ID. A legitimate buyer will ask for your photo ID and proof of address, and should show you theirs. We ask for both on every purchase, without exception.
- Take payment by bank transfer. Faster Payments usually arrive within seconds between UK banks. Check the money in your own banking app: screenshots, emails and "payment pending" messages can all be faked.
- Never release the bag before cleared funds. Not for a cheque, not for a banker's draft, not for a promise that the transfer is on its way.
- Meet somewhere safe. A branch of your own bank is ideal. At home, have someone with you.
- If you post the bag, get a firm written offer and full-value insurance first.
- Keep records: your photos, the written offer and a photo of the receipt.
Every step of how we do it, including the ID checks, is on the how it works page. If you have doubts about the bag itself, our guide on how to tell if a Hermes bag is real covers the nine checks professionals make.
Sources: Christie's, How we know your Hermes handbag is the real deal; Sotheby's, Sell Hermes bags like an expert; Companies House register; GOV.UK, Capital Gains Tax on personal possessions.