$400,000 bag: what’s the point of buying a copy of a Birkin bag for $80 at Walmart?

Copies of Birkin, the iconic bag from the Hermès brand, are sold for $80 at Walmart. But why buy at a low price an imitation of a luxury bag that can sell for up to $400,000? We talked about it with two experts.

According to social networks, the copy of the Birkin bags, nicknamed “Wirkin”, looks exactly like the original.

In fact, these bags are light years apart. If some creators on TikTok argue that this copy risks angering celebrities because “everyone will be able to get this look”, our experts do not agree.

“Hermès is true luxury. One that is only accessible to the elite. Connoisseurs know how to recognize themselves,” says professor in the Department of Marketing at UQAM, Ling Jiang.

If, by watching a video on TikTok, we may have the impression that the two bags look similar, this is indeed far from being the case in reality. Real Birkin bags are assembled by hand in France with exceptional leather and materials.

This is obviously not the case for the “Wirkins”.

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A bag… without pretension

But Walmart doesn’t claim to sell real Birkin bags.

We are not dealing here with fraudsters who sell fake bags from big brands like Chanel or Louis Vuitton on the black market, passing them off as real ones.

Consumers who purchase the $80 “Wirkin” are intentionally purchasing a bag that they know is a copy. They buy it because it is fashionable or because a celebrity they like has a real one, underlines the professor at the ESG UQAM Fashion School, Marie-Ève ​​Faust.

The objective of these clients is therefore generally not to try to make people believe that they belong to a social class that is not theirs, she adds.

The “Wirkin” can nevertheless be a first step for those who wish to buy a real Hermès bag once in their life.

The little history of the Birkin bag

The bag takes its name from the actress and singer Jane Birkin, whom the former boss of the Hermès group, Jean-Louis Dumas, met on a flight between Paris and London in 1984.

After this first contact, the designer would have designed the ideal bag for him. Jane Birkin was then seen everywhere with her bag which she allegedly wore out on the rope. The Birkin would then have started to be perceived as an indestructible bag that you could keep for a lifetime.

The famous Birkin has also become a symbol of extreme wealth.

Not only can certain copies sell for up to $400,000, but you also have to be part of an ultra-select club to put yourself on the waiting list and hope to be able to obtain a new one.

Like many luxury products, Hermès bags also represent an investment. If stored well, the bag can gain value after purchase.