The world economy is in peril and seeing rampant inflation. The supply chain crisis, and the great resignation are but a few scary things looming over our finances. But what does it have to do with handbags? Well, turns out that a fancy, fashionable handbag can be a financial asset. With all of that going on, people are looking for other ways to get their hands on a new bag. Manufacturers can’t keep up, and prices in the secondary markets are rising as demand goes up.
Really, think of a ‘90s era Chanel, or something similar from the ‘80s – what should be the price for an item like that? Now add in 10 years and the nostalgia factor to it, and the price should increase substantially. People will not go without their fashion items, and sometimes they will pay handsomely to have that one charming bag to go with their outfit. Also, if you are a collector, or just want a nice-looking backpack to protect yourself from inflation, then purchasing one online is your best bet. Yes, really.
Gen Z and the handbag inflation protection
As always is the case, the newest generation got the short end of that stick, in that whole economic crisis deal. Gen Z’s prospects in that matter are very bad indeed. Investing in real state is a good way to protect yourself from inflation, some would say. This is not possible for most young people. However, Gen Z have an advantage over the older generation, which is truly revolutionary. And it is that they are extremely tech savvy and understand the value of collectibles very well.
So now the fashionable handbags, which went up in value to insane amounts over the last year (some people online estimate a 500% increase in some cases), are a valuable asset to hold. You could have bought a nice-looking bag some few years back for $500, and possibly sell it later down the road for $3000! It is just insane. But what does it have to do with Gen Z? Well, they are participating in this secondary market mostly online.
Buying low and selling high
There are a lot of good opportunities if you know where to look for them, both for selling and buying. Online platforms like TheRealReal, Fashionphile, ReBag, and eBay offer some good opportunities. That also goes for the social media. People selling things online are matched with people buying them.
Sounds like buying a fancy handbag and selling it later is a viable option for fighting inflation. The price rises, and the economic crisis (at least to a degree).
What Gen Z found out is nothing new, really. Buy something for cheap now and sell it later for a great profit. That works not only for bags but watches and sneakers too. We can explain the price increase phenomena of such items by looking at the great demand for nostalgia, the classic, the retro. So, resale as an alternative asset class? With the secondary market prices, yes – handbags fighting inflation.