Sooner or later most collections face the same quiet question: which piece moves on. Perhaps the Birkin 30 never quite suited your frame, a colour had its season, or the bag simply sits in its dustbag while another is carried every week. Whatever the reason, selling a Hermès bag well is a skill of its own, and the gap between a good exit and a poor one routinely runs to thousands of pounds.
This guide compares every serious route open to a seller in London and across the UK (auction, consignment, online marketplaces and a specialist dealer) with the honest trade-offs of each. It covers what your bag is worth and why, when to sell, the mistakes that cost sellers money, and what to prepare before you ask anyone for a number.
What your bag is worth: the six things every buyer checks
Before comparing buyers, it helps to know what they will all be looking at, roughly in order of weight.
Model and size. A Birkin 25, Kelly 25 or Mini Kelly commands the strongest demand in the catalogue; Birkin 30, Kelly 28 and Constance 18 follow. Larger sizes and less-requested models trade on a wider market at gentler numbers, and exotics live in their own universe.
Condition. New or unworn with plastics intact sits at the top; carried-but-cared-for follows; visible wear at the corners, handles or hardware moves the number materially. Light softening of the leather and faint scratches on the hardware are normal signs of use. Corner wear, water marks, interior stains and structural damage are not. Every serious buyer inspects under strong light, so be honest with yourself first.
Colour and leather. Black, Gold, Étoupe and Craie in Togo or Epsom sell fastest and are the least sensitive to timing. A seasonal shade can outperform them at launch, then lose its premium as the novelty fades. Our resale colour guide shows which shades hold up.
Hardware. Gold and palladium are the reference points; gold usually carries a measurable premium, and rose gold has its own following.
Stamp year. All else equal, a newer bag is worth more than an identical older one. The blind stamp tells a buyer the year at a glance.
The paper trail. The original receipt, box, dustbag, raincover, clochette, lock and keys, and CITES paperwork on exotics all add real money and speed. A receipt is not essential, because a bag is bought on what it is, but a full set signals a bag that has been owned properly.
When to sell
Timing matters less than most sellers assume, because demand for Birkin and Kelly is steady through the year. A few patterns are still worth knowing. The weeks after an Hermès boutique price increase tend to be strong, as buyers priced out of retail turn to the secondary market. January to March and September to October are usually busy; July, August and the fortnight around Christmas are quieter. For a classic colour the season barely matters; for a seasonal shade, sooner usually beats later. The detail is in the best time to sell a Hermès bag.
Route one: the auction houses
The great houses hold dedicated handbag sales, and for genuinely rare pieces (Himalaya, unusual exotics, discontinued editions, bags with provenance) auction can achieve prices nothing else will, because the whole world bids at once.
The trade-offs are structural. The seller pays a commission, and the buyer pays a premium on top of the hammer price, which bidders price into what they are willing to bid. The calendar is unhurried: consignment deadlines, catalogue photography, the sale itself and then settlement add up to months, not days. An estimate is an opinion, you have limited say over the reserve, and a lot can pass unsold. Auction rewards rarity and patience; it is rarely the right home for a standard Togo Birkin. The two routes are compared in detail in auction or a specialist reseller.
Route two: consignment
A consignment house displays your bag, markets it, and pays you when, and only when, it sells. Most work on a percentage: commissions in the London market commonly sit between fifteen and thirty per cent, depending on the piece and the house.
Done well, consignment returns more than an outright sale, because you take part in the retail price. The cost is time and uncertainty. Your bag is out of your hands but not yet sold, the wait can stretch across seasons, and on a percentage model you only learn your money at the end. A bag listed at £15,000 with a twenty per cent commission nets £12,000 if it sells at full asking price; one or two price reductions later, the figure can fall below what a dealer would have paid on the first day. Read any agreement carefully: the period, who insures the bag while it is with them, and what happens if the price is cut.
At JULL consignment does not run on a percentage. We agree the exact sum you will receive, in pounds, before the bag is listed, and that figure cannot fall without your written consent. The bag is under our risk while it is with us, the period is sixty days, and you are paid within seven working days of the buyer's cleared funds. If it has not sold by the end of the period, you collect it or we courier it back, with no fee for the attempt. For the same bag, the consignment figure is always higher than our outright offer. The full terms are on Consign your Hermès with JULL.
Route three: online marketplaces
Peer-to-peer platforms and the big resale marketplaces offer reach, and for pieces under a few thousand pounds they can work well. At Hermès prices the friction grows. Platform fees take their share, authentication and shipping cycles add weeks, buyers negotiate hard, and you carry the returns, disputes and payment risk yourself. Fraud, from payment reversals to bag-swap claims, concentrates exactly where the values are highest.
If you go this way, photograph everything before it leaves you, insist on fully insured, tracked carriage at declared value, never ship before payment has fully cleared, and price the fees in before you judge an offer.
Route four: a specialist dealer
The simplest route is a dealer who values the bag and either buys it outright or consigns it on agreed terms. The outright price reflects the wholesale reality of the market, because the dealer carries the bag on their own capital until it sells. What it buys you is certainty: a firm number, no fees, and no five-figure parcel travelling between strangers.
At JULL the process runs in five steps:
You send the details. Model, size, colour, leather, hardware and blind stamp, with four or five photographs on WhatsApp. No forms.
Two figures within two working days. The fixed consignment payout and the outright price, both in pounds, both for your bag. You choose.
The bag comes to Chelsea Harbour. Bring it to the showroom, open seven days a week, or we send an insured courier anywhere in the UK. We authenticate in person and with Entrupy.
Outright: paid now. Consignment: agreement signed. Outright, the bank transfer goes the day the bag is authenticated, to a UK account in your own name. On consignment you sign the agreement with your payout written into it, and the bag is listed the same week.
Consignment: sold, then paid. We tell you when it sells and pay within seven working days.
Send your details through the sell page and you will have both numbers to compare. Before choosing anyone, our checklist on how to choose a Hermès reseller in London is worth five minutes, and if you have not dealt with us before, Is JULL legitimate? sets out who we are.
Which route for which bag
A pattern emerges across the options.
Truly rare pieces (exotics, limited editions, museum-grade vintage) justify the timeline of an auction.
Strong classics in excellent condition (Birkin 25 and 30, Kelly 25 and 28, Mini Kelly, Constance) do best on consignment if you can wait sixty days, and outright if you cannot.
Everyday models, or any bag you want resolved this week, belong with an outright buyer.
Anything under roughly £2,000 is usually not worth the friction of the grand routes; a marketplace or an outright sale is simpler.
Put simply: if speed and certainty matter most, sell outright. If the highest number matters most and you can wait, consign. If the piece is rare and you can wait months, consider auction.
The mistakes that cost sellers thousands
Pricing on sentiment. The market prices specification and condition, not memories. An asking price well above the market simply means the bag does not sell, and a bag that sits gets marked down.
The wrong channel for the bag. A standard Birkin 35 at auction, or a rare exotic on a peer-to-peer app, are mismatches that cost money either way.
Neglecting storage. A bag kept collapsed in a cupboard, in a plastic cover or near damp loses shape and value quietly. Stuff it, keep it in its dustbag, and look it over in good light before you ask for a valuation. Our care guide covers the basics.
Taking the first number without comparing. Ask two or three serious buyers. A good dealer expects it and will tell you why their figure is what it is.
Trusting an unverified buyer. Check who you are dealing with, keep the bag until payment has cleared, and never take cash for a five-figure piece.
Selling from outside London
Distance changes less than sellers expect. Valuation happens over photographs wherever you are, and the only physical step is getting the bag examined safely. For sellers in Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh or anywhere else in the UK, JULL arranges insured courier collection at full declared value, so the process from a Cheshire study is the same as from a Chelsea one: details today, two figures within two working days, collection booked, and payment on the day the bag is authenticated if you sell outright.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best way to sell a Hermès bag in London? For a Birkin, Kelly or Constance in good condition, a specialist dealer is usually the best balance of price, speed and safety. Consignment with a fixed payout returns the most if you can wait about sixty days; an outright sale pays on the day the bag is authenticated. Auction suits genuinely rare pieces.
How much will I get for my Birkin or Kelly? It depends on the model, size, condition, colour, leather, hardware, stamp year and how complete the set is. Send those details with photographs and JULL quotes two figures within two working days: the consignment payout and the outright price.
Do I need the original receipt and box? No. A bag is bought on what it is. A receipt, box and full set do lift both the price and the speed of sale, and on exotics the CITES certificate genuinely matters.
Is it safe to send a bag worth twenty thousand pounds? With the right carriage, yes: a specialist courier, full declared value, insurance to match and tracking end to end. The horror stories come from undervalued parcels and ordinary post.
How quickly can I be paid? Outright, by bank transfer on the day the bag is authenticated in person. On consignment, within seven working days of the buyer's cleared funds.
Should I consign or sell outright? Consign if the higher number matters and you can wait; sell outright if you want the matter closed this week. We quote both for every bag and will tell you honestly which suits yours.
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Ready for a number? Send the details on the sell page or write to hello@byjull.com. A specialist replies the same day, and both figures follow within two working days.