The DARK Psychology Behind Hermès Birkin Bags (It's Not What You Think) 👀

Added: 2026-05-10

[00:00:00]What if I told you that the reason you can't get a Birkin out of your head has less to do with the bag itself and more to do with the way your brain is wired because the truth is that these bags are more than just a luxury item. They are in a way a psychological trigger. If you're new here or you've not been watching my vlogs, you may not notice, but I'm actually currently getting my second degree in psychology and while my area of interest is in the clinical field, I have always been fascinated by social and consumer psychology, especially how it shows up in the world of luxury. So in today's video, we're going to be breaking down the psychology of why we keep chasing the most elusive luxury items we can just have, pieces like the Birkin and the Kelly bag. But of course, these constructs also apply in the context of elusive watches, pieces from Rolex, Patek, and AP, but Hermes is the brand that I know best. So if you'd like to find out why some people are willing to jump through hoops just so they can spend their hard-earned money on an eye-wateringly expensive bag, then make sure to give this video a thumbs up. Subscribe down below if you haven't done so yet and keep on watching. Let's start with the obvious, which is scarcity because Hermes bags are positioned as extremely rare and yes, there is a lot of love, attention, time, and care that is poured into Hermes' artfully crafted bags, which is time-consuming and production is limited because of that. But what people don't talk about enough is that it doesn't have to be this limited. I mean, Hermes has had generations to train artisans that meet their standards of crafting these bags with painstaking attention.

[00:02:04]The materials that are used for these bags aren't inherently rare. They are readily available. I just mentioned this in a recent video of mine that it's not like materials that Hermes bags are made of are mined and take thousands of years to be generated or they come from a different universe and it takes them hundreds of years to acquire these raw materials. They are around in abundance and so are skilled craftspeople that if they really wanted to scale, they would have the capacity to do so. Hermes' success is not newfound. So if they really wanted to meet demand with supply, they easily could. But here is the secret. Scarcity doesn't just limit access, it actually increases perceived value. And this is what psychologists call the scarcity principle, which means that the harder something is to obtain, the more desirable it becomes, which makes perfect sense from an evolutionary perspective. Now there is something that I would like to emphasize here because I am not an evolutionary psychologist and in my humble opinion, evolutionary psychology is highly controversial and a lot of it is just based on yes, observations, but also assumptions. But in this context, I actually think that it makes a lot of sense because for most of human history, important resources were quite scarce. Here I'm talking about things like shelter, food, social connection, especially during the times of hunting and gathering. These things were not around in abundance and they were quite unpredictable. So our brains learned to treat scarcity as a signal of value and importance. And it's a construct that Hermes has mastered, and it's one of the reasons they're not so eager to meet demand and make a quick buck. They are playing the long game, and they'd rather limit supply, which as a result also increases desire for their creations. And it's quite interesting because the original research on the scarcity principle, I think was done using cookies, which was definitely a lot more affordable game. But that research found that the more limited a cookie seemed, the higher it was rated by consumers. And it seems like it also applies when it comes to bags that cost tens of thousands of dollars. The terms scarcity and limited access, I feel are often used interchangeably. And in real life, I feel like there isn't much of a difference. But in psychology, they are inherently different. So let's talk about the difference between scarcity and limited access because we talked about the scarcity principle, which means that there is limited supply of something. What scarcity implies is that there is this thing that you want, but there isn't a lot of it out there. And on the other hand, what limited access means is that there is this thing that you want, which exists.

[00:05:22]You can almost see it, but you cannot quite reach it because you're not granted access to it. And there is something incredibly irrational that happens when we hear limited access.

[00:05:34]Something shifts in our brain, and somehow we want it even more. It's not that we need it more, but because it feels exclusive and not everyone can have it, we feel this drive to get our hands on it. And I think it comes down to the fact that humans are deeply social. We are wired to care about belonging, status, and group acceptance.

[00:06:01]So, once access is restricted, this product in question takes on a whole new meaning, and it starts meaning more and feeling like it means a lot more than it just being a tangible product. And again, if you really think about it from an evolutionary perspective, it makes perfect sense because when we lived in tribes or in caves, you being excluded from the group was detrimental. It could be a question of survival because you simply could not hunt and gather on your own. You could also not take care of your offsprings by yourself. You couldn't look after the fire. You needed a village and a group around you to shelter you, to protect you, and take care of you. So, perhaps this is the reason why we are so to this day drawn to this sense of belonging. And while it seems superficial to think of an Hermès bag as a sign of belonging, it still makes you feel like you are accepted in this exclusive circle if you are able to tackle this challenge and you're able to get your hands on one of these creations. It feels like you've crossed the threshold and now you're part of a world that not everyone can enter, and you have this group around you who is like-minded and who will protect you. Is that true? Is this irrational? Yes, very much so, but this is how our brains were wired, but thankfully our brains are plastic, which means that we can change it whenever we want to. Is change simple? No, it's not, but it is something that can be done.

[00:07:49]Obviously, getting one of these bags isn't simple. You can just walk in and buy one of these bags off the shelf. You build a relationship, you spend, you wait, you spend more, you wait more, and then you may or may not be offered a bag one day. But, this entire process of spending, working towards a bag, waiting, and so on, this vicious cycle, actually changes the way you perceive the bag itself and your relationship with the bag. Now, in the Hermès community, this would be called the controversial Hermès game, but in psychology, this process is called effort justification, which actually comes from the cognitive dissonance theory. And it was famously studied in the late 1950s in something called initiation experiments. And what they found is that people who went through more difficult initiations, things like hazing, tended to value the group more afterwards. And the reason is simple. Our brains don't like inconsistency. So, if you go through these tumultuous times just to achieve our end goal and reach something that we have been working towards, it must mean that it's valuable if we have put all this effort into it, even if at the beginning we did not value what we were working towards that much. Our brain wants to make sense of our past experiences and our past efforts. So, it will find a way to justify it. And something very similar happens when it comes to Hermès bags. If we work hard for something, we waited for it, we spent money toward it, and built a relationship to get it, then it would be really uncomfortable to admit that maybe it just wasn't all worth it. So, instead we often adjust the story in our head and what we tell ourselves, and we start seeing these bags as more valuable and more desirable than they actually were initially because clearly if we've put all this money, effort, and time into it, it must have been a worth it because now it essentially carries the emotional weight of everything that it took to actually get there. And as a result, we will find it more important, but I think it's happened to a lot of us who at one point were incredibly loyal Hermes collectors.

[00:10:25]It slowly but surely wears off. Yes, it might take a few years, maybe a couple of decades, but if it's not something that you felt like was worth your time and effort, slowly but surely you will start seeing it once the haze and this cloud dissipates. And for most people, it will eventually. I just really don't want you to even have to get there and start resenting the whole experience.

[00:10:52]So, just keep in mind why you started shopping at Hermes in the first place, and if you start seeing yourself getting more hooked than you were before, maybe have someone to keep you accountable.

[00:11:05]Consider the idea of effort justification. It happens to the best of us. It's nothing to be ashamed of. This is the reason why so many people go through insane hazing initiations when it comes to joining societies and frats.

[00:11:21]This is the very same mechanism that is justifying those actions, but it's interesting that it It also apply to us for grown adults and we can be convinced to spend our hard-earned money through these really simple psychological processes. This idea of effort justification is actually closely linked to something called the IKEA effect. I bet you did not think that we would be talking about IKEA today, but what the IKEA effect means is that people value things more that they had a role in creating or completing. Now, when it comes to Hermès, of course, you're not the one stitching these bags yourself, but psychologically, you still feel involved in the outcome considering that it's something you had to earn. Well, when it comes to a piece of IKEA furniture, it's something that you put together through blood, sweat, and tears. It's not quite the same with an Hermès bag, but they're not easy to get your hands on. You had to physically, literally, and metaphorically jump through hoops to get your hands on them. So, you feel so involved it almost feels like the result is something that you had to take an integral role in. It's something that you get really deeply invested in and you built the purchase history, you maintained the relationship, you waited, and as a result, you earned access. So, even though you didn't make the bag, you feel like you participated in making the moment itself happen and that makes an offer feel so much more personal and meaningful and it becomes less about I bought this bag and more about I finally made this happen and it's finally the end of my journey. Well, until you want your next bag and it kind of becomes addictive. We can talk about the whole idea of collection in another video if it's something you would like to see from me. Let me know by giving this video a thumbs up and subscribing to my channel if you have not yet. I have recently created a QR that you can just scan. I will make sure to include it on the screen. So, if you're watching me on your TV, all you have to do is scan this QR code. You will not be taken to any dodgy websites. It will just take you to YouTube where you can choose to subscribe. I would really appreciate you subscribing, especially if you enjoy content like this.

[00:14:00]But, it makes us feel more involved in the whole process. And as a result, the fruits of your labor seem even more significant. Now, let's talk about getting a bag offer. Let's imagine that you finally got that call that your wish is being fulfilled. You show up to the store. You get presented with a beautiful orange box, but you're not quite sure what's inside. Let's say your wish was a Birkin 25 in the color gold with gold hardware. And you get offered a Kelly 35 in bright pink with palladium hardware. Obviously, it's not even remotely similar to what you had asked for. But, a lot of people will still take that bag thinking that they'll never get another chance to be offered a bag or they'll be blacklisted for turning down a bag offer, which first and foremost is not true. You will not be blacklisted for turning down a bag offer. But, what happens in this instance? A lot of people will feel quite impulsive, and they will immediately have to get the bag, which is quite irrational, and it will take them a couple of weeks to realize that they made a mistake. Well, let me know in the comment section if it's happened to you. Have you ever bought a bag that you were not intended You did not intend on buying, and you realized later on that it was a big mistake. How long did it take you to come to that realization?

[00:15:26]Because I know from personal experience that in some cases it's taken me weeks, but it's also happened with smaller purchases that it took me just a couple of hours to realize that it was an impulse purchase that I shouldn't have made. Well, why do we become so impulsive? That is because of a process called loss aversion. It's a cognitive bias that we have. Now, there has been quite extensive research done on this which show that people don't experience gains and losses equally. Losses are often experienced more painfully than the equal amount of gain would bring pleasure, if that makes sense. I feel like I might have over complicated it, but what it means is that losses seem a lot more significant and a lot more important. We try to avoid losses more than how much we prioritize gains because while gains can feel pleasurable, it's not as a extreme of an emotion as the grief over loss, if that makes sense. But, it's likely that our brains have this bias towards avoiding loss because for survival missing a threat or losing an important resource was more important than gaining something extra. So, instead of asking, "Do I love this bag?" people think, "What if I never get the chance to buy another bag?" That cannot happen, so I must take my opportunity to get this.

[00:17:02]Which it's quite funny that we're comparing survival life or death questions with getting a bag or not. But, that's why some people might accept a bag that isn't their dream color, their dream leather, or their dream size. And it's irrational, but it happens and that's because the fear of losing an opportunity can become louder than the question of whether you actually want and love the item that you are about to spend tens of thousands of dollars on.

[00:17:34]At this point, Hermes isn't just selling leather and exquisite craftsmanship, they are selling exclusivity, a signal of status and identity and also the feeling of belonging and being chosen, which might seem far-fetched, but if you really think about it, I hope you will see these patterns happening, but I would love to hear your thoughts on this in the comments section, especially when it comes to your personal experience watching this video. Do you resonate with any one of these concepts? Are there any other interesting mechanisms that you could identify? Please let us know in the comments section and start a conversation. I always love hearing from you. And while you're down there, make sure to give this video a thumbs up and subscribe if you haven't done so yet. I really appreciate you being here and watching and I cannot wait to see you back here with a new video really, really soon.