Women 'cashing in on designer handbags' in bid to beat cost of living crisis

Women are said to be cashing in their luxury handbags to release funds to beat the cost of living crisis.

A record-breaking surge in designer bags has been reported by a posh pawnbroker. They say they are seeing "unprecedented" levels of trading during the cost of living crisis. Research has shown that British women historically own 14 handbags and buy three handbags a year.

But now they are parting with prized possessions to help pay their domestic bills. "We've always done a good business in designer bags because many of them actually go up in value and are a great investment," said James Constantinou, founder of Prestige Pawnbrokers. But the number of bags being brought in has reached record levels and clients tell us they just want to release some cash while they weather the current financial storm.

"They are making sound business decisions about their possessions. Our clients are very savvy and know what their handbags are worth - many bought designer bags as an investment for a rainy day, which is clearly here now," added James, whose national chain of shops specialises in luxury goods.

Kylie Jenner wearing a 'Yeezy' beige body suit, a Belmain designer skirt and a Blue Hermes Handbag was seen arriving for dinner at 'IL Ciello' Italian Restaurant in Beverly Hills, CA

He said they are seeing all the top names like Hermes, Chanel, Fendi and Bottega Veneta, some of which are worth around £30,000 and made popular by celebrities such as Kylie Jenner, Kim Kardashian and Dua Lipa. "There are a lot of buyers out there who keep an eagle eye for a range of designer bags so there is a good price to be had but some of our clients don't want to part with a loved item; they just want to use its value to help out," he said.

"Pawning a designer handbag is a shrewd business move." He told how many of their clients trade through several models to get their dream handbag. "They know the market inside out and their investment tactics would put top level stockbrokers to shame," he explained.

"We recently purchased a Hermes Kelly bag from a very good client who initially bought the bag from our online store back in 2015. The bag had trebled in value so our client made a healthy profit and was able to purchase a preloved Hermes Birkin bag that we had recently acquired.

"We just purchased a bag for 32k from a Chinese investor, who had only bought the exotic skin Hermes from Harrods last week for 22k. There is a two year waiting list for that bag. We have just sold it to a client of ours."