“It Costs $1,400 To Make!” Chinese Manufacturer Shows Real Price of Making Birkin Bag, SA Amused
- A viral video from a Chinese factory shows exactly how much it costs to make a luxury Birkin bag, down to the thread and packaging
- With Trump’s tariffs raising prices and tensions, Chinese manufacturers are now lifting the lid on the true cost of high-end fashion
- South Africans were left shocked and amused, with many saying they had been fooled by luxury branding for years
Source: TikTok
A Chinese factory worker has shocked social media this week after breaking down the real cost of making a Hermès Birkin bag. The cost is nowhere near the R700,000 price tag you'd pay at a store.
The video, shared as part of the growing Trade War TikTok trend, shows a man inside a manufacturing facility calmly explaining the exact costs of the materials and labour used to make the famous bag. He says the total comes to about $1,400 (roughly R27,000), while Hermès sells it for $38,000. The clip has gone viral globally, with South African viewers just as stunned by the price difference.
In the video, the man walks viewers through every part of the bag. He says they use the same top-quality leather as Hermès, with leather from Italy, France, and Germany. Just one piece of leather costs $450, enough for a single bag. He also lists $25 for high-end French thread, $150 for seawater-resistant stainless steel hardware, $50 for imported edge oil, and $100 for the interior lining. The zipper is also mentioned and valued at $10. Lastly, he stated that labour costs for a Chinese artisan are much lower than those of Hermès' French craftspeople, reducing the total cost to around $1,000 to $1,400 per bag, including packaging.
The man explains that the only real difference is the logo and the country of manufacture, and that’s what pushes the price up. He ends by saying,
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“If you don’t care about logos, you can get the same materials, same quality, for less. Buy it for $1,000 from our factory.”
Watch the TikTok clip below.
US-China trade issues
The video that's going viral comes during the growing tensions between the US and China, especially after Donald Trump's latest round of tariffs. With Chinese manufacturers facing export issues, many are turning to TikTok to reveal how much global brands mark up their products.
Source: TikTok
Online reactions to the expensive bag
@YouAreALegend🇬🇮 gushed:
“Never skip a Chinese manufacturer video❤️”
@Buhle Buso joked:
“It takes 7 years to get it at their boutique and 30 minutes to get it in China 😭😭😭”
@Black is Beautiful said:
“I love how China is exposing the US fashion industry 😅😭”
@Nash3179 added:
“China will destroy the US economy 👌”
@nurizxx_ said:
“You mean… All this while I could’ve afforded a BIRKIN.”
@Roxie.Rolla wrote:
“I thought they were handmade in France 😱”
Related stories to the US-China trade war
- Briefly News recently reported on the US tariffs that Trump imposed on China, saying it won’t be bullied by the US. But what does this mean for global prices?
- China’s response was loud and clear to the US's increased tariffs, as they retaliated with tariff increases of their own.
- Trump made a U-turn at the last minute after seeing China's response, but SA's reaction says a lot.
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Source: Briefly News
