in 2020 the classic Chanel flat pack used to cost 6500 US dollars.
Now fast forward only 2-3 years, and you're gonna notice that the same bag now costs 10200
US dollars.
Now that's a whopping 57% price increase.
But is this price increase actually legitimate?
Would you perhaps be a little bit of a fool if you get this bag in 2023?
Or is this bag actually still a good investment?
Let's find out.
Chanel has just recently yet had another price increase, and I want to put emphasis on the
word yet.
Because this is actually the only luxury brand that does this aggressive price increase twice
per year.
Did you know that they have been doing this for quite a few years now, to the point that
the price has skyrocketed to a level where people are really questioning is this bag
actually worth the price?
And I want to tell you one thing is that when I say price increase I'm not talking about
only a couple of hundred of dollars, we're talking percentage price increase especially
in the US, the bag went up in price by 17% in just one time increase!
That is crazy.
If we look at the price increase graph of how much the bag has cost over the years,
I think it is quite interesting if we actually take a look how much it has increased up until
1990.
So in between 1955 and 1990 it actually has increased 500% in just 35 years, meaning that
the bag cost five times its original value.
And if you compare it to after 1990, in the 33 years that leads up to 2023, the price
actually has gone up by 1000 percent.
So the bag has gone up 10x the price.
Now I think this tells us something because this has nothing to do with inflation.
Inflation has not increased that much, and neither have we had an industry-wide increase,
because if we look at other designers they actually have had far less increase of their
iconic handbags.
So how does this price increase make you feel ladies?
I want you to leave me a comment below.
I certainly want to share with you how it makes me feel because I remember the kind
of initial price increases, I would actually understand why Chanel does this because I
have studied marketing, so I get it if you want to stay exclusive, if you want to attract
a certain type of customer, you need to position yourself at a certain price point and that's
fair, I get it.
However, when the price increases became more and more aggressive, plus some other things
started to happen that we're now going to talk about, I'm starting to find this to become
ridiculous.
I too understand that the bag that you get today versus the bag that you got a decade
ago or more is no longer the same type of bag.
A lot has changed.
More and more people are now reporting things like loss of quality of their classic flap
bags, but we're not talking to some small tiny errors.
Some are actually so big, so mind-blowing, where you start thinking how is this even
possible for a premium brand like Chanel?
Especially at this price point and with that kind of reputation.
I must disagree because I have actually experienced loss of quality of a Chanel classic flat bag
myself, and I had to take this bag to Chanel to get it fixed and luckily that process was
actually quite smooth.
But the fact that it actually happened was quite surprising, and at that time I thought
really I was just unlucky and that you know what, I guess this happens sometimes, the
same way when you buy a bottle of wine and happen to be corked.
But more and more people are sharing in the luxury community and also on social media
that these incidents are not actually rare.
They happen more than you think.
I want you ladies to understand that I am referring to loss of quality of newer bags
in particular, it seems to be a running thread that people with older bags don't experience
the same quality issues as people with newer bags.
The older bags seem to still kind of keep it together, and are very much in good quality
and in good shape so I believe that this is a sign that something has for sure changed
in the Chanel manufacturing process.
I mean some people are claiming that because of the incredible popularity of Chanel bags,
which is true, the Chanel classic flap bag is incredibly popular, and we see everyone
wear it pretty much meaning that the demand has put a lot of pressure on the manufacturing
of this bag, and that perhaps Chanel has maybe therefor been taking certain decisions within
their own manufacturing.
Meaning that the quality has been lowered just to have quicker turnaround times.
This is just speculation but something is definitely up, and I kind of feel like Chanel
is not really speaking up about this.
They're not really taking serious ownership of this problem, but what are some common
defects?
Now we do have all kinds of issues, and I'm going to go through the most common ones,
because the older Chanel bags would have real 24 karat gold plated hardware, however they
stopped using that on their newer bags.
So now only the old bags have that kind of gold, which is why they also tend to stay
in shape much longer.
I would never buy a modern Chanel but let me show you the quality on my vintage one.
Still in great condition from 1992 and just look at the sheen on this caviar.
But today the newer bags that you buy, they would have only gold toned hardware.
So many women are reporting that the hardware gets discolored, or has discoloration issues.
Which of course can be normal if a bag has been worn let's say for years and years, but
these people are claiming that it happened only after a few months.
And I want to also emphasize that this is all allegedly, this is information that we
have gathered, especially from social media and from the luxury community.
You guys, my Chanel bag embarrassed me.
It broke!
Pearls just went all over the restaurant floor.
This bag is brand new, I've worn it like five times.
I bought it for my wedding.
Do not buy anything else from Chanel anymore, especially their bags.
Already the Chanel hardware logo fell straight off and they refused to give me a refund.
And then we also have people reporting that bags just seems to be in poorer quality.
They are breaking.
Straps are breaking, chains are breaking, there's also stitching issues with seams poking
up or seams maybe not being perfectly aligned.
I think that alignment issues have been quite a hot topic online recently, because
people are starting to notice a more kind of crooked bags, especially like inside Chanel
stores you actually see real Chanel bags being cooked which is strange.
And then lastly, we also hear about leather imperfections.
Now people are saying that the famous caviar leather as an example often looks dull these
days or maybe starts peeling off.
Now ladies, the list really can go on and I am aware that of course this doesn't happen
to every single bag, there are many happy Chanel customers out there, who have no issues
whatsoever with their bags, but the conversation is not so much about that.
Incidents happen because they happen to every brand out there, but the problem now for Chanel
is that it seems that the frequency of these incidents seem to have increased.
The luxury Community is realizing this did not used to be as common as it is today, so
it feels kind of unfair when Chanel is just increasing their prices, you know left right
and center, while the quality is just kind of going down.
And if you are a fan of the brand, which I am personally, I love the brand, I love the
clothing, I love their shoes, I love their handbags, and I will always be buying from
this brand.
But I am confused and many others too of what's going on, and is this actually fair?
So if we just spoke about the loss of quality being a major problem for the brand in 2023,
now there is something else that I know not everybody is comfortable with voicing, but
ladies you know I say it how it is on this channel.
So if you enjoyed that type of content make sure you hit that subscribe button.
We need to actually address another important point, because the argument doesn't just stop
there.
Decades ago, the type of clientele that would buy the Chanel classic flap bags was quite
different to the clientele that is buying this bag today.
If back then we would spot this bag on some let's say come old money lady or some high-end
celebrity or sophisticated upper-class people then today this bag is seen across all kinds
of people.
It's very classy people or people that you aspire to resemble we might have spotted this
bag or let's say some tacky d-list celebrities, or I don't know some raunchy people in the
entertainment industry, or who knows, maybe even let's say on your next door neighbor
that you might look at that person and ask yourself, how did she afford that bag?
I am aware that a lot has changed in you know recent decades in the western society economically,
because wealth has really become more and more accessible than ever before, meaning
that luxury goods have become more accessible.
They're actually not as exclusive as they used to be back in the days.
Think about it this way, before only a tiny percentage of the western world would afford
to spend thousands of dollars on a handbag.
Now it's almost like it's a normal thing to do for the middle class and even for people
in the lower socioeconomic classes, because one could always save up for a designer handbag
if you saved long enough, or let's say if you took some extra shifts at work.
I am not saying that this is a problem, it's not a problem at all, I think it's wonderful
that the economy has flourished and that more and more people are now able to afford beautiful
things, in that you know the lines between what's considered high society and what's
not are becoming less and less defined.
Many people can now enjoy luxury and that's great, but it does backfire for the luxury
goods market, because when we buy luxury we buy into the persona behind the brand.
It's usually some aspirational avatar that we kind of associate with the brand that we
aspire perhaps to be like, or we believe that that is the type of person that represents
who we truly are.
So let's say today this handbag is seen on some lip syncing Tiktoker who is I don't know
is twerking in her Daisy Duke hot pants.
And then you kind of start thinking to yourself, hmm do I really want this bag?
Do you see what I mean?
The people we see this bag on makes us sometimes question if we want this bag or not.
When you pay a lot of money for a bag, you might not think about it consciously, but
subconsciously something happens in you where you kind of want to be associated with something
or somebody, or you want to be associated with the community and if kind of the wrong
people are wearing this bag, then you might not want to align yourself with them anymore.
I know it's harsh, but we kind of need to say how it is.
This is the reality of psychology, of how human beings are wired, but this is also kind
of luxury marketing 101.
What we desire, what we aspire, that's kind of how you need to position your product.
Now you do not need any fancy designer handbags if you want to be a well-dressed woman.
What you need is to educate yourself and learn styling.
And you know what, anyone can learn styling and I'm actually here for you.
I have created an online course called The Elegant Stylist where I share everything that
I know from my many years of experience with fashion and styling and if you enjoy classic
style, if you want to finally understand how you can always have something to wear in your
wardrobe the go to elegantstylist.me and find out how you can join my program, and finally
know how to dress well every single day.
Now if you think that the Chanel classic flap bag lost all its exclusivity by just looking
at kind of the buyer persona in 2023, well let me tell you there's a little bit more
to the story than just this.
There's more loss of exclusivity than just the buyer.
Let's talk about two more points.
Let's talk about the counterfeit market and how it has completely ruined this handbag.
Don't you sometimes when you think oh Chanel classic flap bag, don't you think sometimes
oh some dodgy market stand somewhere, or some pushy beach vendor or I don't know some suspicious
social media pages that sometimes pop up on your feed, and you're wondering is this even
the real deal.
Let's put it this way, it is not difficult to get your hands on a fake Chanel flap bag
and many people are unfortunately buying fakes.
You have some good fakes, you have some bad fakes and I would say that no matter what
kind of fakes are out there all of them are tarnishing the brand, because what happens
is that you start seeing this bag in more and more places because not only do you have
the real ones, you now also have like loads of fake Chanel classic flap bags that you
just see everywhere so that kind of lessens the exclusivity of the brand because you see
every other person wearing the Chanel flap bag.
And who knows maybe that neighbor that you saw, you're wondering how could she afford
the handbag.
Maybe because she bought a fake one maybe that's why she was able to afford it.
I think the word everywhere is super important in this conversation because actually the
loss of exclusivity is not just because of the counterfeit market, it's actually also
because of social media.
Think about it this way, how many times a day do you scroll on Instagram and you see
someone wearing a Chanel classic flap bag?
I'm sure you could count it to the hundreds because literally it feels like everyone is
wearing this bag.
And that little picture trend has really contributed to the fact that we feel like we see this
bag everywhere.
But what is interesting is that even though not everybody owns a Chanel classic flap bag,
but because we see it in such high quantity on social media our brains don't understand
the difference.
We perceive it as oh this bag is everywhere, and what happens is that it actually makes
us not wanting to get the bag as much, or at least that's for me.
I don't know how it is about you, please let me know in the comments below.
Don't forget ladies that when we buy into luxury, we buy into it because of the exclusivity
element, and social media is really downgrading the experience of exclusivity because now
you can see everyone wear the same thing.
Now going back to the conversation about whether you should be getting this bag in 2023 or
not.
I think it is important to think about what this bag used to be known for back in the
day.
How did we associate the classic Chanel flap bag in the past and let's compare it to how
we associate it today.
This is what the Chanel bag is known for today, and on top of it an aggressive price increase
and loss of quality.
Now I think it's right to say that people in the luxury community are quite outraged
by what's going on and of course also many people in high society are starting to turn
their backs on some of the Chanel handbags, because it just doesn't make sense anymore.
People are also questioning Chanel's Integrity, many people are feeling like Chanel is not
being entirely honest with their customers.
I would say the main counter argument of why Chanel is doing what they're doing is basically
because they want to position themselves more like Hermes.
Meaning that they're trying to copy the strategy of Hermes, and how they kind of position the
Birkin and the Kelly bag.
But I think that it's not really working because what Chanel is doing is not entirely what
Hermes is doing.
They're being very aggressive with price increase, so right now the Chanel classic flap bag is
actually at the same price as a Hermes bag, Kelly, Birkin, which is kind of ridiculous
because the quality is in two different ball games.
You have the Chanel classic flap bag which is losing its quality and then you have the
incredible craftsmanship of Birkin bags or Kelly bags.
I have several myself, I can really tell you how beautifully made these bags are.
I have also Chanel flap bags and I don't think they're the same, but now they cost the same.
Make that make sense.
But then the biggest mistake of Chanel is that they are not making their bags to be
as exclusive as the Birkin bags or Kelly bags by Hermes, because those bags are truly difficult
to get.
You either need to spend a lot of money with Hermes to be offered a bag, or you need to
have the right connections or simple luck to get your hands on a Birkin or Kelly bag,
and Chanel is not being as aggressive without exclusivity because now okay okay they have
now made it a little bit harder.
They have put in a quota maximum two flap bags a year, it's also harder to get certain
colors or styles, but it's not as difficult as it is to get a Kelly or Birkin bag.
Now ladies I would personally advise you to adopt an elegant mindset, especially with
your spendings.
Be smart with your money and don't let anyone take you for a fool.
But it is important that you educate yourself and that you try and see through the whole
kind of sheep mentality where you know there is this hype going on.
Don't buy into the hype and don't buy into the trends without really considering if something
is actually worth the money, if it's worth the craftsmanship.
So spend your hard-earned money wisely and I wouldn't recommend you to buy the classic
Chanel flat bag new in 2023, I would actually advise you to buy pre-loved because I think
the price is better and if you can also get your hands on an older bag that is perhaps
a better quality then that's even better.
You could of course also spend the same money on Hermes Birkin or Kelly bag because I do
think they're worth the investment, but I know it's hard to get.
If you are just so sick and tired of all this drama around luxury goods and handbags, then
you know what, why not just skip luxury all together.
It's actually kind of lame if you think about it.
But if you are interested in getting a premium designer handbag, then actually I have a video
for you because I made a short list of the best designer handbags which are not the classic
Chanel flap bags.
Ao I'm going to give you loads of alternatives of bags that cost much less so you don't have
to spend ten thousand of US dollars to get something premium and luxurious.
Now hop on over to that video because I will see you there.