Is the Louis Vuitton Speedy a good investment?

One of the most common questions I get asked is about whether or not the speedy bag is a good investment. Here I share my thoughts - full blog down below!

The heart of the Louis Vuitton brand is “travel” and this concept is where many of its most iconic bags stem. The speedy bag is no different. In 1930 Louis Vuitton launched the Keepall, also known as the Tient-Tout (Hold-All). In 1930 a more portable version of the Keepall, the smaller Speedy style was launched, as a reaction to the faster-pace of travel. First called the Express and later renamed the Speedy. The Speedy was first introduced in the 30 size (Louis Vuitton’s numerical size names refer to the width of the bag’s front panel in centimetres), and the smaller 25 was added in 1959 at the request of actress Audrey Hepburn. Fast forward to 2016 and the bag comes in four numerical sizes and a super-tiny version known as the Nano.

The Louis Vuitton Speedy Bandouliere came about in 2011 including an integrated shoulder strap. There has always been “add on straps” for the original Speedy but they just don’t quite look as elegant - in actual fact, they most certainly look “added on” - a bit of an afterthought. Other than an integrated strap the Bandoulier also comes with a double zipper to make access easier and they are also available in different finishes. I particularly love the navy embossed leather known as Empreinte.

The key to seeing if a handbag is a good investment is tracking the longevity of production of the piece and looking at what the prices have done. We have already established the incredible timeline of the Speedy which has now been in production for nearly 90 years. Thus making it a classic and ticking the first of our two important investment boxes.

Next, if we look back at vintage Louis Vuitton prices we can see if they have increased over time. I have done some digging around the internet on bag forums to find historic prices of the Louis Vuitton Speedy 30. The earliest accurate price I could dig up was for the year 2004 in which the price for the Louis Vuitton Speedy 30 in monogram canvas was $550. I have translated all the prices into euros that I could find and plotted them on a graph so you can see them over time.

As you can see the percentage increase in the price of the Louis Vuitton Speedy is stark. Over the last 4 years from 2014 to 2018 we have seen a 25% increase in price. I would suggest that this makes the bag a very good investment.

In the instance of the Louis Vuitton Speedy…people who purchased their bag back in 2014 would be able to sell it on the second-hand market for a price near to what they paid for it having enjoyed 4 years of use. This is assuming it is still in good condition with the original receipt and dust bag. Or alternatively, if they had purchased their Louis Vuitton Speedy on the second-hand market back in 2014 for say 512 Euros (80% of the RRP at that time) they could well be selling it for more now than they paid for it originally. Handbags should not be looked at in the same way as typical stocks and shares option for investment as they are an item that can be used. You can look at a handbag as a “good investment” if you can enjoy a few years use out of it and then sell it for a similar price to what you bought it at. I.e. using it for free.

This works best if purchasing on the second-hand market as you don’t lose any money by “driving it off the forecourt”. Ideally, if you can you would sell your Louis Vuitton bag privately - this way you would maintain as much of the value for yourself without paying any commission. However, the truth of the matter is that it is sometimes difficult to determine real buyers from fake buyers and to establish good trust when handling designer goods so a third party such as signofthetimeslondon.com is often used.

If you have any second hand Louis Vuitton bags you would be interested in buying or selling please do give our friendly team a call to discuss how we can help you.