According to a 2014 estimate, Hermès produced 70,000 Birkin bags that year.[26] The bag is highly coveted and as of 2006 was reputed to have a waiting list of up to six years.[27] The rarity of these bags is purportedly designed to increase demand by collectors.[28]

As a result of strong demand, the HERMES Birkin bag Replica has a high resale value in many countries, especially in Asia, and to such an extent that the bag is considered by some people as an instrument of investment.[29][30] One 2016 study found that Birkin bags had average annual returns of 14.2% between 1984 and 2015, significantly beating the S&P 500 Index in returns over the same period.[31] In April 2010, Hermès announced that the waiting list would no longer exist, implying that these bags are potentially available to the general public.[32]

The Philippine Star reported in March 2013, that a high-end, 30-cm Shiny Rouge H Porosus Crocodile Birkin with 18-carat gold fittings and encrusted with diamonds was sold for US$203,150 at an auction in Dallas, Texas, US.[33]

In May 2017, a 30-centimetre (12″) matte white Himalaya niloticus crocodile Birkin with 18-carat white gold and hardware bearing 245 diamonds was sold at a Christie’s auction in Hong Kong for HK$2.94 million (US$377,261), creating a new record for the most expensive handbag in the world.[6][34]

According to an analyst quoted by The New York Times in 2019, there are more than one million Birkin bags on the market, while a resale boutique in Miami has sold more than US$60 million in used Birkin bags in five years.[2]

The limited availability of the bags is in part due to the unclear sales strategy in boutiques; there is a low likelihood that a given Hermès boutique will facilitate sale to any prospecting customer, as popular rumour suggests that one must have a long-standing relationship with one of the Hermès sales staff in order to acquire a Birkin, and waiting lists for them no longer exist.[35]