Is your 'it' bag still doing it for you?

     When Hong Kong’s wealthiest women need quick cash, and their it bags are no longer doing it for them, the Yes Lady Finance Company is the place to go. The Hong Kong based company offers quick-fix loans, but instead of the sky high interest rates of your average loan shark, the luxury-obsessed population can now use their designer bags as collateral. Yes Lady Finance Company accepts handbags from Gucci, Chanel, Hermes and Louis Vuitton – commonly found in the wardrobes of the wealthy in Hong Kong.

     One of the most alluring aspects of this concept is the elimination of lengthy loan procedures, with an online application process taking less than 5 minutes. Ms. Wong who uses Yes Lady Finance Co. for her son’s schooling says "I don't want to go through all the complicated application procedures in the banks". But what if these luxury items are no longer a luxury to you, then why not? “I don’t feel any loss when I take some of them [designer bags] as collateral for loans” says office worker Angel Yam, a regular of Yes Lady Finance Co. 

     And what if they decide keep the cash and ditch the bag? Well Yes Lady Finance will still be quids in, there is a huge market throughout the world for pre-owned designer bags; the classics retain their retail value and special editions or rare prints and skins can even increase in value over time. At the age of 17, I bought my first designer bag pre-owned, a Louis Vuitton Speedy 25 Monogram; despite the fact that it sits lonely on top of my wardrobe inch-deep in dust, the nostalgia that the bag encompasses for me means that the concept of a handbag backed loan would not be for me. 

     However, according to The Wall Street Journal, most of Yes Lady Finance’s clients are able to pay back their loan in the allotted 4 months and are reunited with their beloved Birkin. 

Love Ruby.