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A much-coveted Hermès Birkin bag becomes even more coveted once it leaves the store: its value has doubled in just five years.

Founder of the luxury resale and authentication platform OpenLuxury, James Firestein, told Fortune that this is the sharpest price increase he has ever seen—the price of a Black Togo 30 Birkin has doubled in five years.

For reference, the price of the Black Togo 30 on resale platforms varies widely depending on the condition of the bag, the type of metal hardware, and the year it was purchased, ranging from $30,500 for a "near new" bag at Sotheby's to $10,925 at The RealReal, or approximately $8,000 at eBay.

However, more often than not, it takes a decade for the price of a Birkin to double. “I know of several cases where people have doubled their money by buying bags 10 years ago and reselling them today in pristine condition,” Firestein said. “The resale value of especially Birkin and Kelly bags has surpassed the value of gold over the last 10 years.”

In 2020 alone, when the luxury goods market ground to a halt due to COVID, Birkin bags posted an impressive 38% return, according to a report from Credit Suisse and Deloitte.

As a result, Firestein estimates that 25% of Birkin buyers keep the bags as investments, while the remaining 75% use them, Fortune reports.

Most shoppers turn to the secondary market to purchase Birkin bags mainly because purchasing a luxury item directly from Hermès can be a time-consuming process that doesn't guarantee that buyers will get the exact style they want.

Hermès allows stores and boutiques around the world to stock a certain number of Birkins per season, although the color and size of these bags are rarely known in advance, according to Sotheby's.

As a result, Birkins most often sell for much more than their $12,000 starting price.

Pricing is largely driven by scarcity, according to Sotheby's, which sold a diamond-encrusted Himalaya Birkin 30 for $450,000, although more common models typically fetch between $25,000 and $30,000, as per this auction house.

Hermès has been accused of making a Birkin too difficult for the average consumer to purchase.

Two California plaintiffs said in a class action lawsuit earlier this month that the French fashion house engages in "unfair business practices" including requiring customers to purchase other "ancillary products"—such as "shoes, scarves, belts, jewelry and merchandise for the home"—before getting the opportunity to buy a treasured, chronically inaccessible handbag.

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