If you’re looking for The One — a Birkin, that is — Michael Mack is your guy.
The Las Vegas luxury reseller is the proud steward of a fleet of coveted Hermes Birkin and Kelly handbags — 120 to be exact.
“I never thought I’d have this many Birkins in my life,” Mack, the president and CEO of Max Pawn, told The Post.
Available in nearly every shade imaginable, the lavish collection is one of the largest in the world, valued at over $1 million. Mack estimates he ranks third, likely falling behind Singapore socialite Jamie Chua, who reportedly boasts 200, and fashion designer Victoria Beckham, who is rumored to own over 100.
For luxury lovers, Mack is something of a Birkin matchmaker.
“I was hooked from the first time I went into his shop,” socialite and Max Pawn regular Ivana Walborn, 68, told The Post. The Nevada resident has purchased at least a dozen Birkins and half a dozen Kellys from Mack.
“My husband says, ‘You have a crush on him,’ and I say, ‘I have a crush on anybody who’s got handbags and jewelry.’”
Max Pawn began with one Louis Vuitton Speedy 14 years ago, and his hobby has since grown into a behemoth collection of an estimated 800 luxury handbags procured by Mack’s army of buyers around the world and offered for a fraction of the price.
“You name it, Michael has it,” loyal Max Pawn customer Ann Pennington, an NYC-based philanthropist, told The Post. “It’s almost like a bargain bin, but luxury bargain.”
When the New Jersey native wanted a black, Epsom leather Birkin 35 with gold hardware, Mack delivered — all the way to Singapore.
“I said ‘I’m actually taking a trip to Singapore.’ And he texted: ‘I found you the Birkin bag you want. It’s going to be at the hotel when you get there,” Pennington, 40, said.
That first purchase, she said, spiraled into an addiction. Now, she boasts an impeccable collection of “a couple hundred handbags,” all of which have been purchased from Max Pawn, sometimes buying three or four in one trip.
“Our relationship as friends has become very expensive,” Pennington, who is the founder of the nonprofit Style With a Purpose, said.
While Mack’s business caters to the upper echelon, he sweetens the deal for Hermes hopefuls, offering pre-loved Birkins at a steal of a deal — at least, for those who could afford one — ranging from a meager $8,000 to a whopping $65,500. By contrast, a new Birkin 30 costs around $11,200, experts estimate, and could stretch into the realm of hundreds of thousands of dollars for limited edition colors, leathers, sizes or certain hardware.
“What we’ve really created is affordability for those that can afford it,” Mack said, noting some of his customers are high-profile athletes and socialites who would rather splurge on designer at a fraction of the price.
As fans know, getting your mitts on a brand-new Birkin is not as simple as waltzing into your local Hermes and snatching one off the shelf.
They aren’t readily available — they are restocked sporadically, and not always in the color, leather or size that the customer desires, making the hunt for the perfect heritage handbag near impossible. Plus, it was long rumored that there was an exclusive “list” that costs a pretty penny to even get on before buying the bag. According to Vogue, there’s no more shortlist but the limited supply and dreaded — and sometimes yearslong — wait has only amped up demand for Birkins, the namesake of the late actress, singer and legendary style icon Jane Birkin.
“It’s really the greatest marketing game I’ve ever seen in retail,” said Mack, a fourth-generation pawn industry professional with nearly 40 years of industry experience.
That’s where Max Pawn comes in, offering the unbelievable: A fast pass to a Birkin. (Samantha Jones and her cherry red tote be damned.)
“We offer something that people can’t get their hands on readily,” said Mack, who has an ample supply of the opulent arm candy in pristine condition, to which Pennington can attest. In fact, Mack spends nearly as much on refurbishing bags as he does on rent.
Pennington — who believes luxury doesn’t have to “be so unaffordable” — takes advantage of Max Pawn’s trade-in model to give her closet a “facelift” every once in a while, swapping her unused designer handbags for Mack’s chicest inventory.
“There’s a way to have it and not feel like you have to break your bank to have a piece of something that you coveted,” she said.
With competition like designer secondhand sellers the RealReal or Fashionphile, Max Pawn appeals to patrons with a commitment to quality, authenticity and pricing.
“Authenticity is really probably the key, because that’s not always a correlation to what we do, and I think everyone is afraid because the knockoffs are so good,” said Mack, explaining that Max Pawn uses an AI-powered software called Entrupy to authenticate luxury handbags.
Walborn was previously duped out of $7,000 thinking she was purchasing a pre-loved Birkin at another secondhand store, not realizing her beloved handbag was a fake until she took it to an Hermes boutique. Now, she’ll only buy from a “reputable dealer,” a k a Max Pawn.
Mack said he sees and rejects counterfeit items as often as three times per day, a symptom of the increasingly convincing dupe market amid a growing demand for shopping secondhand.
He has noticed that “young folks” — read: Gen Z — “are into upcycling and recycling” to save money and, in turn, the planet.
Instagram’s 2024 Trend Talk predicted a rejection of fast fashion and a continuation of sustainable practices like thrifting and shopping local, while ThredUp’s 2023 report saw Gen Z spearheading the growth of the resale market.
“It’s interesting because it used to be the young folks were the first ones [who wanted] to go to Louis Vuitton and have that box and have that ribbon and that experience,” Mack said. “But the younger folks are smarter than ever.”
He added: “The things like fine china and crystal and silver flatware and artwork [are] not excitable in that new world as experiences and good value.”
While the average Gen Zer might not be able to shell out thousands for an Hermes Kelly, Max Pawn also offers Coach, Michael Kors or Kate Spade within a reasonable price range — some as low as $99 — as well as the opportunity for devout patrons to upgrade their handbags over time.
“You’ve seen them kind of grow as their careers have grown,” Mack said of his loyal customers. “So they started with Coach and now they’ve worked their way up to Gucci.”
And maybe, if they’re lucky, they’ll eventually bag a Birkin, too.
