For my finance-savvy readers: You may have heard that good designer bags appreciate in value. This is true. I have seen it on small scales over the last decade and you may have heard of people investing in Hermès. Listen, I've never owned a Birkin, but a couple years back I did see the Speedy 25 - my first ever LV - for sale (I believe) a bit more than it cost when I received mine at the age of 18. Even the Stuart Weitzman 5050s that I've had my eyes on at $635 have risen to $655 over the last few years.
What I have never seen is a 21% increase over the course of one year. I have had two Gucci bags on my short wishlist and one of them - the Soho Disco cross body bag - has increased from $980 to $1,190 since summer - a quick change from under $1000 to over $1000. I may have caught a look during the right (or wrong?) time of the year - a little research shows similar price changes for Gucci in mid-October of previous years.
When it comes to price increases, don't think you can outsmart the brand - Saks, Neiman, and other retailers have already reflected the price increase, the exception being seasonal colors. For this bag, the emerald green and white styles are still $980 while the more neutral beige, black, and red adopted the increased cost. While it's a good rule of thumb that true designer never goes "on sale", you can still purchase seasonal colors at their original prices, which now, at least relatively, act like sale prices.
I have only recently begun to pay attention to Gucci in particular, since Alessandro Michele was appointed the creative director in 2015. I'm not sure if this significant of an appreciation is typical, or for which kind of pieces, but it was enough to catch my eye. If there is a timeless style you really want, get it. I am too often guilty of the shortest horror story ever: "No Longer Available". In this case, I will be sure to snag this cross body by next fall before this pattern could possibly repeat, and the Disco jumps up near $1,440.