Handbags are worth big money whether they're vintage or not, as the price-tag in any high street store will tell you. If you have a designer handbag, you won't have paid anything less than $100 for it, and £100 would have been considered a bargain. You're probably less concerned with your cheaper handbags though, which you'd naturally think of as being disposable.
As you've probably just guessed, they're not all that disposable. Handbags that haven't been used for years tend to be the first thing that gets thrown out during a spring clean, but you should always check eBay before throwing one away. Old Chanel bags which are still in reasonable condition can go for up to $3,000 on the secondary market, but they're still worth up to $500 if they have a little wear and tear on them.