What should i do?

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tchlv

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Sep 14, 2012
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Hey guys, I need some advice...

I am currently saving for a Neverfull. I tutor twice a week and am banking all of that money. I'm not going to go out and buy it right away the minute I have the money, but in either December, February or June I will be getting it (as there are all special occasions in those months, most likely December or February).

Money is a little bit of an issue. I'm working hard to afford what I want, but I feel bad for spending so much on a physical item. I have a vintage LV (along with some small Fendi and Gucci items) from a relative, so I know LV is worth it. I may end up wanting more in the future, but I'm by no means a collector right now.

Anyway, on to my question..

I am pretty sure I want Damier Ebene. About 95%. I'm also about 95% sure I want the GM size since I love big bags and cinched it's the perfect size for me. So if anyone has any advice about that, as well....

Now....

Should I buy pre-owned to save money, or get it new? I know the pros and cons of "used" vs. "new," but the idea of saving money is appealing to me. I also will only buy pre-owned from a reputable place, like Malleries. So, used or new? Should I snap up a Mono Neverfull GM when it becomes available on one of the sites, or wait for a used DE Neverfull GM (which seem rarer to find on pre-owned sites).

Even though the Neverfull is a relatively inexpensive bag compared to other LV items, it's a big deal and a big purchase for me and I need to be 100% on board with what I decide.

If anyone has any advice I would highly appreciate it! Thanks so much!
 
I don't think you should feel bad about buying a bag because you are prepared to skimp on other areas of your life that you would normally be spending more on.

If there isn't much difference in price between new and used, I would just buy new...
 
I would say New look at the bright side your patient enough to save the cash without going credit card crazy, your hard working and you deserve it. With a new bag you get to break it in and don't have to worry about what the previous owner did with it and It a really good buy for your first bag. You'll love its versatile and really hold a lot.
 
Definitely buy new. Neverfulls seem rare to come by one pre-owned sites. And if you are saving so hard, treat yourself! I usually have to save for my LVs and it's such a reward to go to the store and pick out a new item!
 
~ WARNING: DANGER: UNSOLICITED ADVICE TO FOLLOW ~

Since you have plenty of time to make this decision, I heartily suggest the following.

First, spend some time doing your homework on prices posted for NFs with different reputable dealers and figure out what the going rate for pre-owned bags is based on condition. Compare these prices to purchasing brand new in your country (you may not be getting such a great deal; I've seen things online that are going for the same or more than I paid for them in the store).

Second, identify and focus your search on reputable dealers. For example, malleries is the site, but there's lots of dealers on it, and not all are great ... so you do have to do your research on the individual seller. I've bought off malleries, but I made sure to come here to see what other buyers had said about the dealer. Yoogi's is known to be good. Don't be scared of ebay ... but be very, very cautious. I've bought from brandoff in tokyo through ebay, as an example, because they were recommended here by multiple people as a known reputable dealer.

Also, in terms of condition issues, spend some time figuring out what you can live with in a pre-owned bag. No sense in getting a deal, but hating the fact that the stitching is coming loose or there's a weird stain on the lining. It's probably a good idea to search on here to see what are common condition issues - so you have some idea what you should be looking for or asking dealers about. It's also wise to see in advance how other people have dealt with those issues to determine how much effort you're willing to put into cleaning up a bag (some folks restore them to great condition and save $$; others, mainly me, are simply too lazy).

And, please, for the love of all that is sacred in the LV world, get anything pre-owned that you are seriously considering pre-authenticated either on here by Lee, Addy or one of the other lovelies who do this from the goodness of their hearts, or though an authentication service recommended by other LV owners. It won't be much of a deal, if you get burned by a fake.
 
since neverfull is still quite popular, resell price on pre-loved items are not significantly lower than brand new ones so I suggest get it brand new.
Also, if you prefer ebene, go with MM. the leather on ebene can cause some issues, from cinching, creasing trim and peeling straps.
if you prefer GM, I suggest azur or mono, vachetta is more forgiving on these "cracking/peeling" problems.
hope that helps.
 
I can totally relate to your story because I also need to save up hard to get what I want. My first bag was a new Speedy in damier ebene and I still love my bag so much and for me it was worth every penny. I chose ebene because it's more carefree, I used it almost every day in the last year and it still looks brand new. I also would buy it new, it's a great experience to go the store after saving so hard and for me nothing beats that feeling + you're completely sure of the authenticity. To know which size you want you should just try it on in the store and take your time :smile:. Good luck deciding and hope to see your reveal coming up:graucho:
 
Honesty unless its really used condition, I feel like fashionphile (for example) only prices them for about $50-75 less than brand new.

For your first bag, you want the experience of going to LV, getting that beautiful bag, box, etc... and making it a wonderful memory!
Everytime I go, they say, Do you want a box? And I always say the same thing, I want the whole experience. :smile: Unless its w/ my SA she knows I want the whole enchilada. :smile:
 
I say go NEW all the way! I say this, because after all that saving and hard work, I really feel you deserve to go out and get bran new. If you had a closet full of LV items and this was just an impulse purchase, it would be one thing, but just the fact that you have meticulously thought out and planned every penny and every aspect of this purchase says a lot about the value of what you are buying. Anytime you have attached value to a purchase you've created worth in your mind... And worth means don't skimp on ANY aspect of the experience of the purchase. I put it like this: For my honeymoon we wanted to go to Maui... We built it up in our heads to this huge awesome trip, but wanted to save a little and thought we would stay in a family friends condo for the week instead of the 5 star resort. Boy were we wrong! Although our trip was nice... It wasn't everything we had planned it out to be. We had saved and we excited ( and don't get me wrong, still had a good time) but were let down when we ended up in a retirement community! We woke up every morning at 5 am to seniors playing wall tennis right outside our paper thin doors and our condo decor was straight out of the 70's. All to save $40.00 a night?! I say buy yourself the experience of opening up the big brown box. You'll be the first owner. It will be ALL yours.... And you can look back and say I work my buns off and earned this for myself...experience n all... ;) then come back and do brag to all of us about your new purchase pleaaazzzzeeee!
 
I would say New look at the bright side your patient enough to save the cash without going credit card crazy, your hard working and you deserve it. With a new bag you get to break it in and don't have to worry about what the previous owner did with it and It a really good buy for your first bag. You'll love its versatile and really hold a lot.

Thanks so much! That was one of my reasons for definitely wanting new, not knowing what someone else has done with that bag before me.

Definitely buy new. Neverfulls seem rare to come by one pre-owned sites. And if you are saving so hard, treat yourself! I usually have to save for my LVs and it's such a reward to go to the store and pick out a new item!

Do you know what's so funny about that? I never thought that Neverfulls would be so hard to come by used. When I first started my research (which was actually three months ago) I thought they would be very easy to find because they seem to be a pretty popular style. Turns out, not so much. The ones I come across are most Mono and I rarely see DE pop up. (I get email alerts from Malleries and Ann's Fabulous Finds when new LV listings are made.) But the truth is, I guess most people really aren't selling it since it's so versatile, and they know it can usually come in handy sometime in the future.


since neverfull is still quite popular, resell price on pre-loved items are not significantly lower than brand new ones so I suggest get it brand new.
Also, if you prefer ebene, go with MM. the leather on ebene can cause some issues, from cinching, creasing trim and peeling straps.
if you prefer GM, I suggest azur or mono, vachetta is more forgiving on these "cracking/peeling" problems.
hope that helps.

That is what I've come to find, I'm glad that others can back me up on that too. The price difference is almost negligible, to the point where if I already have $800 saved up, what's the big deal to collect another $150? I've thought that so many times, and then I get suckered in by the lower prices every time.

I can totally relate to your story because I also need to save up hard to get what I want. My first bag was a new Speedy in damier ebene and I still love my bag so much and for me it was worth every penny. I chose ebene because it's more carefree, I used it almost every day in the last year and it still looks brand new. I also would buy it new, it's a great experience to go the store after saving so hard and for me nothing beats that feeling + you're completely sure of the authenticity. To know which size you want you should just try it on in the store and take your time :smile:. Good luck deciding and hope to see your reveal coming up:graucho:

Thanks for sharing your story! I see what you mean about having the store experience (although some of the stories on here about bad store experiences have told me that I am going to be getting some SA recommendations before I set foot in a store), especially when spending so much money. You don't just want the bag, you want the experience that comes with acquiring the bag. The authenticity guarantee is a biggie for me too, especially since I ended up having my vintage Louis (although it came from a relative) authenticated by both mypoupette and caroldiva since I'm paranoid. P.S. That's the other thing that is drawing me toward Damier Ebene. How carefree it is. I know there have been peeling issues with the Neverfull but that actually doesn't scare me off. It if it happens to me I'll make sure LV takes care of it. :lecture:

Honesty unless its really used condition, I feel like fashionphile (for example) only prices them for about $50-75 less than brand new.

For your first bag, you want the experience of going to LV, getting that beautiful bag, box, etc... and making it a wonderful memory!
Everytime I go, they say, Do you want a box? And I always say the same thing, I want the whole experience. :smile: Unless its w/ my SA she knows I want the whole enchilada. :smile:

I've noticed that too with the mark down of only about $50-75. At that point, unless it really was a never worn bag, there's just no point in even paying Fashionphile for the shipping, you know what I mean?
 
~ WARNING: DANGER: UNSOLICITED ADVICE TO FOLLOW ~

Since you have plenty of time to make this decision, I heartily suggest the following.

First, spend some time doing your homework on prices posted for NFs with different reputable dealers and figure out what the going rate for pre-owned bags is based on condition. Compare these prices to purchasing brand new in your country (you may not be getting such a great deal; I've seen things online that are going for the same or more than I paid for them in the store).

Second, identify and focus your search on reputable dealers. For example, malleries is the site, but there's lots of dealers on it, and not all are great ... so you do have to do your research on the individual seller. I've bought off malleries, but I made sure to come here to see what other buyers had said about the dealer. Yoogi's is known to be good. Don't be scared of ebay ... but be very, very cautious. I've bought from brandoff in tokyo through ebay, as an example, because they were recommended here by multiple people as a known reputable dealer.

Also, in terms of condition issues, spend some time figuring out what you can live with in a pre-owned bag. No sense in getting a deal, but hating the fact that the stitching is coming loose or there's a weird stain on the lining. It's probably a good idea to search on here to see what are common condition issues - so you have some idea what you should be looking for or asking dealers about. It's also wise to see in advance how other people have dealt with those issues to determine how much effort you're willing to put into cleaning up a bag (some folks restore them to great condition and save $$; others, mainly me, are simply too lazy).

And, please, for the love of all that is sacred in the LV world, get anything pre-owned that you are seriously considering pre-authenticated either on here by Lee, Addy or one of the other lovelies who do this from the goodness of their hearts, or though an authentication service recommended by other LV owners. It won't be much of a deal, if you get burned by a fake.

Thank you so much for the advice! And it totally wasn't unsolicited, I asked for it!

You brought up a lot of wonderful points and I definitely now have some food for thought.

As far as the first point, I've actually been researching Neverfulls for some time now (since May/June). I've seen the prices in a lot of different places, and I will agree - as many posters pointed out - that there are oftentimes negligible differences between what Malleries or Fashionphile, for example, will list, as opposed to the in-store prices. I know that I would be happy saving money (and probably telling my family I did too) but that when I get my new bag I want it to actually be new and not just new-to-me with a big ole' stain on the inside.

Which takes me to the next point you brought up. You are absolutely right about deciding what condition is acceptable and what isn't. Patina - dark, honey colored, even a little watermarked - is actually fine by me. I guess because I started out as a vintage owner and my vachetta is nowhere near perfect on that one. However, stains on the inside gross me out. Whenever I see a Neverfull listing the first thing I start checking out is the inside lining. As far as perfection in a bag, I don't expect that even of my own 'new' items, but I like that I put the imperfection there and not someone else.

Thank you for the tip about Malleries. I will make sure if I find a listing I feel is too good to pass up to do my homework here, as well as authenticate with Lee and Addy, who do a wonderful service for us.
 
The truth is, you guys have really helped me see that I shouldn't get sidetracked by the lower price tags on the bags on pre-owned sites and I should really wait it out to get new. The funny thing is, it's not that I'm even impatient (I'll have enough money in 6 weeks even, though I'm voluntarily waiting for an occasion), it's just that I have an aura of guilt around me.

I guess now I'm just really confused on the Damier Ebene vs. Monogram (btw my Speedy is Monogram) and GM vs. MM. I know that once I would get to the store, it's possible that one might call out to me more than the other and my decision will be made right then and there, but I can't help thinking about it now.

I just want to make sure that I'm 100% comfortable with all my decisions and proud of the purchase I will make.
 
I just purchased a NF gm in mono. I kept going back and forth between the gm and the mm!! I finally decided on the gm and I love it. I thought about the DE too, but after reading so much about the straps, I changed my mind. I live too far from a store.

I say go for the experience of a new bag, especially if you get the DE, that way if you have to return it you will have receipts too!! Also, it's just so much fun to go in and pick up a bag from the store.

Good luck with your decision!
 
Go for new and get the full experience. Like the others said, the price difference is minimal. Save up and get new. There are other bargains to be found on the secondary market.
 
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