2021 Resolution: Shopping my own bag and SLG collection. Any one else?

[Sparkletastic]

NOVEMBER ACTIVITIES

1. Bags by Brand Showcase!

Each week, share photos of your bags from the specified brands. Choose a posed “beauty” shot or get your bags out and about in action shots!

We highlight 3 brands per week: 2 premier and 1 contemporary in alphabetical order as listed on tPF. Any brands not listed are showcased in our last week. Brands change to the next set each Sunday.

Our first brand week starts now - Sunday, Oct 31. Please share photos of bags from these brands:

• Bottega Venetta
• Burberry
• Alexander Wang

Tip: Grab your photos from last year in the 2020 resolution thread. Search your user name and the brand to find your photos.

2. Special Stories
Thanks @Claudia Herzog for the suggestion

Wear a bag that has a backstory involving a person, place, or opportunity for which you feel grateful.

 

[papertiger]

I've long told my husband if I should go before he does, to get hold of my good friend in Seattle who knows exactly what I have and will make sure it's taken care of. It's not that he doesn't know (by now) what a luxury bag is and what I probably paid, but - he's just a likely to hit up Goodwill unless somebody intervenes.

Just don't go @indiaink

My DH would chuck all my 'stuff' without a second thought and turn it all into land fill

I guess that'd be one way of being buried with my chattels accompanying me to the afterlife.

 

[indiaink]

Just don't go @indiaink

My DH would chuck all my 'stuff' without a second thought and turn it all into land fill

I guess that'd be one way of being buried with my chattels accompanying me to the afterlife.

Oh yes, and archaeologists in the years to come will find all sorts of metal objects with you ... providing many a student with months of thesis work. I like it!!! I'm just looking at my Knots and imagining what's left after years and year and years being buried...

 

[papertiger]

Oh yes, and archaeologists in the years to come will find all sorts of metal objects with you ... providing many a student with months of thesis work. I like it!!! I'm just looking at my Knots and imagining what's left after years and year and years being buried...

Metal detectors at the ready...

 

[papertiger]

This is defiantly one for the metal detectors:

Interesting. I checked on Ebay and found same SR bag and found a bag just like mine (NOT mine https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sonia-rykiel-bag-100-authentic-limited-addition-/324374067779) and it's £200, at least 4 x more than what I expected. Originally, I think it was around £600 (a l o n g time ago) and mine's in even better condition. That gives me hope, donation or dinner, at least that's still something. I don't think I can give it to anyone though, you will not believe how heavy this little guy is. Of course if I had 2, they'd be quite handy as free-weights.

 

[SouthernPurseGal]

My husband would definitely just have the local Goodwill come pick up.
Maybe Goodwills are different in different parts of the country. I've been to several in a number of states but I totally now believe (based on what the previous poster said about hers in California) that they must be. I was making a big assumption about all Goodwills. So many assumptions, oops!

My husband would be thrilled to be rid of my chattel but might miss me. He thinks my stuff is very excessive to be sure. I think I'm streamlined compared to howI could be.

 

[SouthernPurseGal]

squeeeeeee!!!!!!!!

 

[jayohwhy]

View attachment 4938612squeeeeeee!!!!!!!!

these make me wish I was someone who actually wore colors instead of dressing like I work backstage somewhere

 

[keodi]

View attachment 4938612squeeeeeee!!!!!!!!

verrry nice!

 

[SouthernPurseGal]

My other latest purchases. These 4 plus my paratay, and a Massaccesi midi Juliet ($135 SHIPPED !!) from eBay and an aphrodite ($75 SHIPPED!) from the MM BST are my 6 December bag purchases. I bought 3 in Nov and Oct but 5 in September and none in 2020 before. 17 total this year. I think. But sold 8. So I've acquired 9. But I have not lost any money, I've actually profited around $5k this year on bag flips. And that's accounting for a missing in the mail $750 Chanel. Ok I'm being kind, being scammed by the buyer. Starting a few hours ago I am being attempted scammed the $75 I got for my Burberry trench three weeks ago.
I'm done with selling.
My goals for next year still involve not earning any money at all, but actually spending 12% of my salary on purses and having a 100% acquisition success rate. I just don't want to spend time on it anymore. I want to buy a house and set up a craft room and start crafting with my daughters.

 

[papertiger]

View attachment 4938612squeeeeeee!!!!!!!!

They look so much better than from their 'mug shots'. You must be thrilled, such pretty colour combos, perfect hw pairings.

 

[whateve]

I've long told my husband if I should go before he does, to get hold of my good friend in Seattle who knows exactly what I have and will make sure it's taken care of. It's not that he doesn't know (by now) what a luxury bag is and what I probably paid, but - he's just a likely to hit up Goodwill unless somebody intervenes.

I have a spreadsheet that shows exactly what I paid and I've instructed my daughter to use it if she decides to get rid of my stuff.

My apologies. A bit different.

I think we have house clearance places here too, they tend to be done/run by professionals for profit and we have to pay, unless a large charity will agree to take things away for free. The sorting would take far too long and be very difficult for most volunteers (most volunteers tend to be pensioners). They do sort, but not usually that kind of quantity.

We can get something called 'gift aid' here (UK) on money/donations, it's supposed to be an incentive to give to charity, as donors can claim tax back. Charities don't pay tax, so the charity can claim that sum on top of what's already been earned if it's not claimed back by the gifter: https://www.gov.uk/donating-to-charity/gift-aid I have to admit I don't understand it completely, but the manager at the charity I give to just emails me what my donation total is and gift aid is worked out, if I don't claim it, they get that too, and that's fine by me.

We have tax deductions for charity too but you can only use it if you itemize your deductions and since they changed the tax code, most people just take the standard deduction.

 

[papertiger]

View attachment 4938617
My other latest purchases. These 4 plus my paratay, and a Massaccesi midi Juliet ($135 SHIPPED !!) from eBay and an aphrodite ($75 SHIPPED!) from the MM BST are my 6 December bag purchases. I bought 3 in Nov and Oct but 5 in September and none in 2020 before. 17 total this year. I think. But sold 8. So I've acquired 9. But I have not lost any money, I've actually profited around $5k this year on bag flips. And that's accounting for a missing in the mail $750 Chanel. Ok I'm being kind, being scammed by the buyer. Starting a few hours ago I am being attempted scammed the $75 I got for my Burberry trench three weeks ago.
I'm done with selling.
My goals for next year still involve not earning any money at all, but actually spending 12% of my salary on purses and having a 100% acquisition success rate. I just don't want to spend time on it anymore. I want to buy a house and set up a craft room and start crafting with my daughters.

I'm glad you profited, and found some lovey bags along the way, but I am horrified at those scammers. I hope karma comes up and bites them on the b*m - hard!

 

[Vintage Leather]

Question for those of us wanting to shed a few bags over 2021:

We spend a lot of time discussing why we buy bags but not so much editing. I'd like to let go of at least 2 in Jan and that's just a beginning. Where do I start?

Doesn't have to be selling, could be just giving away.

What is you top priority for letting go of a bag?

1. Not a wearable/pleasing colour
2. Use (or lack of)
3. Price (sell it now to accumulate funds or worry about depreciation of you wear first)
4. Worry about using because of delicacy
5. Too many of the same (style/colour/other)
6. Too worn (I'm laughing at myself because it's doubtful it will ever apply to me unless we're talking boots not bags)
7. Too dated
8. Too big/small/heavy (something we often don't discover until we use)
9. Too showy/plain/awful (file under 'what was I thinking)
10. Easy come easy go (done it's time and it was an extra)
11. Other reason (enlighten us).
12. To raise money for a certain cause (maybe favourite charity)
13. Biggest first (clear some space)

So far I'm thinking of a 1970s vintage cognac, saddle leather briefcase - heavy, but it's the kind of thing I could see myself buying again if I'm not careful. I don't know why I have such a thing for briefcases. I even have a folding one from Aquascutum I've never used (not getting rid of that one).

Another is small rust-brown, brass-studded '00s 'Domino' bag from Sonia Rykiel that weighs a ton. I have a black/silver one that's much lighter which I'm keeping. I'll never get anything like my money back from it but it's just too heavy and small for all day, and wrong colour for evening. Then again, I do love my Sonia Rykiel. Then, there's my blush nubuck Vivienne Westwood, on and off sale for years, it's supposed to look aged, the problem is convincing others that is, they think it's just dirt but it was bought new like that, part of the 'punk' aesthetic design. I could give these to charity.

Last year I gave a lot of my mother's less personally precious pieces to a certain charity that does Ebay as well as a designer boutique rail and raised over £700 just with these bits (some fine jewellery in the mix). They seem to be able to sell better than me, and so long as someone gets money I'm not upset. OT, but I just saw someone able to buy a BV for $15 from goodwill, if I gave a BV to charity I'd be furious if they only put it out for peanuts. The point of giving to charity is raise as much funds as possible for the cause, not just dump unwanted 'stuff'.

The idea that helped me the most in my long tortuous editing journey (I’ve been actively selling and editing my collection for over a decade with varying success) was a concept of:

You and your stuff are in business; you’re the CEO and all your stuff is employees. What job does each thing do? What do you need it to do? How does it support the life you want to live?

So I was able to look at my bag collection and say “I wear this at X,Y and Z. Who else do I wear in those occasions? Will I have enough of those occasions to justify the redundancy? And which do I like best and why?”

So, I’m not banned. I just have a hiring freeze going on. And I’m not selling crap, I’m career counseling my stuff-employees into new positions.

For example, I have a dark red Mulberry Smithfield and a bright red BV deerskin Creel. One’s a hand-carry satchel, one is a crossbody. One’s sturdy thick leather, the other more delicate and smaller. When looking all the characteristics, they are dramatically different bags. But they do the same darn job. Letting go of one allowed the other to be better at doing it’s job.

Now, clutches? Their primary job is to sparkle and make me smile and I treat them like art. So, having a ridiculously high level of redundancy is fine as long as I still have space for them.

 

[Vintage Leather]

Another thing that is common in the US that might not be as prevalent in other countries is estate liquidators.

Basically, these are companies that will come in after the family has taken what they want, and get rid of the rest. They take a percentage of the final sales (usually between 20-50%) They’ll contact dealers, have estates sales, contact consignment shops. What isn’t gone in a week to three (depending on the size of the estate and how many employees the liquidators have) is hauled to the dump or donation center, and they’ll cut a check for the heirs.

They’re really common in Arizona, Florida and a lot of places where elderly relatives live away from their families. I worked at one a few decades ago; it was startling and appalling and fascinating and I kept thinking “if you just took a few months, you could have made so much more...”

An estate that I appraised at close to $150k worth of stuff resale prices (Gucci scarves, all-clad pans, Tiffany sterling bar ware set, furs, Radko Christmas ornaments were some of the highlights) the heirs received a $12k check.

But they operate under the idea that something is better than nothing and the whole goal is to get it done fast.

 

[whateve]

Another thing that is common in the US that might not be as prevalent in other countries is estate liquidators.

Basically, these are companies that will come in after the family has taken what they want, and get rid of the rest. They take a percentage of the final sales (usually between 20-50%) They’ll contact dealers, have estates sales, contact consignment shops. What isn’t gone in a week to three (depending on the size of the estate and how many employees the liquidators have) is hauled to the dump or donation center, and they’ll cut a check for the heirs.

They’re really common in Arizona, Florida and a lot of places where elderly relatives live away from their families. I worked at one a few decades ago; it was startling and appalling and fascinating and I kept thinking “if you just took a few months, you could have made so much more...”

An estate that I appraised at close to $150k worth of stuff resale prices (Gucci scarves, all-clad pans, Tiffany sterling bar ware set, furs, Radko Christmas ornaments were some of the highlights) the heirs received a $12k check.

But they operate under the idea that something is better than nothing and the whole goal is to get it done fast.

It depresses me to go to estate sales. The worst is when they have photo albums. It makes me so sad that no one cares about these people's history and the things they considered important.