Are you selling designer bags and losing money?

[CrazyCool01]

Hi All,

Recently I have been selling a lot of my Bags/Slgs collection mainly because my work status has changed and my lifestyle has changed too and I no longer opt for a larger bag collection .. (I previously had over 40 bags most in brand new condition now some where in 25, I had 100+ slgs which is a lot and i sold a lot of them almost down to 20 now)

Since i started selling my Bags and Slgs i have lost a lot of money and hardly got what I paid and almost never made a profit.

and resale market is kind of dead as well (for sellers!)

Are you in same position ? are you still going ahead with your selling/downsizing ?

 

[Love Of My Life]

It appears that Hermes & Chanel are still getting better prices than perhaps other designer bags
I don't know the caliber of the bags & slgs that you have parted with & unfortunately it's unpleasant
to hear & know that you are disappointed
Would likely sell bags now as still thinking the resale market has not settled down yet & unfortunately
there are times when we just can't recoup what we think we can.
Fashionphile, REbag, Yoogi's & others are all inundated with bags & as the fall season is just starting
who knows what is down the road with bags & the auction houses have bags & the resellers..
Bags galore for buyers sellers are struggling with prices

 

[CrazyCool01]

It appears that Hermes & Chanel are still getting better prices than perhaps other designer bags
I don't know the caliber of the bags & slgs that you have parted with & unfortunately it's unpleasant
to hear & know that you are disappointed
Would likely sell bags now as still thinking the resale market has not settled down yet & unfortunately
there are times when we just can't recoup what we think we can.
Fashionphile, REbag, Yoogi's & others are all inundated with bags & as the fall season is just starting
who knows what is down the road with bags & the auction houses have bags & the resellers..
Bags galore for buyers sellers are struggling with prices

Thanks so much for your reply !
I sold plenty of lv, chanel slgs they all sold but all low ball offers .
Bags other than lv, chanel, Hermes sell for mere 1000-2000$ when retail price is over 4000$

It has been a journey so far !

 

[cecchetti]

Hi All,

Recently I have been selling a lot of my Bags/Slgs collection mainly because my work status has changed and my lifestyle has changed too and I no longer opt for a larger bag collection .. (I previously had over 40 bags most in brand new condition now some where in 25, I had 100+ slgs which is a lot and i sold a lot of them almost down to 20 now)

Since i started selling my Bags and Slgs i have lost a lot of money and hardly got what I paid and almost never made a profit.

and resale market is kind of dead as well (for sellers!)

Are you in same position ? are you still going ahead with your selling/downsizing ?

I’ve only sold a couple, but also lost money, and didn’t like the fact that my “babies” were going to strangers.

I didn’t sell Anythung like the quantity you did, and although I was ready to let go, was still attached to the bags.

Since then, I’ve just gifted to friends and family..

My sister is berating me for offering my Niece a designer handbag for her 21st next year as she’ll be a student for another year, but I know that she’ll look after it, I’d rather that than lose money selling it to a stranger ..

I’m not sure what I’d do if I had as many to sell as you though..xxx

 

[880]

I try to make sure to get the value back in cost per wear.
if I’ve done that, I think it’s fine to let a formerly cherished item go to a friend or family
I do sometimes make mistakes in purchasing, and if I think it would be great for my mom, it goes to her
I also try not to create balance between not letting something go too soon (bc its terrible to miss it
and then have to repurchase the same item, once or twice or more) I also try to figure out if this
is something classic enough to hang onto for the future. Currently, I really only want to purchase
forever items that I truly adore, and not items only fit for my imaginary life. I buy both boutique and well
priced resale, and I like deals. Good luck figuring out what is best for you.

 

[CrazyCool01]

I try to make sure to get the value back in cost per wear.
if I’ve done that, I think it’s fine to let a formerly cherished item go to a friend or family
I do sometimes make mistakes in purchasing, and if I think it would be great for my mom, it goes to her
I also try not to create balance between not letting something go too soon (bc its terrible to miss it
and then have to repurchase the same item, once or twice or more) I also try to figure out if this
is something classic enough to hang onto for the future. Currently, I really only want to purchase
forever items that I truly adore, and not items only fit for my imaginary life. I buy both boutique and well
priced resale, and I like deals. Good luck figuring out what is best for you.

Thanks so much for your wisdom @880

 

[CrazyCool01]

I’ve only sold a couple, but also lost money, and didn’t like the fact that my “babies” were going to strangers.

I didn’t sell Anythung like the quantity you did, and although I was ready to let go, was still attached to the bags.

Since then, I’ve just gifted to friends and family..

My sister is berating me for offering my Niece a designer handbag for her 21st next year as she’ll be a student for another year, but I know that she’ll look after it, I’d rather that than lose money selling it to a stranger ..

I’m not sure what I’d do if I had as many to sell as you though..xxx

Thanks so much .. i think i will do the same ..will come up with few bags that i can gift instead of selling ..

 

[Bag peace]

I've never sold a bag, though my lifestyle has also changed and I've been actively downsizing my collection for a couple of years and will continue doing so until I reach a more practical number of bags. I took a slow editing approach where I create a capsule collections out of my larger collection. I take 3-4 bags out for the year that will match my clothes/shoes in rotation, wear them regularly, and then gift or donate the ones I didn't love using or that weren't quite a good fit for me for whatever reason (weight, style, etc).

Bags other than lv, chanel, Hermes sell for mere 1000-2000$ when retail price is over 4000$

I'm not surprised you feel a bit disheartened that you're only getting back half what you spent. However, when you consider that you gain a more functional collection as a result of the sales, and you have freed up mental and physical space from decluttering, plus you've put some cash in your account via selling that otherwise wouldn't be there, I would say you're not losing that much overall. It's easy to look at the $ value and see it as a loss but, overall, you're gaining in a lot of ways, too. Hopefully that takes the sting out of it.

 

[cecchetti]

I try to make sure to get the value back in cost per wear.
if I’ve done that, I think it’s fine to let a formerly cherished item go to a friend or family
I do sometimes make mistakes in purchasing, and if I think it would be great for my mom, it goes to her
I also try not to create balance between not letting something go too soon (bc its terrible to miss it
and then have to repurchase the same item, once or twice or more) I also try to figure out if this
is something classic enough to hang onto for the future. Currently, I really only want to purchase
forever items that I truly adore, and not items only fit for my imaginary life. I buy both boutique and well
priced resale, and I like deals. Good luck figuring out what is best for you.

Yes, I agree with everything that @880 has just said!

I also give to my Mum, who loves handbags(she has more than I do!)..

I’m also now shopping for forever pieces, although I don’t think that everything in my current collection will stay, but it will for now..everything I have atm is classic..

I did rebuy just one bag, but it Still wasn’t me, so I gifted that, regretted it again lol, but I’m not buying it for a 3rd time!

Hopefully no more mistakes..xx

 

[tlj81]

Over the last few months I have been adapting my collection. I have always purchased bags because i like them, not for investment purpose. Like a lot of us i’m sure, i have bags that I buy because I love (new and preloved) but just won’t use and as time has gone on I think if i am not using them then I should sell. So I have been .. slowly ..

I do my research prior to listing but if I haven’t used a bag since purchase then I try and sell it for what I paid but if it’s been used by me then I sell for slightly under. I know it’s the way of the selling/buying world at times but something that does upset me slightly is selling a bag for a good price and someone trying to sell it on for more.

Saying that I was in a position of making a little profit myself last month. I used a consignment store to sell one of my preloved LV bags. They told me they would sell the bag for an amount that was 650 GBP above what I paid. I didn’t think it would sell for that amount but I agreed and within a week it had sold! Take away the fee from the store I still made a profit of 350 GBP (not a huge amount but an amount I am grateful for)

So to answer the question, sometimes yes, sometimes no, depending on the brand.

Good luck with future selling

 

[Amazona]

I take the money I might lose as a "cost per wear" kind of thing. I don't know how else to think of it as I've gotten use of the item and it's okay IMO.
I don't do high end luxury a mostly do preloved so the prices I pay buying and also get when selling is a lot less than with C or H, and therefore it doesn't really shake my bag collection budget much. I do make a profit every now and then.

 

[papertiger]

There are very good reasons for buying new, none of them are financial. Almost nothing bought at retail can sell for the same/more except real estate - sometimes not even that.

Even H and Chanel owners have to give concession platforms or auction houses huge commissions and still do most of the work themselves and then - wait for their money.

I applaud those with small collections and can make that work, and at least this is one exercise that you one you have to endure once.

 

[Evia]

I wouldn’t expect to make money on something I’ve used

 

[Pivoine66]

Perhaps a generational thing and shifted consumer attitude ?
E.g. until the late 1990s in my neighbourhood / environment in the EU, selling and especially buying "vintage" was " ladies don't do that" . Maybe visiting vintage shops e.g. on a trip to London was "fun" and felt a bit like being "daring/naughty", lol. Purchases only very rare real vintage things - never actual designer cloths or bags...
We wore our stuff, bags were used until they were worn out - sometimes by the next generation and then just thrown away or stayed in the closets - yes, Hermès bags too. Cloths maybe gifted to organisations like Red Cross.
Never really never, with the thought of clothing, bags, cars etc. as an investment.
Then a slight shift and alteration of mind/attitude towards more acceptance - with ebay slowly - very slowly - wider acceptance of secondhand fashion and secondhand shops, but only behind held out hand.... And always considering selling for getting rid of unused stuff and getting a little back and never ever thinking of making real financial profit.

Suddenly in the last few years the hype - especially Birkins u Kellys and Chanel - countless resellers, private and professional - suddenly the EXPECTATION to make profit, even with used ...
My personal assessment? Selling will be considerably less profitable again in a few years at the latest. Maybe the idea of buying cloths, bags etc as investment will fade again. And maybe it will also become more relaxed again?

Sorry - the part ref. the theme of the thread went missing: I feel for the op. I too have quite some new or hardly worn bags like Ferragamo and Gucci and Tod's nobody in the familly/friends is interested in - and selling them would get me maybe 10 % of the original retail price? Not worth the fuzz for me. Aaannnd: I somehow don't like the idea of some buyers scanning the bags looking for and critizing the tiniest flaws, things I didn't even see/recognise when buying them brand new in the boutique ...
So: Waiting and if a friend is interested in, I will be very happy to let go. Otherwise I am - unfortunately - a "hoarder" and keep them in my closets.

 

[CrazyCool01]

I've never sold a bag, though my lifestyle has also changed and I've been actively downsizing my collection for a couple of years and will continue doing so until I reach a more practical number of bags. I took a slow editing approach where I create a capsule collections out of my larger collection. I take 3-4 bags out for the year that will match my clothes/shoes in rotation, wear them regularly, and then gift or donate the ones I didn't love using or that weren't quite a good fit for me for whatever reason (weight, style, etc).



I'm not surprised you feel a bit disheartened that you're only getting back half what you spent. However, when you consider that you gain a more functional collection as a result of the sales, and you have freed up mental and physical space from decluttering, plus you've put some cash in your account via selling that otherwise wouldn't be there, I would say you're not losing that much overall. It's easy to look at the $ value and see it as a loss but, overall, you're gaining in a lot of ways, too. Hopefully that takes the sting out of it.

Thanks for your kind words ! Really made me feel better