Buying a preloved Kelly - choices

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Bella3x

Member
Oct 29, 2015
18
33
#1
Hi everyone,

This forum has been incredibly helpful for me over the years, even though I haven’t posted much.
Now I am finally ready to buy a “workhorse” Kelly bag but am a bit at a loss.

Buying new is not an option - the Hermès boutique where I live has 2-3 year waiting lists.
Buying preloved freaks me out. I’ve read up on the availability of authentication services (including here on the forum), but does a buyer have any rights if the bag gets destroyed by Hermes when submitted to their spa? Or would I lose all the money? Fashionpile seem to have a “lifetime authenticity guarantee”, has anyone actually got to use it? Is a credit card chargeback an option, perhaps? I will authenticate it here/with Bababebi, of course, but am still somewhat paranoid about the potential loss.

Also, what kind of leathers are the most water and/or scratch resistant? I’ve read up and seems like buffalo, Ardennes and fjord would be the best choices?

I really want to have a bag I could use without worrying too much, and since I can’t afford buying X Kelly’s per year, your inputs are highly appreciated ❤️ And sorry if it’s too long or in a wrong sub forum.
 
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#2
Ann's Fabulous Finds is a well trusted site for preloved and I think the Togo leather is pretty durable . I am not an expert . Maybe one of the more experienced members can help out. Congratulations on your future purchase .
 
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#3
The first step would be to have the bag authenticated. Once the bag is authenticated there should be no concern
for potential loss or having the bag destroyed.
Anns, FP, Yoogi's are all resellers that many tPF'ers have dealt with here with good reputations.
There is also a list here that you can do a search on.
I would also suggest that before you resort to a charge back give the seller the opportunity to rectify the situation
with a certificate of authenticity
Should you find a bag on eBay you could also have that bag authenticated here on the authentication thread here on tPF
What size & what color are you thinking? As that might be a consideration for which leather would have appeal to you
& would show the least amount of wear..
 
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#4
pursegirl3 said:
Ann's Fabulous Finds is a well trusted site for preloved and I think the Togo leather is pretty durable . I am not an expert . Maybe one of the more experienced members can help out. Congratulations on your future purchase .
Click to expand...
Thank you! I’ve been eyeing one bag on AFF, but that one is in fjord leather, I’ll read up on Togo as well :smartass:

Love Of My Life said:
The first step would be to have the bag authenticated. Once the bag is authenticated there should be no concern
for potential loss or having the bag destroyed.
Anns, FP, Yoogi's are all resellers that many tPF'ers have dealt with here with good reputations.
There is also a list here that you can do a search on.
I would also suggest that before you resort to a charge back give the seller the opportunity to rectify the situation
with a certificate of authenticity
Should you find a bag on eBay you could also have that bag authenticated here on the authentication thread here on tPF
What size & what color are you thinking? As that might be a consideration for which leather would have appeal to you
& would show the least amount of wear..
Click to expand...
Thank you for taking time to reply in such great detail! Of course, chargeback would be the last resort, my main concern is the bag being destroyed, but you made me feel a bit better about the whole thing.
I’m looking for a Kelly 32, and so far has been considering black, ébène and gold/natural. Really like the ébène on all the photos I’ve found but am not sure how it’ll look with my clothes - most of my shoes are black And most likely will try and find a sellier, since seems like they are less prone to corner wear... And it rains here a lot, so waterproof would be perfect.
As you can see, I want something that probably doesn’t exist in real life :nuts:
 
#6
Since you are in a rainy climate a black Kelly might be a good option to go with. It is classic & timeless
As suggested above, you should carry the Kelly raincoat in your bag for protection.
Most of H bags do show corner wear at some point in time, so I would not let color choice hold me back
Black, gold, & ebene are all classic colors that work with many a wardrobe color
What are the colors in your wardrobe? Do you wear prints?
You mention black shoes but it is not necessary to match your bag to your shoes.
Do your due diligence & authenticate the bag, I think you will be on the right track
 
#7
Grande Latte said:
You just have to be careful and always carry a plastic bag in case it pours where you live.
Click to expand...
Love Of My Life said:
As suggested above, you should carry the Kelly raincoat in your bag for protection.
Click to expand...
I'm used to carrying plastic bags whenever I'm out with my Chanel bags, so I guess I'll have to stick to the same behavioral pattern :biggrin:

Love Of My Life said:
What are the colors in your wardrobe? Do you wear prints?
Click to expand...
I wear mostly beige, off-white, camel etc. sweaters and coats with classic blue, black and dark grey jeans and pants, and gold jewelry. And very few prints, only in the summer if any. Probably would be good to throw a bright red bag into these dull neutrals, but I suspect that it'll just end up living in my closet.

I've stalked the thread with ébène H bags and am in love! So I will most likely limit my search to black and ébène, and do my due diligence in advance. Thank you ladies for helping me out :heart:
 
#8
Togo and Clemence are both very durable (Clemence IMO even more so) and easier to find than Fjord, Ardennes, etc.

With the colors you wear I would consider Gold as well. I love my Gold Togo Kelly and it goes with everything.
 
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#11
Bella3x said:
I wear mostly beige, off-white, camel etc. sweaters and coats with classic blue, black and dark grey jeans and pants, and gold jewelry. And very few prints, only in the summer if any. Probably would be good to throw a bright red bag into these dull neutrals, but I suspect that it'll just end up living in my closet.

I've stalked the thread with ébène H bags and am in love! So I will most likely limit my search to black and ébène, and do my due diligence in advance. Thank you ladies for helping me out :heart:
Click to expand...
This sounds like my wardrobe! Add some olive and the odd dusty rose/nudes...

I think Ebene would look fantastic with your style!
 
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#14
Bella3x said:
Thank you! I’ve been eyeing one bag on AFF, but that one is in fjord leather, I’ll read up on Togo as well :smartass:


Thank you for taking time to reply in such great detail! Of course, chargeback would be the last resort, my main concern is the bag being destroyed, but you made me feel a bit better about the whole thing.
I’m looking for a Kelly 32, and so far has been considering black, ébène and gold/natural. Really like the ébène on all the photos I’ve found but am not sure how it’ll look with my clothes - most of my shoes are black And most likely will try and find a sellier, since seems like they are less prone to corner wear... And it rains here a lot, so waterproof would be perfect.
As you can see, I want something that probably doesn’t exist in real life :nuts:
Click to expand...

I just wanted to weigh in based on what you said about corners. My view is that the sellier is more prone to corner wear than a retourne. I think with the sellier the corner is more likely to come into harder contact and actually mar the leather, whereas the retourne is maybe more likely to have rubbing. As others have said, some corner wear is inevitable, so I wouldn't base your decision solely on that (and some of the other ladies may have different views than me re sellier v retourne) but hope this is helpful. Black ebene sounds like a great choice. :smile:
 
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#15
Thank you for this input! I haven’t thought about that - it’s probably more reasonable, it’s just that I got the impression from reading different threads here that sellier is the way to go. But I don’t have the preferences on the looks, so that helps :)
 
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