Charity Based Designer Handbag Exchange in London

[LondonSoho7]

I am sure this has been thought of before, but I googled and found nothing.

As a consultant in an investment bank, I see a real gap in the market for a proper designer bag exchange - one that involves a strict validation process for authenticity, and one that only charges a nominal handling fee to cover cost (like 5% capped at £100 per bag) and 5% going to charity.

For this to work, I would require the assistance of "bag-experts" and strict "know-your-customer" code of practice to really know who is selling the bag - we don't want fakes / replica dealers. We also need to have a good "bag grading" process and fair pricing policy. Each bag that comes through the exchange will be catalogued and a record maintained of the buyer and the seller.

The objective is to create a market where the buyer can feel secure in the product they are buying and a seller able to contribute something to charity and get rid of a bag they no longer want at a fair price.

Could I poll your view please? Do I have volunteers?

 

[Haute Couturess]

Interesting idea and of course giving to charity is always terrific. A tremendous undertaking - for me to send my bag in to someone it would have to be someone I know and trust for several years. Otherwise too risky I think for me.

 

[LondonSoho7]

Interesting idea and of course giving to charity is always terrific. A tremendous undertaking - for me to send my bag in to someone it would have to be someone I know and trust for several years. Otherwise too risky I think for me.

That is indeed a very good point - trust. I am new here, I could indeed be "anybody". Reputation is something that needs to be built on. I think if the work is done along side a number of charities, and be recognised by them - trust could easily be attained.

For example - UK Cancer Research, Bernados, THT. The Bag Exchange, the people involved, will need to be recognised by the charitable organisations - either directly on their website or indirectly through the exchange. Details of the people involved will be posted on the website.

I accept your point, this is not something that can happen over night.

Sellers, when they submit a bag, will need to be nominated (from the designated list) the charitable organisations that they want to support. You bag will be given an ID, and you can track the progess. I propose that details of every bag sold and donations be published via a monthly report - so you know where the money is going. And if you sold a bag, you can reconcile (this is a banking term-sorry) with the amount you receive to the actual amount paid to the charities. Transparency in transactions is key.

I also propose that any bags are sold at a premium (like the Hesmes Birkin) 50% of profits (proceeds above the RRP) be donated to charity. Similarly goes for any limited edition item.

I propose that we team up with well known sites like eBay to achieve the best price and therefore charitable donations.

Please keep your views coming...

 

[Ms Birkin]

I think it is an excellent idea, my only reservation is providing confidence to the buyer that it is indeed authentic and how would you deal with the situation if someone claims they have bought a fake and then posts this info all over the place. I guess the charities involved would want some assurance up front as they would not want to be associated with any negative publicity, especially in light of all the recent press associated with Ebay & fakes.

 

[Haute Couturess]

Sorry, I feel like I should have suggested earlier you run any idea like that past a mod first, I think it might be discouraged posting this kind of thing on the board but I don't really know much about it. Best wishes.

 

[LondonSoho7]

Mod. my apologies... I should hae run this past you first... please do let me know if ths is NOT ok...

About fake bags and lawsuits... on eBay - well - they were fined not because they were fake bags on their site, but becuase of the lack of controls in making sure that bags sold on their site is authentic. The bag exchange will vet all items and sellers. Its not a site where people can just upload pictures and post, the bag exchange will only accept bags than can be verified as authentic.

It is true that there may be bags out there that are so good that even an experienced SA may be fooled... but the risk of this is low. And as we can track all the bags to the seller - I hope that this would deter potential scammers.

To me the only people who could potentially lose out are the "resellers" as the Bag Exchange will have a lower cost and charity status attached to it and not least the fake bag sellers. The exchange will not only provide liquidity and access to bags - its an opportunity for us to give something back to society.

Oh by the way, this is just an idea so far... I have not created any websites or anything like that. If I can get enough support, and the buy in from the moderator, my first step would be to start engaging some charitable organisations as well as the designer labels themselves. Their involvement and the lebel's blessing would be a critical success factor. Even get celebrities involved... just imagine if we could get Victoria Beckham to donate or sell one of her birkin bags!

 

[chicpurse]

This is a very creative idea! However here are my thoughts. I have worked and continue to work with numerous charities. I have sat on boards and organized events and oversaw auctions etc.

You would be surprised how easy vendors are willing to donate to auctions. If you are getting items for a respectable charity-- donations start flying in... I received items from department stores, to record labels, movie companies and luxury vendors. I think if you have a celebrity donate a used item- that will bring a lot of money.. the key is to get a hold of that person's agent, publicist, manager or whomever. In the case of celebrities and getting the donation-- I have found it is a matter of who you know and getting the right person to hear your pitch. If you can get in touch with 'the right person,' 99 percent of the time you will get an item.

I think when people donate items and they are used- there is a question is this real? Even though you want to have an authentication board, I dont think that can gurantee the bag is real. If you have a celebrity's bag -- then people will tend to belive that bag is authentic. Many high end vendors are anti fakes and anti reselling. Most high end designers do not even have outlets-- it is policy if an item has the wrong thread count, is crooked etc is destroyed... quality control is important. So I think high end designers would rather donate an item than endorse a resale auction-- unless it is christies.

Now - as a board member of a charity -- I would really be leery of endorsing an item that is authentic and have the off chance it is fake.
I know that this issue would go before the national board and be studied by attorneys most likely be rejected. The reason-- can you imagine what would happen if somone sued us because it was a fake bag. If there are national sponsors-- people could pull hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations-- imagine the bad press!

Just my thoughts-- I am just basing this on my experience with the organizations I have dealt with .. however obviously there are many charities out there and maybe others maybe ok with the idea.

 

[LondonSoho7]

I do not believe that people would really take action sue a charity - I have never heard a charity being sued in the UK, perhaps in the US?

None the less a very valid and fair point, and maybe the reason why charities have not come down this route. I know that there are second hand designer shops for charities - but they are based on donations - and mainly clothes.

Its an idea, do keep your thoughts rolling.