Does price influence your decision when buying a bag?

BgaHolic

BgaHolic

Emma 4ever in my <3
O.G.
May 23, 2009
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#1
When I buy a bag I could truly care less who designed it as long as the leather is strong and gorgeous! Price matters in that I am only willing to pay more for it if I know it was made by hand in Italy. I just love Italian leather bags!

However, I have found through many posts that a lot of PFers will buy an expensive bag due to it's exclusivity. Quite simply: the mindset is, if it is expensive enough, less people will be wearing it regardless of where it was crafted.

Was just wondering what are your thoughts?
 
#2
Interesting...I have to say that price does influence me a great deal, in that I can rarely afford to buy the premium designers bag that I prefer at full retail, hee hee. (And the fact that I absolutely refuse to buy anything on credit doesn't help).

So, no ultra-exclusive bags for me. But I don't lose any sleep over it...I just make sure that I hit the consignment stores, Bonanzle, and the sales racks more quickly! I frankly enjoy the challenge of having to work even harder for what I want.
 
#3
The things I ask myself are: Can I really afford this? and Is this better or as good as the other bags I own and love?

So if a bag is within my budget, the first thing I look for is workmanship: I insist on a bag that is hand crafted, designed to last decades instead of years, made with quality materials. Second thing is design - is this different, and does this work with who I am now? The third thing - How does this fit in my collection! I want something different from what I have.

I really don't care if something has been made for the last seventy-three years and the average middle class american can afford it if they cut out other luxuries, or if the bag is only available for the third week in June in 2010 in a small boutique cut into the Himalaya, Posh Spice carries it, the first bag sold for 1 million, and only three of them are available in the world.

In short - I don't care what other people thing about me - they'll love or hate me long before they see my bag. I don't care if fifty people have my bag (although I do think it's cool when I meet by bag-fifth-cousin!) or if I have a one-off.
 
#4
yes, price does influence my decision because my dad is the one who pays for my bags...so if the bag is too expensive for him, then i can't get that bag and i pick something with a lower price but i love equally :smile:
 
#5
i'm quite ashamed to say that eversince i fell in love with balenciaga bags, i have also slowly shifted my attention to other "premier" brands...

since my monetary resources are limited, i don't look at other non designer bags as much as before. i used to admire well-made non-designer italian leather bags too but they are not exactly very cheap, they cost a few hundred bucks. however, these days i kept telling myself if i skip a couple of them, i can buy another bbag or LV or the likes... hmm...
 
#7
Definitely-that would be why I don't have any moto Balenciagas and Bottega Venetas right now, which are out of my range. I go bargain-hunting for leather bags that are under $500, and with luck I do have Dior, Fendi, Ferragamo, Prada, etc., but Chanels and such are out of my range for good I think.

As for expensive prices and exclusivity, with my career/financial goals I don't have the luxury to have that as a priority when I buy my bags.
 
#8
I only buy my bags from sales or from Ebay or Bonanzle because I can't justify buying for full price. When buying something from a couple of seasons ago instead of the newest it bag it also means that there are less people wearing the same thing.

I guess that price matters to me in that the higher the price of a designer bag originally was, the sweeter it feels for me to find it at a serious discount online.
 
#9
Vintage Leather said:
The things I ask myself are: Can I really afford this? and Is this better or as good as the other bags I own and love?

So if a bag is within my budget, the first thing I look for is workmanship: I insist on a bag that is hand crafted, designed to last decades instead of years, made with quality materials. Second thing is design - is this different, and does this work with who I am now? The third thing - How does this fit in my collection! I want something different from what I have.

I really don't care if something has been made for the last seventy-three years and the average middle class american can afford it if they cut out other luxuries, or if the bag is only available for the third week in June in 2010 in a small boutique cut into the Himalaya, Posh Spice carries it, the first bag sold for 1 million, and only three of them are available in the world.

In short - I don't care what other people thing about me - they'll love or hate me long before they see my bag. I don't care if fifty people have my bag (although I do think it's cool when I meet by bag-fifth-cousin!) or if I have a one-off.
Click to expand...

Great post!

For myself, it all comes down to aesthetics, function and price. Firstly, it has to be beautiful and really appeal to my taste and style. Secondly, it has to be a bag that has a sufficient element of individuality such that I'm not buying the same bag over and over. So I won't buy a black evening clutch because I already have a fantastic YSL one. For me to buy another clutch, it would have to be really beautiful and be sufficiently different from the YSL bag. If that makes sense....

Finally, price does matter. No one has the disposable income they think they do. If I'm splashing out on a bag, it's going to have to earn it, baby!!
 
#10
Price definitely does influence me. There are a lot of lovely bags (Celine, Balenciaga, Prada, etc.) that I like, but that $1200-$1800 range is an odd one for me. It's enough money that I couldn't just pick one up whenever I wanted, and at the top end it's so close to Chanel and the like that I think, "I could have these bags that I like now, or save for the bag that I'll love and use for forever."

Anything under $600 or $700 I don't think as much about, like Rebecca Minkoff or LV Speedies and such -- these are also typically the bags that I use the most on a day to day basis. BUT, I usually don't buy bags under a few hundred anymore, because I know that they won't last as long, and I won't want to use them for as long either.
 
#12
Yes. It's gotta be good-looking enough to justify the price. If a bag is over 4 grand, for example, it's gotta be drop dead gorgeous or hell no. Luckily, I have not come across a bag that's even close to that yet, hehe.
 
#14
It influences me a lot. Last week I was at a consignment store and saw a beautiful Jimmy Choo yellow patent leather bag but it was priced about two hundred more than I really wanted to pay for it, not that great of a deal in the end and the second negative was the fact I couldn't comfortably carry it over my shoulder. It was really beautiful though, I'll remember it.
 
#15
It depends on the bag's brand, sadly. I won't spend more than $350 on a coach (just because I know I will eventually be able to get what I want for less than that, no matter what it is). Same for many of the lower-priced brands.

With designer brands, its more about how long they will last or how classic they are (i.e. will someone 3 years from now be able to easily ID it as an out of season bag if I wear it then?) Unless I'm madly in love with the bag - then I'll get whatever I want at the best bargain I can find! I love the hunt.
 
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