Ever purged your collection in pursuit of one bag? How did it go?

[Vintage Leather]

Congrats, Vintage! It sounds like you've made some great progress. How are you feeling about it? What was the turning point for you in pushing you to take this step?

These bags have spent a year in a box in the closet - actually since this thread first began.
And, I did an inventory of everything I purchased in the last year :wince: a touch too much.

Part of me: no! I might need them. I'll never get them again. These are rare, 20-40 year old bags. I might miss them
Other part: what did I sell again?

 

[cfrozal23]

Yes!! Guilty as charged!! I gave up/sold every Coach bag/wallet I have ever owned in my pursuit for my LV ebene Damier French Wallet. I sold them all on CL and luckily for me the same women purchased them all.

 

[thedseer]

Thanks everyone for your support. Luckily, Paypal ruled in my favor and I got my money back for the black city.

Sold two bags in the past week, so the purging is off to a good start.

 

[klj]

^ Yay! Good to know your got your money back!! Sorry you had to go through that fiasco

 

[jsenning]

So glad you got your money back, thed. What a terrible situation.

 

[am2022]

so nice to see this thread.
im away right now on a vaca.. but 2011 is already set aside for trimming my closet.

i have come to realize that some bags have been in my closet for more than a year unused , brand new with tags ... i have been meaning to take pics of them to sell but was so lazy about it.

but i will not be lazy anymore and really start cleaning my closet!!!

I promised myself no buying until i sell at least 5 brand new bags in my closet...

 

[vesna]

Hey everyone! I've been researching selling my YSL RG which is in mint condition, ('cause I hardly ever wear it) on ebay but can't. (I never use that word, as I don't believe in it), however, I have zero experience in either buying or selling on there and am afraid of getting taken. I am looking into a consignment shop but it looks like they take 30% right off the top. Any suggestions from you savvy pf'ers?

Hi there BgaHolic, if you check this thread (I have not been here in a while) , I just did last month what you wanted. I gave 10 bags and 5 wallets on sale on ebay and had amazing experience with each and every one of them. It can be very nice, and you can always choose who to communicate with and sell to, you can control your minimum price ... my experience is that after 2-3 postings the bag goes for somethign similar to what you expected. One lower, the other higher...but looking at others out there for a while and selling prices helps. PM me and I will share any detail you wish to know. cheers, Vesna

 

[thedseer]

It seems like a lot of people are on bans, but is anyone still purging? I’ve been doing good and bad – sold 3 recently, and have bids/offers on a few more. I’m having some trouble cutting down more, and I’m also having some trouble NOT thinking of my selling funds as purchasing funds – before I would sell bags and use the money to buy more bags!

I went back to my first post in this thread, from early 2010 - I had about 10 bags, excluding smaller/evening bags, was only using 4 regularly, but didn’t think I could cut down much more. Now I’m at 10 bags exactly (Including smaller/evening bags), and some of these will be on the chopping block as I continue to purge.

So that’s good. Except that of those 10, 6 were purchased AFTER I started purging last year. In fact, the bags that I’ve had the longest of my current rotation were purchased in December 2009. So my turnover was still pretty crazy in 2010, mostly in the first half. Maybe I’m the type of person who can’t have the same couple of bags year after year, but I also think I need to do a better job of managing my buying and selling habits.

I’m still not sure how low I can go, and honestly, I’m having trouble parting with some, but I’m trying to think of all of the other things I can use the money for – retirement, vacation, down payment – and that helps. I’ve set a lot of financial goals for 2011, and I’m hoping that this will motivate me to be really good this year. (Plus it's been a time suck too.)

 

[COACH ADDICT]

Yes, I am still purging... I have not purchased a Bag since Nov 2nd and I have list 3 of my Fav but never used bags... I am going to add more..

I am also doing the same thing with my closet.. I place a large shopping bag in my closet and if I try something on or look at it and I just do not want or need it.. it goes in the shopping bag.. When it is full that goes to Goodwill... I have filled it up 3 times this year already..

I am so done with a close full of bags, clothes, shoes and accessories I do not use

 

[Nelmi]

Hi ladies! I'm late to the conversation, but if you are purging your collection to make room for new do you tend to consign or sell yourself? Have you done it both ways? How do you decide? Also, for those of you who have traded, how did you do that? Thanks in advance for any advice!

 

[thedseer]

Wow, Coach, that’s great! I like the idea of keeping a bag/box in the closet and loading it up as you find stuff – kind of takes some of the pressure off doing it all at once.

Nelmi – I’ve mostly been selling on Bonanzle, though I do some selling on Ebay as well if an item isn’t moving – higher fees, but higher traffic as well. I’ve traded through Bonanzle, but always with someone I “know”. I’ve never consigned because I feel like I can make more money selling on my own.

Yesterday I sold a bag that is really hard to part with, but it was a big sale for me, and having the $ feels good. Beautiful bag and enjoyed using it, but I decided that another color or size would work better for me – so hopefully there’s another in my future down the road. Just need to resist the urge to replace it immediately.

 

[jxwilliams]

It seems like a lot of people are on bans, but is anyone still purging? I’ve been doing good and bad – sold 3 recently, and have bids/offers on a few more. I’m having some trouble cutting down more, and I’m also having some trouble NOT thinking of my selling funds as purchasing funds – before I would sell bags and use the money to buy more bags!

I went back to my first post in this thread, from early 2010 - I had about 10 bags, excluding smaller/evening bags, was only using 4 regularly, but didn’t think I could cut down much more. Now I’m at 10 bags exactly (Including smaller/evening bags), and some of these will be on the chopping block as I continue to purge.

So that’s good. Except that of those 10, 6 were purchased AFTER I started purging last year. In fact, the bags that I’ve had the longest of my current rotation were purchased in December 2009. So my turnover was still pretty crazy in 2010, mostly in the first half. Maybe I’m the type of person who can’t have the same couple of bags year after year, but I also think I need to do a better job of managing my buying and selling habits.

I’m still not sure how low I can go, and honestly, I’m having trouble parting with some, but I’m trying to think of all of the other things I can use the money for – retirement, vacation, down payment – and that helps. I’ve set a lot of financial goals for 2011, and I’m hoping that this will motivate me to be really good this year. (Plus it's been a time suck too.)

Well it seems that I purged a bunch of bags I wasn't 100% in love with to buy bags I thought would last forever. Come to find out, I was too afraid and uncomfortable carrying my premium designer bags and so I purged again! The difference was that I put all that money into our savings account, about $2500! Man, it felt really fantastic to make that big deposit into savings!! For me, my financial goals were more important than purses. Don't get me wrong, I still LOVE bags, but I am super selective within my comfortable price range! Plus, I feel that I feel like I can relax with my bags and not fret if they get dirty, scuffed, if it rains, or if (God forbid) I have to put it on the floor!!

For me, this experience was more about finding out what works best for me and I think I finally did. Trust me thedseer, you will feel better seeing the money in the bank once you sell what you don't use!

 

[Headlighted]

I'm purging basically my entire collection right now. I'm selling all of my Coach except one bag to get a LV bag and maybe a wallet. I'm at the point where I'm sick of chasing after the next popular bag, I want something that's timeless and classic that I'm going to love for years to come.

I'm sick of paying $400 for a bag only for it to go to outlet for 50% then 20-30% off only a matter of weeks later. I feel physically sick when I think of how much money I've wasted and what that money could have gone to instead.

 

[kimalee]

I have purged a good 1/2 of my bags over the past couple of months (considerable in my mind, as I started with at least 50). I broke even on some, sold some at a loss, but I still think it's worth it to be rid of the cluttered closet. I still have more bags than I can use, so I will be choosing a few to let go of in the near future. My priority, though, is to generally stop buying - I'm not chasing any one bag, but I want to drastically reduce the number of bags I amass so that I don't have to constantly worry about being able to sell them.

 

[ms p]

i'm really getting of selling. every 2-3 months i had to purge and lose considerable sum of money on bags that i barely used. 2 more bags to sell (or maybe just 1) + i'm pre-order 1 bag and then that's it.