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

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#1,036
lisap said:
I've been following this thread and I am very inspired by it. I have decided to purge a bunch of my bags and start supporting smaller designers. I've become addicted to Etsy and have found a few shops with handmade leather bags that look divine. I get tired of supporting certain designers (Loquita, I believe you know who I'm referring to) who don't put customer service as a priority. I can get a beautiful bag on Etsy that was handmade for me and costs quite a bit less. I still look at other big brands but I feel like it's time to support the smaller shops and artisans.
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Are there any Etsy sellers you'd like to share? I'm a total klutz on Etsy.

I was thinking of asking Megs to occasionally review some Etsy bag-makers in her PurseBlog reviews. I often see interesting bags on Etsy but would feel more comfortable buying if a reviewer like Megs actually got a bag in her hands and could give it the once over. And, like others, I'm getting annoyed at some of these high-priced, low-quality bags when there are so many amazing artisans on Etsy.

I also have concerns that some of the bags on Etsy might be manufactured overseas in sweatshops. It's so easy to do that you know--send your pattern overseas, get a bunch of bags back in a month.

I was once talking to a taxi driver who told me that for many years he made his living selling hand-made purses. He was telling me about all the time and care he put into selecting individual pieces of leather, how he cut the pieces to show off the leather to best advantage, how he designed the bags, how he sewed them. I kept saying Oh man, why don't you make me a purse? But he was beyond his hippie phase in life I guess. ;)
 
#1,037
lisap said:
I've been following this thread and I am very inspired by it. I have decided to purge a bunch of my bags and start supporting smaller designers. I've become addicted to Etsy and have found a few shops with handmade leather bags that look divine. I get tired of supporting certain designers (Loquita, I believe you know who I'm referring to) who don't put customer service as a priority. I can get a beautiful bag on Etsy that was handmade for me and costs quite a bit less. I still look at other big brands but I feel like it's time to support the smaller shops and artisans.
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lisa, I LOVE this idea!! (And like you, I am deathly sick of the lack of CS and QC that we see from many designers, some of which will go unnamed). :tdown: I am actually a huge Etsy fan myself - I buy lots of things there, and have loved every single one of them. This is a fantastic way to support talented artisans and small businesses...and BigPurseSue, I also love your idea of asking Megs to review some Etsy finds as well, either on PurseBlog or on PurseBlog Savvy. Can we just PM her directly about this? I would be happy to join you in encouraging alternatives to what's already on the market!
 
#1,038
Yay, so glad there are other Etsy fans! 2 of the Etsy shops I've discovered are The Leather Store, Paulina Carcach, and Frei Fashions. It's such a fun place to browse! I would love to see Megs review some Etsy finds. I think it's always a good thing to bring attention to talented artisans.
 
#1,042
lisap said:
Yay, so glad there are other Etsy fans! 2 of the Etsy shops I've discovered are The Leather Store, Paulina Carcach, and Frei Fashions. It's such a fun place to browse! I would love to see Megs review some Etsy finds. I think it's always a good thing to bring attention to talented artisans.
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I used Etsy's search feature to search for all those stores under "sellers" and "handmade" and all categories, but Etsy kept telling me that none of these sellers exist. Like I said I'm a total Etsy klutz. How can I find these stores?

Everytime I head to the Purse category I get 17,000 purses and that's just too much to deal with. :shocked:
 
#1,045
Thanks, Lo! I'm eyeing a few bags from those sellers. I've been frustrated with RM and HH for a while, HH is having some major CS problems and I'm in a few RM SOs that I don't even want anymore because of the lack of communication. Etsy is awesome and I know that I can always email the seller directly and get a response. I'm a customer, not just a dollar sign.
 
#1,046
This is an update of sorts since my last post (I quoted it below).

Even though I still want some key old-school pieces, I tire of all the of QC/CS issues with HH and RM. I just canceled one of my RM pre-orders and I'm seriously thinking about canceling the other one. I think that if I pare down some of my collection that I can afford a couple of premier designer bags that I always wanted.

It's so funny that I revisited this thread now because I've been looking into some Etsy shops myself! I just noticed this shop that has some cute canvas purses and a couple of leather pieces. The styles look nice and well-made IMO!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/christystudio

Just thought that I'd share. :smile1:


novella said:
Wow, I just read through all 53 pages and all you ladies inspired me! I have purged some bags from my collection, but then I buy new ones to take their place! :p It's like a neverending cycle for me and I'm sure that's the same for many of you ladies as well.

I currently have about 11 bags right now. (Unfortunately that number does not include the bags that are on the chopping block.) Most of my bags are from mid-range designers, mostly HH & RM. Although I'm pretty picky with what I add to my collection, I often act on impulse... especially if the bag is HTF or rare. Then I'm too afraid to use it, which is silly because a purse is meant to be used and not to be a museum piece!

I learned the hard way to buy what you love and not to take substitutes. I've settled too many times in the past. Now I have the unused bags and the fear of low resale values as a result.

Case in point, I really want a Marc Jacobs Icy Petrol Stam, but those pop up once in a blue moon. So I bought an Icy Taupe Stam instead. While the Icy Taupe Stam is incredibly beautiful, I have yet to use it and I just decided to let it go. It's not a deal or a score if it's not 100% what you were looking for KWIM?

I definitely get caught up in the buying craze. Now that I think about it, I have no regrets when I look back at the bags that I've sold/returned in the last few years.

I started purging my collection in December and I already sold off 7 bags from my collection so far! :yahoo:I have more to go. However, I keep changing my mind regarding what I should keep/sell, mostly because of their rarity and I want to break even. I'm not in dire straits so I think that I can be patient.

I probably won't purge my entire collection. However, I think I'm going to focus on the bags in the chopping block first and go from there. So more selling on feeBay and Bon is in order for me.
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#1,048
I love Etsy! I got a fabulous clutch from this seller:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/BabettesBags

BigPurseSue, I don't think the profit margin is high enough on Etsy for a seller to have a factory produce most items. The sellers of handbags I see on Etsy have only one or two of each design, which tells me they most likely aren't doing the high-volume production that a factory operation would demand.
 
#1,049
doreenjoy said:
I love Etsy! I got a fabulous clutch from this seller:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/BabettesBags

BigPurseSue, I don't think the profit margin is high enough on Etsy for a seller to have a factory produce most items. The sellers of handbags I see on Etsy have only one or two of each design, which tells me they most likely aren't doing the high-volume production that a factory operation would demand.
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If you look at the page for Christy Studio, which Novella mentions above, it says the bags are made in Malaysia, specifically Kuala Lampur which is Malaysia's fashion retail center. They've sold about 2000 bags and have 50 designs. With many of the overseas shops you don't need that high of a volume to have bags produced for very, very little. If you have a $100 USD profit margin on a bag that may have cost less than a dollar to produce in Malaysia, that's a very good profit margin indeed.
 
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