I like the hard-to-find, off-the-beaten-path options. There's so much treasure.
How do you feel about buying preloved or vintage handbags?
- Thread starter JCMB
- Start date
TPF may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, and others
I have new and preowned. I love my preowned bags. They are no longer manufactured, and that makes them vintage and collectable.
I have just purchased some Fendi Spy bags and some Chloe Paddingtons. Excellent shape for being preowned. A little conditioning and they gleam! There is such a character and history to them. I have to admit I baby all my bags. Even my preowned babies, I make sure to get them in excellent condition. Many people never even really used the bags. Plus vintage high end designer quality is so lush.
For me, I love consignment, thrifting, and antiquing. There is nothing like discovering a gem at a great price. You wont see the bag everywhere. It is unusual.
They are not easy to get, you need to hunt for a good specimen that meets your criteria.
They are conversation pieces! They are wearable works of art.
TPF has an awesome vintage bag thread that I just discovered. You should see the items TPFers have found. It is really remarkable.
And is it not fascinating how handbag designers are going into their vaults to revive a design? Everything is cyclical!
Preowned is good for the ecosystem, creative, and unusual.
I have just purchased some Fendi Spy bags and some Chloe Paddingtons. Excellent shape for being preowned. A little conditioning and they gleam! There is such a character and history to them. I have to admit I baby all my bags. Even my preowned babies, I make sure to get them in excellent condition. Many people never even really used the bags. Plus vintage high end designer quality is so lush.
For me, I love consignment, thrifting, and antiquing. There is nothing like discovering a gem at a great price. You wont see the bag everywhere. It is unusual.
They are not easy to get, you need to hunt for a good specimen that meets your criteria.
They are conversation pieces! They are wearable works of art.
TPF has an awesome vintage bag thread that I just discovered. You should see the items TPFers have found. It is really remarkable.
And is it not fascinating how handbag designers are going into their vaults to revive a design? Everything is cyclical!
Preowned is good for the ecosystem, creative, and unusual.
Hunting down a HG bag. Refurbishing a diamond in the rough. Discovering a creative director who shares my design sense. For me the search for the preowned bag is a very satisfying and fun experience.
For years I would refuse to buy anything but new. I would let those bags sit in the closet because I couldn’t bring myself to use and enjoy them. After buying my first pre-loved bag that already had some imperfections, I realized that bags should be used and enjoyed. Now I gravitate towards pre-lived because vintage can be so much more beautiful than what’s available new.
The few times I bought into The Boutique Experience I was deeply underwhelmed. Couple that with the horror stories I have seen here regarding abysmal after care service from so many designer brands I have decided that there isn't much reason for me to purchase new. Quality complaints seem like they are up across the board as well.
Most of the styles I like are not current-----I despise the tiny everything trend that has dominated most fashion houses the past several years.
I get so much more bang for my bucks buying pre-owned. I can see how the bag has worn so there aren't usually any nasty surprises. I also don't take as much of a hit if and when I decide to resell it myself.
hands down a win/win for me
Most of the styles I like are not current-----I despise the tiny everything trend that has dominated most fashion houses the past several years.
I get so much more bang for my bucks buying pre-owned. I can see how the bag has worn so there aren't usually any nasty surprises. I also don't take as much of a hit if and when I decide to resell it myself.
hands down a win/win for me
Sometimes here may be some discontinued bag that I have missed out on obstinately lurking at the back of my head.
Then like a cheetah I love to lie in wait and hunt it down . ( cats are adorable for their patience and hunting skills )
Then like a cheetah I love to lie in wait and hunt it down . ( cats are adorable for their patience and hunting skills )
Obtaining unique vintage thing is like inherit some treasure from famous houses..
I’ve actually vowed NOT to buy anything new from premier designers for the reasons @poopsie mentioned, plus I hate lining the pockets of already rich people paying huge mark-ups. I recently read Andre Leon Tally’s memoir and he talks about how Karl Lagerfeld used Chanel like a piggy bank….I can’t stomach thinking a huge percentage of a new Chanel’s price went to pay for his extravagance.
I love vintage & preowned but I also love Dawn dish detergent & sanitizing. 
when I first joined the PF I only bought new....now I love getting the old bags for great prices.......bags that sold for over $1,000 for under $100....I've only gotten one bag that had damage I couldn't fix and that was reflected in the price.
I enjoy thrifting… l once bought an authentic burberry bag for 50 cad from salvation army! Lol i can always tell with the quality of the materials, stitching and lining. I also watch facebook preloved liveselling from sellers located in japan. Vintage bags have better quality imo.
I went the other way. I bought vintage from the age of around 10. Charity shops, markets, antique and vintage fairs - I was there. Then was also deluged by contributions by every kind relative wanting to get rid of their old bags (I sometimes do the same).
I bought a few new bags before tPF, but I must say, there is nothing I enjoy more than going into a store and buying exactly the colour, size and model of a desired bag. I still love finding older vintage designer bags that no-one can recognise, the materials and workmanship are usually better, and styles are so special.
I totally agree about the quality of the vintage bags. What they are selling now is not the same as what they used to sell. Can you please share the link for where you watch these live sales on fb? I keep hearing about them but have not been able to locate exactly where.