Nobody likes my gorgeous Ring bag:( What am I doing wrong??

bellafleur

bellafleur

O.G.
Apr 26, 2007
1,954
1
#1
Hi everyone! So, here's my story...

A couple months ago, I was browsing on ebay for the perfect new bag to catch my eye, and I came across a style I had never seen before that looked like it would suit me perfectly. I didn't know much about bbags then, and this was my first purchase. (now, 3 bbags later, I don't consider myself an expert, of course:smile: I believe its the Ring style, but I can't find another one like it anywhere! Atelier.naff doesn't have a photo, The Bal website doesn't have any back photos, and no one I've talked to has ever seen one! Have any of you guys ever seen this bag before??

I was soooo excited, but when I received it, I realized how big it actually is. I wish I could shrink it by a third! Deciding I am a smaller bag sort of person, I listed it on ebay over a week ago as a 10 day listing. The listing ends on Friday. The thing is, NO ONE is even watching it! The starting price is less than half of retail, and this bag is in pristine condition, never been carried. Do you think it's because no one is familiar with this style? Or do most bbag lovers go for the motorcycle style and shy away from anything structured and professional looking? I need a marketing strategy, stat!:smile: Thanks for any suggestions you have...
 

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#4
I have one of these too - in the distressed Lt. Brown leather (although it seems like the Camel leather to me) and Black Accent leather.

Yes, they are big ... but you know what I do ... I put all my various Skull Charms on it and 'lo and behold, I can't even begin to tell you how many COMPLIMENTS I get!!!! Sometimes, I also tie my McQueen or Thomas Wylde Skull Scarf on the handles ... again, just gives the bag a little more "edge"!

eBay is tough, because most of the "audience" is just not knowledgeable enough about Balenciaga bags to go beyond the norm (in other words - they only know the Motorcycle-type bags). To me, the real B-Bag collectors are those that "draw outside the lines" ... and get into some of the other styles (I have two AVIATOR bags - LOVE 'em, two WHISTLE bags - LOVE 'em and then the 1 RING bag - LOVE it!!).

My French colleague recently sent me the Paris Collections magazine, and I was surprised at how many of the Fall/Winter season bags look like something that came out of my Grandmother's closet. So, in my opinion there are two options:
  1. Dress up the bag a bit (some charms or a scarf)
  2. If you still don't like it, wait until the Fall/Winter bags come out ... you may have a better chance on eBay.
Good luck!
 
#5
fiatflux said:
I hate to ask this...but are you sure that's authentic? It doesn't look like any ring bag I've ever seen...here are some on Bluefly:

http://www.bluefly.com/pages/search...enciaga ring&FOLDER<>folder_id=933&inicat=933
Click to expand...

I do TOTALLY believe it's authentic!! First, it is such good quality, and it probably weighs 6 or 7 pounds! That's one of the reasons I probably wouldn't use it. Here's the link to the original ebay auction (I convinced the seller to sell it to me off ebay). She's a very reputable seller, and her husband is a bag designer, so I really am not worried about authenticity at all!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...MEWA:IT&viewitem=&item=180097364083&rd=1&rd=1
 
#7
I'm so sorry; I hadn't seen this design before!! I'm glad authenticity is not an issue!!

I think I actually like it better than the Ring bag, after looking at the eBay listing photos. Maybe you should hold onto it for a while; looks like it might be a very rare bag that will increase in value over time.
 
#8
CeeJay said:
I have one of these too - in the distressed Lt. Brown leather (although it seems like the Camel leather to me) and Black Accent leather...
Click to expand...

Whew! I was getting a little worried there!! Thanks so much CeeJay for validating that this is a legitimate bbag style!! That's the thing, I feel like I should keep it because its such a rare find, but is it worth keeping if I will never actually carry it?? Sometimes I feel like I should open a bag museum, because that's the only way some of them will ever make it out of my closet!!:smile:

That's a good idea about dressing it up to make it more edgy. If it doesn't sell (which it certainly won't the way this is going), maybe I'll just have to keep and force myself to lift a few more weights to be able to maneuver it! Thanks for your help!!:smile:
 
#9
CeeJay said:
You know what ... I think this is called the "Doctor" Bag, not the "Ring" bag. I believe it came in two sizes ...
Click to expand...

Really?!? I guess I just assumed it was the Ring style because, well, it has a big ring on the front!:shame: I've seen the other Ring styles, and they all have the leather accents in the same shape, but the "ring" part is leather instead of metal. So if this bag came in 2 sizes, was the other size smaller and do you think any stores still have it??? That would make me overjoyed to find a smaller one!!!
 
#10
bellafleur said:
Whew! I was getting a little worried there!! Thanks so much CeeJay for validating that this is a legitimate bbag style!! That's the thing, I feel like I should keep it because its such a rare find, but is it worth keeping if I will never actually carry it?? Sometimes I feel like I should open a bag museum, because that's the only way some of them will ever make it out of my closet!!:smile:
Click to expand...
No problem ... and BELIEVE ME, I could be an exhibitor in the Bag Museum as well!!!

I guess the question you have to ask yourself is ... "will I NEVER EVER use it again?" If the answer is yes, then you might just want to put it inside it's Dust Bag and store it for a bit. The reason why I say this, is because some bags appreciate over time ... for instance, the Apple Green color. I could just KICK MYSELF for not having bought the color when I first saw it ... because so many of the stores simply couldn't sell the color and ended up putting it on sale (often heavily discounted)!!! 'Lo and behold, a few years later ... it's bringing a lot more than it's original retail value!!!

As far as finding the smaller version ... that might be hard. Believe it or not, you might want to call the Balenciaga Outlet in Italy (in Incisa - outside of Florence). I know that I've seen these style bags in that store in the past.
 
#12
that bag is definitely real...it's part of the ring collection but it's the doctor's bag...
here's eleanor ylvisaker (she does pr for earnest sewn) with hers...
she's quite tall (5'10" maybe) and thin, so i think it works well for her...

09m.jpg


ceejay and i have the zip top style, but in brown/black...
balbag-163530abi1n3062net.jpg


i checked out your auction, hoping it was smaller than the size i had seen at neiman's when i bought my bag, but it wasn't...
i agree with ceejay that you think you may use it in the future, store it for a while...
i've hardly ever seen this style on ebay (i've seen the one like mine) and believe me, i look...if you realize later after you sell it that you want one, it may be really hard to find...
 
#13
I was going to say - I think it would be helpful if you would put a pic of you modeling it in your listing. Maybe putting the above pic of Eleanor Ylvisaker modeling in your listing would be good as well! ;) It really helps buyers to see how it looks being worn.
 
#14
You could also use a consignment seller, like Ann's Fabulous Finds - or someone in your own local area. Depends on your notions of how much you want to get back out of the bag, I think.

I really like the colors - but is the black leather sort of a dense, pebbled texture? I'm guessing it's calfskin, right?

Also - be sure to address the authenticity issues brought up above. If you know the bag to be authentic, try and find out what is making it look "off" to people and address that in your eBay listing - maybe people think it's fake because they don't know how to authenticate this particular bag.

The hardware is the same as on my calfskin duffel (Balenciaga, non-motorcycle line). Does the Ring bag have serial numbers? The duffel doesn't.

BTW - the calfskin line simply doesn't sell for the price that the Arena leather line does. I watch the auctions all the time, because I have the duffel - and they usually go for about half retail, so you're in the right ballpark.

In the listing, you might want to make sure and put words like "chestnut" or "cognac" or "whiskey" to try and describe the color of the leather. I know that there was a time when I had to have a brown and black bag (ended up with a Dooney Burke, which I ended up disliking due to its stiffness) - and the exact shade of brown I was looking for is the one on your bag. I think of it as "chestnut" or "cognac." So black and cognac might stir some interest.

Be sure and mention it's a special kind of Bal-bag (more professional and structured looking is fine ad copy).
 
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