Resellers getting Chanel items first and selling for premium

[CrazyCool01]

But think about it, isn't this exactly what has been happening with Hermes all these years? The average person can not walk into a Boutique and get a Quota bag without spending 20k on lifestyle merchandise.

But Chanel can never be Hermes, market is saturated with Classic flaps- many even have 10+ Classic flaps.
plus Hermes right from beginning maintained the exclusive status.
Chanel is trying to because of supply/demand.
Chanel is really hyped up since last year’s crazy price increase.

honestly Chanel quality is not same as Hermes

 

[CrazyCool01]

I noticed not just resellers but lately people I follow on insta for their genuine love of bags & content, those who have significant followers have started accumulating bags / SLGs etc and are selling with fees added on top. I mean to each their own but it is off putting, milking the system to their advantage. They then build relation with their SA for being regulars thus getting hot items again next season and so on. Not to forget gifts etc on top from their SAs. Hmmm it’s a vicious cycle.

I agree, so many personal shoppers have pooped up on insta since covid

 

[deb68nc]

There are some cities or even countries where there is no Chanel boutique and people rely on PS to get their dream bag. I do feel there is a need for genuine and ethical PS but obviously not resellers-as @gail13 explained, there is a difference. Thankfully I’ve never needed a PS as I live in a city with a boutique but I do know people who live in a country without a Chanel boutique and can only get Chanel items when travelling-so for them a PS is the only way, especially as now there is travel bans.

That’s not necessarily true. i live in North Carolina and there’s no Chanel boutique in the whole state! I have a few sa’s in other states and i was able to acquire a caramel 19 in small the day it was released. I waitlisted it right after Christmas seeing the stock photo. I’ve been a member of tpf since 2008 and this is the place to know when new releases happen In the shopping thread. You don’t need to go to any boutique in person these days to acquire any htf bag.

 

[chocolates20]

I get your pain.
I feel the resell market has gone a bit crazy. The mark ups they do I just have to shake my head.
I feel they are like your own personal buyers, those people who go out to source the items for you. Because that's what they are doing. Finding something that's hard to get and making it available to purchase online to the highest bidder.

It's their business/livelihood. They probably visit the stores on quite a regular basis. Where a normal purchaser might go in sporadically as you might work etc. So its harder to source. So we generally feel a little done by.

What I find annoying is some of their mark ups even for 2nd hand items.
They keep saying its a bargain comparing it to the "new"Chanel prices, but yes we know the price increases, hence why there is a 2nd hand market out there. But it shouldn't be also trying to rip buyers off.

I had recently saw a post from an Australian reseller. Chanel Mini Square in Black SHW listed at $6000+ AUD. In not a great quality, there were marks, corners fraying. And yet they listed it so high. Found another blog seller (will have to complete due diligence for authenticity, selling the same pre-loved bag for only $3800 at a much reasonable 2nd hand price.

It's just crazy.

Ultimately its the buyer's own choice.
1. Support Chanel and go to the store
2. Pay a bit more but get what you want without the hassle to going into a store, calling up, waiting on a wait list.

 

[Mom30raps]

I sincerely hope Chanel does something about it. I have always thought brands encourage clients to visit their boutique to experience their products. We go in the boutique and aside from looking at that particular product, we try some other things, get ideas and sometime buy more that what we intend to.
If we all start to buy the most desired bags from the resellers while sitting at home and don’t even bother to visit the boutiques, Chanel loses that opportunity to sell their other products. The money that we would have otherwise spent in that slg, shoe, scarf or a piece of jewelry are going towards the reseller mark-up and in the end Chanel loses that revenue.

 

[classybags4ever]

??? so they should travel abroad to get a bag that may or may not be in stock? During a pandemic? What a weird thing to suggest.

Not during a pandemic of course. When the borders open and things become safer. I'm just saying that we live in an age of great transportation ease. You can hop on a train or flight and go somewhere that has a Chanel Boutique. A simple phone call can inquire about stock. I've done that before with European boutiques.

 

[Familyfirst]

That’s not necessarily true. i live in North Carolina and there’s no Chanel boutique in the whole state! I have a few sa’s in other states and i was able to acquire a caramel 19 in small the day it was released. I waitlisted it right after Christmas seeing the stock photo. I’ve been a member of tpf since 2008 and this is the place to know when new releases happen In the shopping thread. You don’t need to go to any boutique in person these days to acquire any htf bag.

Not everyone in the world lives in the USA! So yes, there are some countries where they do not have a boutique and cannot just contact a SA from another state!

 

[cerulean blue]

Not during a pandemic of course. When the borders open and things become safer. I'm just saying that we live in an age of great transportation ease. You can hop on a train or flight and go somewhere that has a Chanel Boutique. A simple phone call can inquire about stock. I've done that before with European boutiques.

A huge chunk of people buy from personal shoppers because of time. Many people don't have the time to hop on a train or a flight just for a small trip to a Chanel boutique; whereas a person getting in touch with a PS can secure an item immediately without much time and effort.

Though, I'm not defending these resellers/personal shoppers, I understand why people employ them. They exist to fulfill an issue of the process of buying Chanel: rare, hard-to-find items, or you live somewhere where it is impossible to buy a Chanel. If Chanel implements more measures to ensure people get a fair chance to buy these bags (and maybe ban people who purchase too much like LV), I'm sure those resellers that gouge prices would be less frequent.

 

[Familyfirst]

Not during a pandemic of course. When the borders open and things become safer. I'm just saying that we live in an age of great transportation ease. You can hop on a train or flight and go somewhere that has a Chanel Boutique. A simple phone call can inquire about stock. I've done that before with European boutiques.

Yes and I’m sure they do save majority of there luxury shopping for trips abroad (pre covid)-however there are times when you want something from a collection-whether it be a bag/rtw etc so they can’t just travel thousands of miles and leave their commitments at home just to get an item! Therefore there are PS out there who can accommodate those that need it!
I 100% agree that there are a lot of resellers and PS who take advantage of the system and have become greedy and use this to make lots of money. Yes this does need to be sorted however all I’m saying is that there are also people who are genuine and professional and provides a service to those who need it.

 

[Greenredapple]

Like @Familyfirst argued, we should acknowledge that everyone here has their own reasonings or circumstances why they choose to buy through a personal shopper. I am definitely not judging those who are using services of IG sellers but I also don't accept some sellers/resellers hoarding all the stocks.

So far I have only used personal shopper's assistance only once. My country does not have an official Chanel boutique. However we have a multibrand boutique that has rights to sell Chanel merchandise. Despite Finland being in EU the prices of the boutique do not reflect Chanel's recommended pricing. And Chanel allows this. This particular boutique charges extra for all Chanel products. 150€ or more for the classic pair of ballerinas. On top of that the offerings were very limited. This is in my opinion ridiculous. I can't travel anywhere and I don't have connections to SAs so personal shopper was my only option at that point.

I don't plan to travel anywhere at least for the next 12 months so I resorted buying through a personal shopper. It was easy, slightly cheaper and I was happy with the service provided since I requested for a wider width.

 

[classybags4ever]

Yes and I’m sure they do save majority of there luxury shopping for trips abroad (pre covid)-however there are times when you want something from a collection-whether it be a bag/rtw etc so they can’t just travel thousands of miles and leave their commitments at home just to get an item! Therefore there are PS out there who can accommodate those that need it!
I 100% agree that there are a lot of resellers and PS who take advantage of the system and have become greedy and use this to make lots of money. Yes this does need to be sorted however all I’m saying is that there are also people who are genuine and professional and provides a service to those who need it.

I will just go without the bag if I can't get it form the boutique. There will always be another "unicorn." Every time I've stepped into a Paris Chanel Boutique, there are always multiple items that I love.

 

[classybags4ever]

A huge chunk of people buy from personal shoppers because of time. Many people don't have the time to hop on a train or a flight just for a small trip to a Chanel boutique; whereas a person getting in touch with a PS can secure an item immediately without much time and effort.

Though, I'm not defending these resellers/personal shoppers, I understand why people employ them. They exist to fulfill an issue of the process of buying Chanel: rare, hard-to-find items, or you live somewhere where it is impossible to buy a Chanel. If Chanel implements more measures to ensure people get a fair chance to buy these bags (and maybe ban people who purchase too much like LV), I'm sure those resellers that gouge prices would be less frequent.

That makes sense. I actually think Chanel wants to try and remain elusive by not making their items easy to buy (eg., no online sales of bags), but the problem is these PS/Resellers/Influencers/Youtubers buy in hoards and then post about it and flip the bags for a profit, that has made Chanel easier to get so the opposite of their goal is happening! It's also made Chanel feel less special to see it everywhere online. It should be the reverse, we should see them in the boutique and not all over social media!

 

[shopholicgirl]

I think we can all agree that personal shoppers and resellers are useful for some who aren’t able to get items themselves. I don't have anything against personal shoppers. I think their "job" is to source items for their clients. It becomes an issue when they start to hoard items and buy products not requested by clients and resells them. Then they become a reseller in my opinion and not just a personal shopper. These resellers getting these items first and in many many numbers is a problem. One reseller, photo posted here before, have 4-5 items at the same time. Another one had 2-4 of same item within a week. They are getting these items repeatedly and then selling for premium. It’s up to the buyers if they are willing to spend those premium prices. But Chanel has to do something with adding limitation to one person can buy. It appears there are some policies in place but ofcourse people are able to work around it.

I think what we can do is report these resellers who we think are going over their supposed limit. How to report that I don’t really know. Any suggestions welcome.

 

[daisychainz]

I will just go without the bag if I can't get it form the boutique. There will always be another "unicorn." Every time I've stepped into a Paris Chanel Boutique, there are always multiple items that I love.

This is 100% my feeling too. No one bag or color is so amazing or special that I can't live without it. Something nicer will always come along and I'll like it just as much. There is no unicorn for me. I have no need for a personal shopper for that reason, and the Chanel quality has gone down so badly in recent years that their bags aren't worth the personal shopper fee to me.

 

[starrysky7]

This is 100% my feeling too. No one bag or color is so amazing or special that I can't live without it. Something nicer will always come along and I'll like it just as much. There is no unicorn for me. I have no need for a personal shopper for that reason, and the Chanel quality has gone down so badly in recent years that their bags aren't worth the personal shopper fee to me.

So true, people seem to get serious FOMO about the bags when there is such a frenzy created, also by the resellers. But the excitement doesn't last, a lot of the bags are put up for sale after a short time on sites like fashionphile and Chanel groups, prices also get lowered when they don't sell. There seems to be a lot of mindless consumerism with such expensive items.