Same bag, same price: NWT vs Preloved

[vesna]

A few of these responses are deep and I'm extremely grateful that people are chiming in and giving me so much food for thought. I will be mulling this over some more. Thanks!


I must admit, this one hit me hard but I sincerely thank you for your candour. It is not so much that I meant to assume the seller may be in financial hardship but, more so that I have been in that position and sold things I loved to get by. I had not even realised that I was projecting my previous experiences into simple transactions.

I love the way you think and i put similar thought into purchases and my selling. I love human to human interaction. I recently sold a bag and got a new friend, chat about this and that and we now exchange life experiences etc etc. very often there is a beautiful human story behind selling and buying, and I love to participate and also LOVE to recycle. Love to re-use and let fine articles live their multiple lives with many owners. I am hoping for positive experience and if it is not, it is easily resolved via paypal and ebay shields against misrepresentation. I know how to clean my articles well and renew them so that they are "mine" while they are with me. I like to think that over my life, I have contributed to at least a bit to reduce pointless and needless production of stuff.

I am with you in this endeavor, to make others and myself happy. That is much better experience than with official sellers and stores.

 

[Sunshine mama]

Which would you choose?

I asked this question in passing on another thread, and figured I should open up the discussion because I'm genuinely interested in people's thoughts.

I have thrice been in a position where a bag I wanted was available by different sellers at the same price, except one is NWT and fully wrapped and the other is in excellent preloved condition.
All 3 times, I've opted to buy the preloved one for the same price. My choice, according to my best friends, is ludicrous!
But, in my mind...

1- I'd rather extend the life of a bag that doesn't work for someone else. It benefits them and me, and it honours the source of the leather. The fully wrapped version of the bag will certainly be bought by others who would rather a perfect specimen.

2- There is a higher chance that the person selling their preloved item is in need of cash- particularly these days- and I'd rather give someone a leg up that way. The fully wrapped version is likely being sold by someone who professionally flips for profit, or a store employee who is using their discount to maximize their profit. This is fine of course, but if there's even a slight chance my $$$ would be more useful to the former seller (who will likely get less interest when listings show a new piece priced similarly), then that helps my conscience a bit.

3- This one is a new thought that now gives me pause but did not come into effect with my earlier purchases... given lootings of late, perhaps the NWT piece is stolen and I categorically cannot stand for that.

Having said all that, my friends do regularly joke that I'm an absolute pillock for not taking the NWT pieces considering the list price is identical. I need to know: Am I the only one who'd make this choice? Would anyone else do as I do?
Also, I should say that I do try to negotiate the preloved prices down a bit, but the difference is always negligible because I never want to offer or pay less than a fair price for my items. When the condition is great, I do not ask for more than a discounted shipping rate. That's just me, but I see how it contributes to my friends' opinion of me as being wrong in this case.

Very interested to hear outside opinions.

Edit: I should note I'm speaking of contemporary brands, so the money is modest by all accounts.

Wow!!! I never thought of it this way. Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts!
You made me realize that even though we purse lovers may be somewhat materialistic, we could still use our love of purses and still be able to perhaps help someone in need!
You are such a sweet person!!!
Maybe not all bags, since the condition of a bag matters to me, but I will definitely reconsider my future purchases if I were given a choice between the two.

 

[snibor]

Not sure why it matters what others think. I think most of us as we age don’t even consider this.
Given price is the same, I see absolutely no benefit to buying preloved.