The allure of ebay

[Serene C]

Hello everyone,

This is my maiden posting thought I been have reading for a while. We all understand the need to get our handbag "fix" but as often as I wanted too, money is always not enough.

Hence, the attraction of designers handbags is always lurking around in ebay, as we can pay as low as 15% of retail, plus the promise of "Authentic, Money Back, Rare, Sold out!" makes them so irresitable. So I convinced myself since the shelf life of "IT Bag" is short, it does not matter to buy from ebay. But I am wrong and it certainly matters, I have bought 3 designers bags from ebay which all comes with description like 100% authentic, money back etc, but they turn out to be fakes, very good ones though.

I am unable to bring myself to use them and has given to my mum and aunts, so they are enjoying my Marc Jacobs Multi pockets, Fendi Spy and Balenciaga beacuse returning is just too much hassle. Being the hopeful, I still believe that I can get an authentic bag from ebay at affortable price. Can anyone recommend any good sites that sell designer bag, either samples or slight defects (dirt or stain).

Thanks! Serene C

 

[Pewter]

You can definitely find great deals on authentic, even like new designer bags on Ebay. You just have to be diligent, careful, and patient to weed through all the fakes, and know what you are buying. Some auth bags on Ebay actually sell for less than some fakes do. I don't think there are legit websites that sell designer bags discounted due to samples or defects, but here's a great site for finding authentic deals on Ebay:

Handbags: Deals and Steals

The best is to look through Ebay and post the ones you think might be authentic in the Authenticate This threads. Good luck!

 

[Sarsi]

Welcome!!!
I agree with Pewter,
and you can also use the seach engine to find a topic, like "ebay seller's" or "authentic sites"
and you will find lots of topics about who or where to find authentic seller's and sites.

 

[bleeaptn]

I have never purchased a handbag on eBay although this forum is a great place to get help if you are trying to purchase a bag and want input on its authenticity. I have gotten the scoop on great sales for reputable websites and retail stores (e.g., net-a-porter, aloha rag, etc.) and have been able afford a couple bags that I might have not been able to get otherwise. Just keep your eyes open on this forum and you can great deals on bags and not just those on eBay.

Also, I'd recommend investing in a bag that you would love for sometime and not worry about it's "it bag shelf life". I plan to hold on to most of my handbags and hope that my daughter will ask me many years from now to borrow my then vintage collection of fabulous handbags!

Oh and welcome to the forum!

 

[ShimmaPuff]

You can definitely find great deals on authentic, even like new designer bags on Ebay. You just have to be diligent, careful, and patient ...

I think this is the case with pretty much anything on eBay. In a way, I guess if you are in the mood, you can look at it like a challenge, and congratulate yourself on your exceptional predatory shopping skills when you succeed in getting the item you want at a fraction of the cost you would have to pay for it in a store, and I have certainly done more than my share of enjoying that particular little thrill

But the other side of the story is that eBay shopping today is a great deal more time-consuming and those exceptional skills and knowledge levels that a few years ago were just something that might give you a bit of an edge or advantage are today absolutely necessary, even if you are not buying high ticket items.

So if you're NOT in that mood, and you DON'T have the time, or the skills AND the product knowledge, chances are you are going to have a negative experience.

Gone are the days when eBay was the "quick and easy" online shopping method, almost too easy if you were in that predatory shopping mood, the days when you could just click on in, type in anything you wanted, and be presented with several pages of reasonable candidates.

The pendulum has now swung the other way, and it will be actually quicker for you to google, use msn shopping engine, or amazon, and even those results will contain a high percentage of eBay listings!

"Diligent, patient, and careful" does not play nicely with "yikes, old Aunt Rita's birthday is coming up, my schedule for the next few weeks is a nightmare, let me just zoom myself over to eBay and pick her up a nice pair of those black velvet Minnie Mouse pillowcases she loves so much while I sit here on my conference call listening to Mr BigWig drone on about stuff that has nothing to do with my job."

I think even eBay recognizes this, and eBay Express is an effort on their part to address the issue, which it does, to some extent, but of course one of the major, I would say THE major complaint on here involves behaviors far more sinister and criminal than people burying huge shipping and handling fees in the fine print for their inexpensively-priced items - and eBay Express does not reduce your chances of falling victim to the kinds of, well, crimes, that we read about here and elsewhere daily.

Now, it seems like to me that I need to figure in the time cost of diligently, patiently and carefully scouring eBay to get the $50 sweater for $25, and since I don't have the extra $25, this means that I must scour that much more diligently, patiently, etc to find it for $10!

In other words, no matter what you're shopping for, or what your budget is, if eBay doesn't get you coming, it will get you on the way out.

And it seems to be intensifying. Even over the last few months, I have found myself liking it less and less. What used to make shopping more fun now turns it into a rather onerous chore.

On the positive side, it is making my Shopping Moratorium a lot easier!