Vintage chanel or new chanel?
- Thread starter Myybags
- Start date
My advice is that if you are in a position to buy a new Chanel then buy new out of the store. The handbag will be pristine condition with a return policy and after care service. You’ll also be purchasing the exact handbag you want and you get to choose your leather, colour and hardware. I have bought vintage previously and it’s a mine field. You are buying a secondhand used bag, with marks, wear, tear, dents or scratches depending on which bag you choose of course. When buying vintage it’s very easy to compromise your dream handbag as it’s a ‘take what’s available market’ you may end up with your dream bag but with silver hardware as that’s what was available at the time of purchase. The secondhand market can be tricky to navigate because it’s not properly regulated by any professional body. Often items are not returnable and there are many many stories online of people paying thousands for superfakes. I once purchased a secondhand vintage handbag and believed it to be real..... but I guess I would never truly know for sure as such. There are stories online of authenticators themselves being fooled by super fakes as they are getting better and better. This is not to say that some people do not buy successfully on the second hand market as many people do. If you can afford to buy new today, there is a chance you may not be able to in a few years if Chanel keep bumping up their prices so much each year. You could regret not taking the chance if you have it now! You will get the receipt the original box and know that everything about your bag is perfect! Remember secondhand vintage handbags could of had repair work done on them, painting, replacement hardware etc. This is only my opinion I understand that not everyone else will agree, and there will be of course thousands of happy customers who have bought vintage successfully! I’d also like to add that a few years ago you’d be saving a fair bit when buying vintage, back in 2014/15 maybe even up to 50%. I’ve noticed recently on popular secondhand websites that the savings have gotten less and less! In some cases many of the popular handbags you are saving a few hundred pounds. When you are spending £6000 on a Chanel Jumbo store bought why pay an unregulated seller £5650?! Even the well known second hand stores aren’t ‘officially’ regulated, there is no ‘accredited course’ to identify fake handbags! There is no awarding body on the subject matter! It’s all just Internet research and passed on knowledge based on people’s opinions.
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I personally prefer vintage because of the craftsmanship. However I have brand new bags from the store throughout the years. It’s a tough decision. My feeling is if you found a vintage bag that you love or brand new bag from boutique - don’t wait too long. I regretted many times that I didn’t get the bag I wanted and seeing the prices going up.
I found a couple of vintage Chanels I love online but I’m not an expert on Chanel so I’m nervous to pull the trigger. Do you guys know if there are any online services that look for red flags prior to purchase?
I think Authenticate4u.com is a service that does this. You can also post a link on purse forum and people will give you their honest opinions. If buying secondhand try to stick to well known trusted resellers for least risk
Thank you so much! I’m still learning my way around purse forum. I have a couple of screenshots of the bag I’m thinking of buying. I’ll post them in a thread.
Hi if you dont mind can you please share what Japanese store you usually shop? Thanks so much...Hmmm I don’t foresee any of my vintages needing any repair. They were all in excellent condition when I bought them and I made sure of that. And the quality of the bags back then was really much better.
It also really depends on the style of vintage bag you choose. If you choose a vintage camera bag where the chain is affixed by a leather tab, the leather tab will break one day. https://www.avintagesplendor.com/how-to-restore-vintage-chanel-bag/
Even if I were to have an issue with any of my vintage bags, it would most probably be cosmetic damage, and not because the bag was falling apart. That would be an easy fix at leather surgeons.
I believe Chanel is still doing repairs on bags greater than 5 years old. You only need a receipt for two services: refurbishment and refinishing service. https://www.designer-vintage.com/en/stories/chanel-stops-repairing-bags-over-5-years-old
I definitely prefer a good mix of vintage and modern bags. This was my medium Diana that just arrived from Japan on Sunday. I also bought this stitched caviar medium single flap from 1997 to 1999 recently which has yet to arrive. The quilts are much flatter than my 26 series caviar double flap, but I like these styles as well. Both in 24k plate ghw which is so shiny!
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Great choice! It’s absolutely beautiful. Enjoy this beautiful bag! Getting your first Chanel bag in caviar as a new bag over vintage, is a safe choice, particularly if you are getting the classic m/l in caviar.
Vintage is good when you feel comfortable with the brand, its materials or designs and what not. Haha I started off with a near new bag, then preloved then vintage! Was the store experience great for you?
I like Amore Vintage and brandoff. For Chanel dianas, if you want great condition dianas, you can try my grandfather things.
Thank you for the kind wishes (: I agree! I hope i love it more and more as I wear it. I actually went to the store several times over the years and unfortunately never found a great SA and wasnt really convinced i needed one until the price increases last year. It has always been my dream bag but i have always put it off so i figured the earlier the better. It was only then i started my search of an SA and through a recommendation I found one. I visited her in the store twice and tried on other specs of the m/l and small cf and told her I was interested in a cf in the exact specs. On that day, i got a text message from her asking if i could come now as the stock arrived and i rushed all the way there, checked and paid and rushed all the way home for meetings. So the shopping experience on that day wasnt great as I was just anxious and in a hurry but as i did a ton of research and enquired with her before on some of TPF’s quality issues, so i checked the bag and made sure it was ok. Even the SA could tell I was in such a rush! But yes the experience leading up to it was great and I felt ready to buy and happy to get it from her as she has been helpful.
Wow what a long story! Hahaha sorry for the rant
I prefer Vintage Chanel bag the quality is different from the new one and I think they are cooler. but it's depend on your style and personallity.(But I ended up bought new one also because Vintage Chanel price is increasing a lot these day) Hope you find the right bag Good Luck !
You likely made your choice already, but for what it is worth….
If this were to be my one Chanel, I would absolutely go with the holy grail NEW medium classic flap in black with gold hardware. You cannot go wrong and would never regret this choice.
For me personally, my vintage Chanels are beautiful, timeless, but rarely get used because they are collector’s pieces and get brought out for special occasions, never for every day. Vintage Chanel has gotten so expensive as of late that I will likely only be purchasing new from now on. One day your new bags will be vintage, but only with your memories and wear. That is very special and worth the money, in my opinion.