I know we often hear the debate about whether Chanel bags are an “investment.” While I don’t think they are an investment in the way stocks are, I do think they’re less risky to purchase than people may assume when they look at the price tag, especially because of the continuous price increases.
I recently sold 4 Chanel bags in December 2020 to Fashionphile and thought I’d share with you what I originally paid for each bag and what I sold it for. (Note: These were sold BEFORE the recent price increase, so if I’d waited another month, I probably could’ve received more). Some bags I almost broke even on, while others cost me more to own. With the exception of the 19 bag, I had owned all of these for over a year. When I look at these numbers, it honestly just makes me feel like buying bags at this level is less risky than it seems. I also sold bags from other designers (Gucci, Chloe, Valentino, for example) and their resale value was MUCH worse than Chanel’s.
So, let’s look at the numbers!
BAG #1: Chanel Classic Flap Medium Lambskin GHW Black
The most classic bags, like the classic flap and the reissue, had excellent resale values IMO. I had both of those for over a year and I feel the prices I paid were very fair for a year of use.
The seasonal bag and 19 bag resale values make sense to me since one is a seasonal bag that no one would be actively searching for and the 19 bag I had only just purchased 3 months prior (so there hadn’t yet been any price increases to drive up the value).
To be clear, I didn’t purchase any of these with the desire to resell them. I just purchase what I like and if I eventually don’t resonate with a bag anymore, I’ll sell it.
Overall, this “experiment” makes me feel quite comfortable purchasing classic Chanel bags despite their high prices, especially because of the annual price increases (which aid resale value). I’ve actually lost more money purchasing bags from other high-end brands, even if the bags originally cost less.
Not trying to prove anything with this haha, just thought I’d share! I welcome your thoughts.
I recently sold 4 Chanel bags in December 2020 to Fashionphile and thought I’d share with you what I originally paid for each bag and what I sold it for. (Note: These were sold BEFORE the recent price increase, so if I’d waited another month, I probably could’ve received more). Some bags I almost broke even on, while others cost me more to own. With the exception of the 19 bag, I had owned all of these for over a year. When I look at these numbers, it honestly just makes me feel like buying bags at this level is less risky than it seems. I also sold bags from other designers (Gucci, Chloe, Valentino, for example) and their resale value was MUCH worse than Chanel’s.
So, let’s look at the numbers!
BAG #1: Chanel Classic Flap Medium Lambskin GHW Black
- Original price: $4,700 (I purchased this in France in Aug 2019. This price is after my tax refund).
- Sold for: $4,500
- Amount paid: $200
- Original price: $5,256 (I purchased this in Sep 2020 so I only had it for 3 months. I sold it because I didn’t end up liking it but it was past the return window. I was selling a bunch of other bags so I just added this one to the list, but it would’ve been smarter to wait a year or two to sell it since the price increases help resale value).
- Sold for: $3,500
- Amount paid: $1,756
- Original price: $5,400 total (purchased this one used, but in excellent condition)
- Sold for: $4,800
- Amount paid: $600
- Original price: $4,300 (includes tax)
- Sold for: $2,900
- Amount paid: $1,400
The most classic bags, like the classic flap and the reissue, had excellent resale values IMO. I had both of those for over a year and I feel the prices I paid were very fair for a year of use.
The seasonal bag and 19 bag resale values make sense to me since one is a seasonal bag that no one would be actively searching for and the 19 bag I had only just purchased 3 months prior (so there hadn’t yet been any price increases to drive up the value).
To be clear, I didn’t purchase any of these with the desire to resell them. I just purchase what I like and if I eventually don’t resonate with a bag anymore, I’ll sell it.
Overall, this “experiment” makes me feel quite comfortable purchasing classic Chanel bags despite their high prices, especially because of the annual price increases (which aid resale value). I’ve actually lost more money purchasing bags from other high-end brands, even if the bags originally cost less.
Not trying to prove anything with this haha, just thought I’d share! I welcome your thoughts.
