You also said that you lost significantly more on your other items, like Valentino and Chloe and other brands. So your losses are closer to like $8k and growing each time you sell. That's a pretty expensive way to learn. Hopefully others can learn from your info. and not lose so much.
What I bought + sold my Chanel bags for...not bad!
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I don’t really get your point...do you have the intention to make a profit off of every single thing you buy? Your toaster? Your car? I’m not buying bags with the intention of profiting off of them. I buy them to use and love and if I eventually decide they’re not for me, I sell them. If you tallied up the “losses” on everything you’ve ever purchased in your life (clothes, home, travel, charity, etc), then yes, it would probably be a lot of money. Hence I don’t really understand the point you’re trying to make.
I don't think bags should be seen as an investment of wealth but as an investment in your own happiness. That's why we purchase bags, right? Because they bring us joy!
For your classics you definitely got a great deal! You essentially paid $200 to wear your CF for a year. If you had rented the bag through bag, borrow or steal you would have paid about $500/month. Same deal with the reissue. Even on your fashion chanel pieces, it would still be a minimum of $400/month to rent.
For your classics you definitely got a great deal! You essentially paid $200 to wear your CF for a year. If you had rented the bag through bag, borrow or steal you would have paid about $500/month. Same deal with the reissue. Even on your fashion chanel pieces, it would still be a minimum of $400/month to rent.
The OP said she wasn’t trying to prove anything with her post, just sharing her experience. I don’t see the point in beating her up for her financial losses.
Yessss love that! That’s how I see things like bags too. Earning anything back from selling them is just an added bonus, but not the reason I buy them. And that’s interesting about the comparison to renting a bag!
Your post is the exact reason I prefer to buy preloved over new. Tfs
I have really enjoyed reading about your experience buying and selling your bags. I learnt the lessons you write about on cheaper handbags (mulberry Alexa bought for £700 reseller offer £160) and it really helped guide my buying of Chanel. When I was in the market for buying (been on a ban for a while now), I wouldn't even consider buying if I didn't see myself wearing it in 10 years(focus on classics and no 'it' bags). So although I loved at first sight it was usually a fleeting feeling when all my senses kicked in. I like the attitude you have and we all have to go through our process!
Thank you so much for sharing your sales info it’s definitely made me have a firm decision that i dont need any more Chanel Bags after already have versatile ones that i can wear anytime/anywhere because honestly, thats just how the fashion world/market gets you and makes you realize you “need” it then later to find out a year later that “its not me anymore” and end up unfortunately losing money, but anyways, whats done is done, and again, thanks got sharing!
Thank you for sharing your experience. I have never sold any of my bags but it’s great to know that Fashionphile bought them for a decent amount. I find some of the comments rather rude. Berating you for selling them at a loss isn’t nice. Not many things can be used and sold for a profit or small loss.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
BAG #2: Chanel 19 Black Medium/Regular
- 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
BAG #3: Chanel So Black Reissue 225
- 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
BAG #4: Chanel Red Seasonal Flap Bag
- Original price: $5,400 total (purchased this one used, but in excellent condition)
- Sold for: $4,800
- Amount paid: $600
My thoughts?
- 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.
I’m confused, did you consign or do a buy back with them? Fashionphile buy back prices are much lower usually then what you said you received. You’re lucky if you get 60% of what you paid back.
Thanks for sharing. I just sold a Gucci tote and lost about 30% of what I paid. I did chose the NM GC option so I am getting an extra 10% otherwise my loss would have been more. What I have learned is that Chanel seems to have better resell value if you hold on to the bags longer.
Thanks for sharing. Totally get your point. Bags are meant to be used and loved, but it's at least reassuring to know that if you end up not enjoying it, letting it go is a viable option with an acceptable loss. I also agree that selling other brands is way less economical... Think of the Gucci, Celine, Chloe, D&G, etc. that I sold for 30% or less of retail.
I can't believe you sold your classic flap and so black reissue. Those are two of my favorite, forever bags. I've had my black classic flap for over 10 years now. It also seems like you didn't own or use your bags very much, so you may have sold them in pristine condition. Many of us like to really USE our bags and enjoy them. I take care of my bags, but I don't baby them, so they are bound to get a scratch or scuff pretty quickly. Fashionphile will ding you big time for that. So, this post may not be realistic for all bag lovers. I have sent two Chanel seasonal color Boys to Fashionphile for a quotes and I got quoted around 50% of what I paid for buy back, because well they were actually loved and used bags. It's so frustrating to see brand new condition bags on reseller sites that are from releases years ago. People just buy these bags and don't use them, they just hoard and wait to sell for a profit. Taking away bags from people like me. The Chanel grey that I wanted I saw on instagram from a reseller. It was sold out when I tried to get it, but now this reseller is profiting off of it.
I think some people buy these bags with the intention to love and use them, but the bag doesn’t work out for them...so they eventually decide to sell the bag. I don’t think they are “hoarding” the bag you’re interested in buying.
I call BS on some of that. I've seen a lot of youtube videos with wannabe influencers basically saying the brand new bag they bought just isn't working for them. And quotes like "It's just sitting in my closet." One I saw purchased a birkin and then said she didn't want a hand held tote. Umm, did you not know a birkin was a hand held tote before! Please.