"What was I thinking?" Bag purchases you regret...

[Yuki85]

My RM Cupid bag! It was a pre loved one and I am so glad that I did not pay the full price. It just did not fit to my style and to small.

 

[hifashionfaves]

I bought a nylon Lesportsac tote like 6-7 years ago. The thing is absolutely massive. I don't really regret the purchase per se, as I still use it when I travel. But the bag feels a bit redundant since I already have a Longchamp Le Pliage in my collection.

 

[leechiyong]

Anything from Target I bought on impulse when I was younger because it was cheap. Sure, they were cute, but they couldn't compare to my other bags.

 

[applecidered]

I have many... growing up my mom would buy me a bunch of stuff she would get on sale for great deals, but not all are very pretty haha. Those are still in my childhood closet at home! I'm sure those have deteriorated by now...

 

[elation]

Update:
For more than six months, I have regretted selling this bag. As more time passes, more regret. I found one pre-loved on eBay and just re-purchased the same style of bag I sold. I now have it back, and in total, have spent $100-200 more than the original cost of full retail price for the bag.

For that price, though, I know I will never part with this bag.

So what happened?

I moved, and my needs changed. Importantly, I KNEW this at the time I sold - yet sold under those flukey circumstances because I was infatuated with the Hindmarch bag and was able to get one on a pre-move visit. I carried the Hindmarch several times, but it never worked as well for me as I hand hoped. It is amazing quality and some of the most beautiful leather I've stroked or sniffed, yet it really doesn't hold much, so by the time I had wallet, small pouch, and eyeglass case, it felt (over) stuffed). As I settled into a very different lifestyle - with daily commute on public transit, I yearned for the Pandora: sturdy zips, three carrying options, outer zip pockets for transit pass and phone; bomb-proof goatskin leather (to borrow another tPFer's description from the Pandora thread).

Lesson One: Impulse bag-decisions -- buying AND selling -- are bad news at times of transition. With a goal of buying what fits the life you HAVE, it's silly to either buy or sell before knowing what your new life will be like. There's a window there when it's easy to project the life you want or think you may have - the very vision of your new life that you MUST have to get yourself through the upheaval - before knowing how it will all play out. At the same time, it is SOOOO TEMPTING - to want to be prepared with JUST THE RIGHT BAG. Don't do it: you don't know until you know. Live the new life, learn the routines - what's the same (not much)? what's different (well, everything). What matters most to me now? THEN decide.

Lesson Two: With fantasy-like exposure to more high end bags than I could ever want, I got into Balenciaga. Not hordes of them in every color -- but a good, select, pre-loved few. I am Bal-content, not looking for more (and grateful that it's the older bags that call to me instead of the ones I can visit just down the street). Why is this important? The quality: as a tPF friend said, "when I can carry one of my Bals, why would I choose a 'lesser' bag? She's right - not because of status or labels - but because of quality and workmanship. It feels different, not in a good way, to carry a bag that doesn't have that. Now, some very expensive bags don't feel as good as they should for the price (some newer-year Bals, anyone?) and plenty of less expensive / mid-tier bags have supreme workmanship (the Frye languishing in my closet is one...).

A few things: I have access to hordes of bags. Balenciaga, Givenchy, and others that don't move me as much. With this, I learned a few more things:

1) my price ceiling has NOT returned to $2K - despite several attempts. I purchased full-price Bals and felt sick about it, so back they went. I did this several times, and know for certain that the original lesson of the price point - not wanting to go there again - has remained with me.

2) I am a vulture for a deal on a pre-loved bag that began at this price point. i am hooked on that level of quality, so I shop for it more patiently. More or less. Sometimes less. My sweet spot is right around $1,000 -- prefer to go lower, yet will also go a bit higher for the magical mix of infatuation, function, and value.

3) Loving one style in a line does not mean embracing the whole line. I did this shortly after discovering RM: in the buying-frenzy so well known to anyone who had an RM phase, I bought many RMs, many styles, few to none of which work for me now. Can I add here that -- but for one or two -- I regret ALL (20-ish) of those, and they sit quietly in storage? The price point is such that it's easy(ier) to rationalize buying too many - a few hundred dollars doesn't feel as bad, so the risk lies in spending that few hundred bucks WAAAYYYY too many times. I'm better off with bags that cost more/ make me think more/ and that hurt more when I make a mistake. Enough to want to avoid the mistake (see: think more). So - that $1,000-ish price point I regretted getting to (prior post) turns out to be just the right place to be - to find joy and value - without the insanity of buying ALL the more affordable bags.

4) I learned that it's OK to love-love-love some styles and feel unmoved by others to the point of ignoring them completely. Rather than being a 'Bal Girl' or a Givenchy Girl' - I am a 'neutral-color-City-or-Velo-with-Giant-21-rosegold-or-silver-HW Bal Girl'; and a 'goatskin-sugar-leather-Pandora-with-silver-HW-Givenchy-Girl".

I also learned more about selling options and have resolved to clear out storage. (I sold the Ferregamo Sofia and the Chanel bucket - because, despite their quality and beauty, they didn't work for my life, before or after the move). One of these days...

I love your insights, thanks for sharing! I also went through a small RM phase and recently started clearing all my low/mid tier bags since Chloe and Bal have raised my standards. I don't necessarily regret the purchases, since when I bought those bags I sincerely loved them, but now I know my tastes and budget change like seasons so pre-loved will dampen the hurt.

 

[Mininana]

I already have a K28 so I won't buy another Kelly bag. I have this thing about not buying multiples of the same design (unless it's Longchamp) so I think a B30 is probably more where I'm leaning towards.



Just out of curiosity, which size Birkin are you thinking of getting?

yes!! A B30 is on my wishlist! and you have an awesome willpower.. I can barely keep my hands off H bags even if they are multiples

 

[HotRedBag]

Went to Macy bought some bags that I do not remember the model for but I bought them to just buy them I dont know why. They collected dust and I just ended up giving them to my mother after about 2 years in the closet. Honestly, I don't even know why I bought it.

 

[Shelby33]

I regret buying a bunch of inexpensive bags instead of saving for a really nice bag.

 

[inverved]

yes!! A B30 is on my wishlist! and you have an awesome willpower.. I can barely keep my hands off H bags even if they are multiples

They do have a range of gorgeous colours, so it's easy to see why so many people buy multiple H bags. On the other hand, I'm just happy with black.

 

[msmeow85]

I regret buying a neon yellow Rebecca Minkoff mini 5-zip. I finally sold it on Poshmark, but it was listed on ebay and I had buyer issues, and it took me awhile to get rid of it. I bought it for cheap but I had to sell it even cheaper. I wore it only a few times. I loved it, but neon just isn't practical especially if you don't switch your purses out often.

 

[nana9026]

Going through all these years of buying bags, I've learnt the lessons of not to buy bags too small or too big or too heavy.
I went thru a stage that I tried to use a bigger bag to carry all stuff for work, turned out it's too heavy if it's all-leather bag and not feasible if I brought it for dinner. I've tried a Chanel tote, Hermes Garden Party. Turned out I needed to bring a clutch or another bag for dinner events. Now I use my beloved bags, and would carry a Tumi tote ( canvas, lightweight) for the extra stuff (documents, iPad or laptop) for work.
I bought a Celine luggage nano, which is so pretty. Yet it's really too small that I have to let it go.

 

[Sparkletastic]

1) Mainly I regret every cheap, make do, clearance bin, it's on sale bag I bought because I have a tendency to be overly thrifty. They never made me happy. I just should have spent the money bought the bags I love. I would have been happier and ultimately spent less money.

2) I regret every over the top, too much bag I bought when I finally started buying brands that were decent but (as my grandma would have said) still didn't have any taste but what was in my mouth. LOL!!!

But you live and learn!

Some of the bags I just SMH on?

Coach Spotlight Sequin. This is one gaudy bag. I had it in red AND blue. And a part of me still loves them. [emoji37] But they are so not my style so I never wore them. I'm glad I sold them to happy homes.

Valentino pink lacca dome bow bag. Yep. I still have a fondness for this too. Wore it once. Since I'm not Barbie living in a Malibu Dream House, I had to let her go. [emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]

 

[nana9026]

I owned a black Chloe Paraty, medium size. It's really pretty but really heavy. Let it go at the end...

 

[Summerfriend]

Valentino pink lacca dome bow bag. Yep. I still have a fondness for this too. Wore it once. Since I'm not Barbie living in a Malibu Dream House, I had to let her go

I love this Barbie bag, and I love your grandma. Just hilarious. I'm also attracted to really over-the-top, ridiculous bags, but for whatever lucky reason, I've always managed to avoid actually buying them. They make for such wonderful bag-watching, though!

Ok, I lied . . . at the after-Christmas sales this year, I actually bought a pink lame Betsey Johnson cross body that lights up with the word "Party" on one side. :weird: Needless to say, I have never worn this bag. LMAO. I just love Betsey. It's ridiculous. Fortunately it was inexpensive. I need to stay away from department stores. It never ends well.

 

[Sparkletastic]

I love this Barbie bag, and I love your grandma. Just hilarious. I'm also attracted to really over-the-top, ridiculous bags, but for whatever lucky reason, I've always managed to avoid actually buying them. They make for such wonderful bag-watching, though!

Ok, I lied . . . at the after-Christmas sales this year, I actually bought a pink lame Betsey Johnson cross body that lights up with the word "Party" on one side. :weird: Needless to say, I have never worn this bag. LMAO. I just love Betsey. It's ridiculous. Fortunately it was inexpensive. I need to stay away from department stores. It never ends well.

OMG! We are kindred spirits. Your bag has to be too much fun! I bought a BJ bowler in leopard print sequins. I actually wore it and one of my BFF's threatened to shoot it and have it mounted if I wore it again. So I sold her off and thought hard about what I was doing with my life. 😂