What's your rational in keeping a bag (not lose any money) vs selling it and lose lots of money

[daisy913]

100% sell it. The money has already been spent. The item just takes up space while collecting dust. You won't magically reap the money back by letting it go unused. Might as well get what you can from it.

I clean out my belongings 2x a year and get rid of anything I don't want or need anymore. Ever since I started doing that, it's helped curb my spending habits. When I see how much I'm getting rid of, it puts me in a perspective of just how much money I've wasted because I only used something a handful of times, or I bought it out of impulse. Now, I purchase things with purpose and longevity in mind. I am by no means a minimalist, but I scrutinize my purchases to minimize waste on my end. Even if I donate clothes, donation centers can be overwhelmed, and with some countries banning imports of secondhand goods, clothes just end up in a landfill.

Makeup is my main interest so new releases always appeal to me. I never had a collection worthy of an ig or youtube makeup account, which I'm thankful for, but my collection is still larger than average. I avoid buying new makeup by shopping my stash. I take out my products and rediscover them. I also will choose to wait a few months before purchasing, to see if I still want somethinh after the hype has died down. If I know I absolutely want a makeup item at launch, it's usually to replace an item that I was looking to get rid of anyway.

Translating this to bags, shop your collection whenever you see a new bag you like. Play dress up so you can fall in love with them again. If the bag you like absolutely fills a void, or it will be a replacement for a bag you no longer want, get it. Make sure you get rid of the other bag. I still buy items I regret every now and then, but I'm still willing to learn from the experience. I've determined that one eyeshadow brand always irritates my eyes, so I might as well stop buying their palettes. I bought a pink bag that I loved for 4 months and then hated it because the seasons changed. I now know that I don't like bags which only work for certain seasons. I still buy seasonsl bags, but only if I can use them year after year without looking dated. Sell the bag and ask yourself why it wasn't good enough for you to use and keep. Keep those requirements in mind the next time you go purse shopping.

 

[plue89]

For me, designer bags are not investments. They are luxury items that you purchase when you have money to burn. They may make you feel happy and excited. If you don’t want them any more for whatever reason, you can surely sell them if you want to. But know that it is usually at a lost. For me, a designer bag’s ultimate purpose was to give you that “nice feeling” it gave you when you bought it/had it/used it. (If one only wanted a "container" for her belongings, one could have used any regular/ordinary/inexpensive bag easily). Now, if by some odd occurrence you break even or get more than what you paid for after using it, great! If not, just always remember the nice feeling it gave you before…..and be happy that at least, you will still get some cash out of it when you sell it.

That is such great advice!!!

 

[papertiger]

Thanks everyone for your insights! I guess I never thought of the bags depreciating by 50% the minute they pass the return policy time period! I keep telling myself to stop buying bags but then every season something better keeps coming along! So lesson learned... When in doubt, just return it!

You could try one of the big auction houses, their cut will be a bit less but you could also lose more overall as their estimates are designed to entice buyers into thinking they'll be crazy not to have a bid.

 

[louise_elouise]

Hiya! This is a debate I have with myself regularly and I am in this situation with my black 226 reissue.

My perspective is very different. Right now, the quotes I am getting for the bag would put me out £1k. Rather than that, I will keep the bag and let Chanel continue with their annual price increases; I plan to sell when I can make my full ££ back.

I think this only works IF the bag will continue appreciate in value as Chanel continues with the price increases. I think the classics usually fall into this category as well as some limited editions (I would think iridescent). However, the logic is definitely flawed if you could take the funds you'd receive now and invest them to get a higher level than if you wanted to sell.

Perhaps I am naive but I've been fortunate to have sold three Chanel bags in the past and I've never had to take a loss. I think with enough time, many desirable Chanel bags can appreciate in value, but it takes patience and it depends on how big of a hole it burns in your pocket (highly personal decision)

 

[shijay]

I have learned the hard way as well, that bags, new or preloved aren't so easy to get their money back. I bought a preloved reissue 225 for 3600 that I thought was a great deal. It was a 12 series bag in "mint condition". I did NOT buy new because I wanted to save money in case I changed my mind about the reissue itself. Well, I could not love that bag, still love the reissue on others but this bag just didn't work for me. I ended up selling to FP for 2800. Ouch. I still lost 800 dollars on that bag, after only 3 months of "trying to use it". I did learn to be more careful about what I purchase and see if it will fit my lifestyle. At the end of the day I feel like I will probably take a loss with any bag I sell because I am not a youtuber with great vlog sales, and I am not comfortable with ebay. Maybe not with my square mini, but I love that one

I do have some bags sitting in my closet that I do like , but don't use often (azur neverfull mm) and I can't get myself to sell it in case something changes ....I start driving to work instead of train or something like that which may make me use the bag more. I feel like probably the neverfull will just keep its value and I will lose more by trying to sell it now. I only bought it 3 months ago. The flip side is I am not using it as "carelessly" because I am on the fence about selling!

It is a tough decision for sure!!

 

[Mcandy]

Thanks everyone for your insights! I guess I never thought of the bags depreciating by 50% the minute they pass the return policy time period! I keep telling myself to stop buying bags but then every season something better keeps coming along! So lesson learned... When in doubt, just return it!

Thats why you just enjoy your bags and use it. All the few high end bags are really used and not just displayed. That makes it worth more for me.

 

[happyhauls]

I feel your pain!
For some reason I thought a bag in boutique like condition would be easy to sell.
But the quotes I got for my small Vanity Case with Rainbow Hardware were eye-opening.
The best offer was still 30% below retail!
Think it wouldn´t hurt so much if I actually had used and enjoyed the bag.

 

[Mcandy]

I feel your pain!
For some reason I thought a bag in boutique like condition would be easy to sell.
But the quotes I got for my small Vanity Case with Rainbow Hardware were eye-opening.
The best offer was still 30% below retail!
Think it wouldn´t hurt so much if I actually had used and enjoyed the bag.

I feel like If I dont use the bag its a waste of money. The higher the price the more you use it. Its never an investment because an investment means the worth is appreciating. However, the only good thing about purchasing high end is that though you only get a portion of your money back, you still get more than in selling mid tier bag. My husband bought me a mk bag for 299 and saw the same bag sold in kijiji as second hand for 50 dollars. And that is leather. Whereas I had an LV bosphore bag which was really worn out. The vachetta was really dark and dry and the sides had the wire coming out. I inquired how much i could get for it if i sold it to a consignment here and they offered 150 dollars. So use your bag because For example I bought that nverfull bag for 1500 and I used it for 5 years and it looks worn and wrinkly and later sold it for 400.ill just think the 1100 is equal to the amount of years worn plus it was damaged so it wont hurt that much. But if you bought the bag for 1500 and you only use it once and later resell it for 1000 you will really feel the loss.

 

[Mcandy]

I feel your pain!
For some reason I thought a bag in boutique like condition would be easy to sell.
But the quotes I got for my small Vanity Case with Rainbow Hardware were eye-opening.
The best offer was still 30% below retail!
Think it wouldn´t hurt so much if I actually had used and enjoyed the bag.

I feel like If I dont use the bag its a waste of money. The higher the price the more you use it. Its never an investment because an investment means the worth is appreciating. However, the only good thing about purchasing high end is that though you only get a portion of your money back, you still get more than in selling mid tier bag. My husband bought me a mk bag for 299 and saw the same bag sold in kijiji as second hand for 50 dollars. And that is leather. Whereas I had an LV bosphore bag which was really worn out. The vachetta was really dark and dry and the sides had the wire coming out. I inquired how much i could get for it if i sold it to a consignment here and they offered 150 dollars. So use your bag because For example I bought that nverfull bag for 1500 and I used it for 5 years and it looks worn and wrinkly and later sold it for 400.ill just think the 1100 is equal to the amount of years worn plus it was damaged so it wont hurt that much. But if you bought the bag for 1500 and you only use it once and later resell it for 1000 you will really feel the loss.

 

[superorange]

Personally I would take the bite sell the bag then move on. There’s really no point hold on to it when you know you are not gonna use it. The small vanity case is in lower in demand than the medium size so you might even get less in a couple months. I’ve learnt my lesson through out these years you can only buy something you truly truly like because you can’t have it all and that makes this whole thing more fun if you know what I mean.
Now I’m torn between should I sell one 17B item which almost doubled what I paid for to fund a Hermes purchase. Really love it but since I want another bag probably will give this one up. This is all a mental game...

 

[Tuned83]

OP it's so annoying. I would personally just keep for a little while to get some more cost per wear out of the item. Trying hard to keep it pristine so that if necessary some money can be recouped when parting with said item.

I also stopped buying like a crazed woman and think very hard about each purchase to not have this happen in the first place. So I love from afar (reading tpf) and keep my money.

 

[wyu1229]

selling it and make some money.

 

[resrobin15]

OP it's so annoying. I would personally just keep for a little while to get some more cost per wear out of the item. Trying hard to keep it pristine so that if necessary some money can be recouped when parting with said item.

I also stopped buying like a crazed woman and think very hard about each purchase to not have this happen in the first place. So I love from afar (reading tpf) and keep my money.

Thank you! Yes I was thinking about the same thing! Since I can't get as much money out of it, might as well use it couple of times! Also the problem with selling (and losing money) is what if I change my mind later and really want one again?

 

[lil_twin_stars]

I agree with selling the seldom-used bag rather than let it sit on the shelf for years. It is a struggle, especially if it still sparks joy when I occasionally take out these bags to use. But on the other hand, there is a fear in me that “What if I take out this bag and the leather has come apart due to prolonged storage? Or maybe the metal components have tarnished?”.. by that time, the value of the bag will drop tremendously.

 

[lil_twin_stars]

Sometimes I do wonder.. how about we buy second-hand at a lower price, use for a while and re-sell it. Maybe the loss will not be as high as buying a brand new bag n re-sell after use?