8 Reasons to Buy Preloved Luxury

Last updated on December 28th, 2022 at 10:33 am

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Buying used designer goods is gaining more traction as we speak.

In the past, many people were turned off by the idea. You’ll say yes to second-hand things from someone you trust like a family member or a friend but buying used items from a stranger? Nope, sorry.

This was certainly the case for me.  

What changed my mind was the preloved fashion website, Vestiaire Collective.

When I found out how many people are members of this community (more than 15 million), I wanted to see what the big deal was. There must be a reason why it’s so popular, right?

It didn’t take long to fall in love with the preloved market.

Those who need reasons to buy preloved designer bags, you’ve come to the right place.

Let’s get started!

Reasons to Buy Preloved Designer Bags:

1) Lower Price

The biggest reason for people to buy preloved is a lower price.

This reason alone can sway millions of people out there and it has.

There could be a luxury handbag you want but cannot justify the retail price.

Designer goods aren’t cheap.

It often takes time to save up to buy something.

You might also have to do that when buying used designer items but it’s at a discounted rate. Depending on what it is that you want, it can cost much less than the original price. This means it takes less time to save up to purchase what you want.

Personally, I have saved THOUSANDS of dollars from Vestiaire.

This platform even allows you to negotiate with sellers for an even lower price (how crazy is that?). The company also has surprise sales so take advantage of the coupons they give out.

Check out my blog post about navigating Vestiaire Collective if you want to learn more.

2) Items No Longer Available In Store

There might be a designer handbag you love and were saving up for it. The problem is, it’s out of stock.

Or you missed the chance to buy a limited edition bag because you didn’t know about it at the time.

What can you do?

You turn to platforms that sell second-hand designer bags.

There are discontinued Chanel bags such as the Diana and GST that is still a hit with the public.

However, these bags are no longer sold in stores. If you want to get your hands on them, there’s no choice but to look at the preloved market.

The Chanel Diana is a bit of an exception because they did do a reissue edition back in 2015.

I heard the quality was not the same as the vintage Chanel Diana though.

These designer brands might come out with a reissue edition if demand was high enough (you never know) but in the meantime, there are many sellers in preloved communities.

You might have to be patient though as it will take time before coming across a bag in good condition AND good pricing.

Buying used designer goods gives you another chance of buying that bag you missed out on.

3) Thrill of Treasure Hunting

You never know what you’re going to find when looking at used designer goods.

Most platforms will have classic luxury bags like the Celine belt bag and the Fendi baguette bag BUT keep your eyes out to find undiscovered gems.

Many designers have seasonal bags.

They sell a bag for a short while and when the stock is gone, it’s gone. We all know about the classic bags but it’s the seasonal bags that keep us checking back on their website.

Through Vestiaire, I found out about many bags that I didn’t even know about.

Buying used designer goods is like going on this treasure hunt to find a cheap luxury bag you adore at a good price.

People love the thrill of looking for things. It’s why stores like Winners, Marshalls and TJ Maxx are so successful.

There’s usually only one item. If it’s gone, it’s gone for good so it’s tempting to act quickly.

You want to lock that down before someone makes the final move. There’s a sense of giddiness when you score an item. It’s too late for the other suckers because it’s yours now!

The feeling of not knowing what you’ll find can be super addicting. You find yourself being very happy and wanting to buy everything but please remember not to go overboard.  

4) Designer Brand Options

The preloved market pretty much has all the big-name designers you can think of, even ones you might think they won’t have, like Hermes.

If you’re looking for a specific brand, Vestiaire is probably your best bet because they have thousands of designers.

Okay, I want to be clear that we’re talking about big-name designer brands here. You’re not going to find a used item on eBay from that clothing store you love so much down the street (but if you do find it, let me know).

5) Range of Conditions

A common misconception is that used items are all soiled and dirty.

That is simply not true.

Some owners are so good at taking care of their items that you can barely tell it’s not brand new.

The price is usually a huge indicator of how good the condition is. For example, if you’re willing to pay nearly full price, your product will be in tip-top condition (and it better be too).

The more flexible you are with an item’s condition, the more bargains you’ll find.

For example, a lot of these preloved fashion websites have filters for an item’s condition. Excellent and very good condition is pretty self-explanatory. Fair condition means the product has been used extensively but still has life in it.

You might be wondering who on earth would buy a fair-condition bag.

Someone’s first time dipping their toes into luxury might not want to spend so much on one item. Or they want to treat themselves to a birthday present but have limited funds.

The fair condition means prices are significantly cheaper but it also means the item won’t be as pristine.

Make sure to thoroughly check the pictures, descriptions, and the seller’s reviews to make sure you know exactly what you’re buying.

It’s disappointing to receive something in-person and find out the quality is worst in real life.

6) Unique Wardrobe

reason to buy preloved designer goods is that you’ll have more unique pieces in your wardrobe.

You often see an overlap with designer bags. Youtubers sharing their luxury bag collection will often have at least one of these in their collection:

• Gucci Soho Disco
• Chanel Classic Flap
• Louis Vuitton Neverfull
• Hermes Birkin

Doesn’t it seem like everyone has the same stuff?

Don’t get me wrong.

There’s nothing wrong with people having the same bags.

I even own the Gucci Soho Disco bag myself but it’s not a good feeling knowing you’re walking down the street and at least 3 other people are wearing the same thing as you.

No one likes the feeling of looking the same as everyone on the street.

Shopping preloved means more variety. Not everyone is open to shopping for second hand things so you’ll have access to items that aren’t in-store currently.

It will make you feel happier and more confident too.

7) Many Platforms Available

here are tons of preloved designer platforms to check out.

My favourite is Vestiaire Collective (as if you couldn’t tell already) but there are other ones like

• Fashionphile
• The Luxury Closet
• Yoogi’s Closet
• The RealReal
• Rebag

There are even Instagram and eBay sellers. I would be very cautious about buying from them because there are a lot of fake sellers out there.

Do your research to make sure they’re legit.

With all these platforms available, there’s a 98% chance you’ll find the bag you want.

The 2% is for the extremely rare luxury handbags but I bet you can find those in the preowned luxury community too.

They might not be for sale right now, but if you’re patient and look at these places consistently, they will probably come up eventually.

There are even Instagram sellers now. I would be cautious about buying from them because there’s a lot of fake sellers out there. With all these platforms available, there’s a 98% chance you’ll find the bag you want.

The 2% is for the extremely rare bags but honestly, I think you can find those in the pre-owned luxury community too.

They might not be for sale right now, but if you’re patient and looking at these places consistently, they will probably come up eventually.

8) Authentication Services

When it comes to buying preloved, a big concern is that the product is fake.

It’s a guaranteed real item if you buy it from the boutique but what about all these consignment websites?

It’s the worst when you spend thousands of dollars to buy a counterfeit item. Talk about an unnecessary expense!

Fear not, people.

Those websites mentioned above have authentication services.

This means that they either have checked the products already before posting the item online or the seller has to send the product to the company to double-check it’s not a fake before shipping it to the buyer.

These authentication services are reassuring because you know the product is carefully checked before receiving the item at your house.

If you don’t trust those experts or want a second opinion, you can pay extra to get your bag checked at websites like real authentication.

Final Thoughts – Reasons to Buy Preloved Designer Bags

Younger me only knew about people buying second-hand items off eBay but soon discovered the wide variety of other platforms.

Those who have not previously bought used luxury items might be surprised to know how big the market for this industry is.

There are SO many reasons why people buy preloved designer bags. Once you start, you get obsessed. If you haven’t already, I highly recommend checking the preloved market to see what’s out there.

I hope you enjoyed reading this blog post as much as I had with writing it!

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Xoxo,
Nicole