Last updated on December 28th, 2022 at 09:17 am
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Fashionphile is a well-known website to buy cheap luxury bags.
If you’re researching where to buy preloved designer goods, Fashionphile’s name will pop up.
This California-based business has been around a long time, since 1999.
It has been consistently named as one of the best platforms to shop at.
With its reputation, you don’t have to worry about buying fake items on here.
Since I bought a light gold Chanel Chevron wallet from Fashionphile (my Gucci Soho Disco bag has a friend now), I wanted to take this opportunity to do a Fashionphile Review.
Fashionphile Review – Pros
1) Good Product Selection
Fashionphile has a good product selection. There are thousands of items from different premium brand names to browse. You’re bound to find a few items you like.
The company even has some hard-to-find items. The Chanel wallet I bought is known to be rare. It’s from the 2017 iridescent collection.
People go crazy for Chanel’s iridescent colours. Fair enough. They do make really nice ones. I guess I now have a Chanel collectible on my hands.
2) Overstates Flaws
If I have to pick one favourite part of the Fashionphile review, it would be that the company overstates their flaws.
Many bloggers talk about how surprised they are with the item’s condition when it arrives. The product often comes in better condition than they expected.
At the time, I didn’t really believe them until I experienced it myself.
The description stated the Chanel chevron wallet I bought was in excellent condition with faint scratches on the hardware. The scratches were impossible to see from the online pictures alone.
When I received my item via DHL, I was closely inspecting the hardware. I would have thought it was completely new. I could barely see the scratches even in person.
Their strategy of exaggerating their imperfections is working too. Look at how many people are praising them!
Fashionphile does a really good job at that.
3) Detailed Description
Each item listing has a detailed description. This, of course, includes their flaws but they report other details as well.
Some other used luxury goods websites do not have a detailed written description of the product. They upload a few pictures and you have to guess the material by the pictures provided.
Fashionphile reassures you in their written description by stating what material the item is.
The company is also clear on what the items come with.
For example, when I got my Chanel wallet, it clearly states that the box, dust bag and authenticity card come with the product.
They even tell you what year some items are made.
4) Professional Pictures with Many Angles
With websites like eBay and Instagram shops, I’ve noticed that their pictures aren’t of high quality. A lot of them might be individual sellers so they’re using their phones to snap some quick pictures.
It’s even worse when they don’t have many pictures. When it comes to buying pre-loved, pay attention to the corners and the interior because these wear out the quickest.
You already can’t see or touch the product in person. The pictures and the description are the only things you have to make your decision on whether or not to buy something.
So you need many pictures to decide on whether or not to buy it.
Fashionphile has professional pictures and many angles of the product.
What’s neat is that there’s a mannequin holding the designer handbag in its hand so you have an idea of how big the product is.
A picture is worth a thousand words.
Don’t you prefer seeing a mannequin holding a product to get the feel of how big it is rather than getting out a ruler and measuring it?
(The measurement is in inches. International customers might need to do a quick conversion from inches to centimetres because the U.S. uses the imperial system.)
Fashionphile Review Pro #5 – Lifetime Guarantee
Most of the products on their site are usually in Carlsbad, California (where the company is from). Once you put in your order, the company ships the item directly from their warehouse to your home.
The business hires highly qualified authenticators to make sure the products are real. All products go through a rigorous checking system
It’s important to know that the product you’re buying is 100% real. Who wants to shell out thousands of dollars just to find out their item is fake?
You can tell the authenticator has done a fashionphile review of the product because it will come with a their tag, proving that the product has been authenticated.
Fashionphile has a lifetime authenticity guarantee. If a product is authentic, that shouldn’t have an expiry date but a lifetime guarantee does sound better, doesn’t it?
6) Generous Return Policy
Fashionphile has a generous return policy. You can return the item within 30 days of the purchase date.
International customers might not use the return policy as much as their American customers. It’s more trouble to ship the product back but it is an option for those who need it.
There are some conditions attached such as the Fashionphile tag being still attached to the product along with any of the other things the product came with (ex. dustbag). Package it carefully or else you will not be eligible for a refund.
7) High Resale Value
If you want to resell the item you bought from the company, Fashionphile will buy it up to 75% of the price. It’s good to know for people who care about resale value.
Most pre-owned luxury websites do consignment which means you get paid only after the item is sold. Fashionphile buys the item from you and pays you immediately.
The downside is that the price you receive from the company might be lower compared to consignment.
8) Security Check
Fashionphile has great customer service.
I was impressed when they called me to verify whether or not I was the one that made the Chanel wallet purchase.
The customer representative said my credit card address and where I requested to send the item were different. The company wanted to make sure it was not a fraud.
She also said they do phone call security checks on a random basis.
The extra step can be annoying to some people but I like that they do this.
9) Easy to Navigate Website
Fashiophile’s website is easy to use.
Filter out the specific brand you’re looking for and voila. All the results will come up.
You can also create alerts for items that were sold (they usually come back in stock eventually), items you’re looking for, and items when they go on sale.
10) Safe Packaging
When my wallet arrived, it came in a plain cardboard box. You couldn’t tell something expensive was inside.
It’s a great disguise because if not, people would target your box to steal. Unfortunately, there are many package stealers in real life.
When you open the box, there’s even black and white confetti inside.
Wouldn’t it be better if the confetti has colours?
Anyway, it’s still adorable.
Buying from Fashionphile is worth celebrating!
Fashionphile Review – Cons
1) Everything is in USD
You cannot convert the currency when buying things from the website.
If you have a U.S. bank account or credit card, this probably won’t matter.
For all other international customers, this might not be ideal because of the currency conversion rate.
2) No Luxury Clothes
Trying to find some luxury clothing on here?
Sorry!
There’s no clothing selection at the moment.
Fashionphile has its own apparel line but if you’re looking to buy a Dior clothing, Fashionphile isn’t for you.
Other than clothes, you can find everything else on here. Designer handbags, jewelry, accessories, shoes, you name it.
Fashionphile Review Con #3 – Not the Cheapest Pre-loved Website
Fashionphile isn’t the cheapest second-hand designer goods website out there.
I’ve seen reviews about how overpriced some of their items are. Do your research.
There are no negotiating prices and since everything is in USD, things can get costly.
Browse around online to see how much a product you want to buy is worth on the market.
Even at a discount, preloved luxury items are still expensive so you might need to save up first.
4) Price Reductions
Fashionphile is a bit different when it comes to price reductions.
Some companies might choose to hold quarterly annual sales.
Fashionphile does have sales once in a while but there’s not much of a discount. Instead, what they do mainly is slash prices after a certain time frame.
They go by 5% intervals.
For example, a bag might cost $300. After a certain number of days, Fashionphile will cut the price to $285.
This 5% discount will go up to 30% off.
After that, it goes to the outlet and/or final call selection.
5) Can’t See or Touch Physical Products
As with all online shopping, you can’t touch or see the products in person.
You have to heavily rely on the pictures and descriptions provided. They probably use professional lighting in the studio to get the pictures taken. But the lighting might not be the same as seeing a product in natural lighting.
It is a bit of a gamble.
Look at the pictures carefully. Don’t forget to zoom in as well to catch those flaws.
Fashionphile Review – Special Notes
This is neither good nor bad so I have created another section to let people out there know about the following:
1) Focus On Certain Brands
These 4 specific brand names have the most selection: Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and Hermes.
The website has other brands such as Balenciaga, Goyard, and Loewe. However, most of their designers have significantly less inventory compared to the 4 above.
Depending on what specific brand you like, this can be a good or bad thing.
2) Domestic Shipping
Fashionphile provides free shipping if you live in the States.
As for other folks, I hate to break it to you but you need to pay for shipping.
For my Chanel wallet, shipping cost $35.86 to send from California to Hong Kong.
If I was still in Boston, I could have taken advantage of the free shipping option. Oh well, sucks for me.
Final Thoughts – Fashionphile Review
I, too, was doubtful of pre-owned luxury websites in the past.
I wanted to create a fair review for people who are thinking about purchasing from Fashionphile.
As you can see, Fashionphile has way more pros than cons.
That’s why I like the platform so much and recommend you to check it out.
Start cutting out some unnecessary expenses to save up for the designer pieces you’ve always dreamed of.
Treat yourself and give yourself a bit of self-love (don’t go overboard though).
Now to You – Fashionphile Review
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Xoxo,
Nicole
P.S. Fashionphile isn’t the only secondhand designer website platform. There’s also Vestiaire Collective you can check out. Read my Vestiaire Collective guide for more information!