Selling Your Old Designer Purses
How to Get the Best Price for Your Handbags
If you have old Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Fendi, Coach or Chanel bags laying around, they could be worth some money. How to sell your used designer purses for cash.
What’s in a name? A lot, if those names happen to be Louis, Gucci or Fendi. Big-name designer handbags can bring in big bucks, even if they’re used. So scour your closets, dust off your bags and start selling!
How to Command the Best Price for Your Designer Handbags:
- Make sure your purses are in the best condition possible. That means, use some elbow grease. Get those bags looking almost brand new again. Break out the leather cleaner, some old rags, and start cleaning. Make sure you remove dust and particles from inside the purse as well. Before you begin, look up the manufacturer’s cleaning instructions on the Internet, so you don’t damage your bag. Be extra careful with specialty fabrics, suede and bamboo.
- Check the prices for similar bags on eBay. Take a close look at the picture to get an idea of what shape it’s in. A beat up bag will go a for a lot less than one that’s in immaculate shape. If you decide to go ahead and auction your purse, don’t oversell. In fact, be very specific about any flaws or defects it has. Buyers will appreciate and remember your honesty, resulting in more sales in the future. After all, you probably have more than one purse to sell.
- Consider garage and estate sales. Check the paper and look around your neighborhood. If someone is hosting a garage sale in the near future ask if they’ll sell your bag in exchange for 10 percent of the price. This might be a better avenue than eBay; especially if you live in a neighborhood where designer bags are highly sought after. And with a garage sale, there are no shipping charges involved. You might want to work at the sale yourself. That way if potential buyers want more information, or if they’d like to make an offer, you’re there to assist.
- Contact consignment shops. Be careful here. Shop owners want to make a profit, too, so negotiate the rate carefully. Find out what other shops are charging and try to use the competition as leverage. Look in the Yellow Pages for stores that specialize in designer ware. Consignment shops usually have high visibility, but then, so does eBay, and you might get a better cut of the proceeds there.
Too attached to your bags to sell? Consider sending your purses back to the manufacturer to be refurbished. It might cost a lot, but in the end, you’ll have a purse that looks brand new.
The copyright of the article Selling Your Old Designer Purses in Consumer Education is owned by L. Marie Dubuque. Permission to republish Selling Your Old Designer Purses must be granted by the author in writing.
