Secondhand shopping for luxury items can be both exciting and fun. The thought of getting a designer item for maybe half the price? But, there are things to look out for, to make sure that you don’t get duped into buying a fake. We’ve both done some secondhand shopping for luxury items and we’re sharing our tips and tricks to help you find the best items and the best deals.
Why do we like to shop second hand for “luxury” items?
Jen’s Experience with Secondhand Shopping
For me, I don’t spend a lot of money on clothes. These are the things that wear out, you give away, and go out of style. But great luxury bags, if you take care of them, will last forever. A great bag will also elevate your look, even if you’re wearing jeans and a t-shirt (which I do a lot!).
Since I’m “stingy” when it comes to clothes, I can be a little stingy when it comes to luxury goods too. Which is why shopping second hand is a great option.
Depending on where you shop, you can find pre-loved bags in great condition for less than you would pay direct!
The downside is you’ll have to live with any imperfections caused by the previous owners, and you don’t get the same rush of excitement when you buy from the store.
I’ve bought three pre-loved bags off of Poshmark in the past couple years. A black Gucci Marmont small matelassé shoulder bag (retails for $2,350, paid $1,400), a Louis Vuitton Saintonge (not available anymore but similar bags are around $2,000, paid $1,330) and a Vintage Chanel quilted bag (paid $585).
I do a lot of research when considering a purchase like this. I look up different pictures of the bag on Google and Instagram to make sure I like how it looks, and to estimate the size. Read reviews if I can find any, and watch YouTube videos. If I’m going to spending this much money, I want to know as much as possible!
Also, on our recent trip to New York City, I purchased a Gucci Ophidia bag from The Real Real for $1,700 (retail $1,790), and an Hermès scarf for $195 (retail $435). I got 40% off the scarf because of a current promotion.
Dianne’s Experience with Secondhand Shopping
I am more of a “newbie” when it comes to buying second hand luxury items. To be completely honest, I used to have a different point of view. That view was, “why would I want something old, instead of new?” It didn’t bother me that it was someone else’s, that wasn’t it. My thinking was just that why have old when you can own the latest style instead?
My thought process changed completely when my mom passed away five years ago. Suddenly I was looking at these old items with love and nostalgia. As I started going through her “old” things, it made me think of the history that lives inside these items. I could visualize her wearing them, laughing and sipping on a Manhattan. That’s when I realized that these items are not “old”, they are “precious”. And, to own someone else’s history, in a way, keeps their story going too.
As I said, I am a bit of a newbie when it comes to buying these items. But I have bought two wallets – a Chanel and a Louis Vuitton. I bought my first Louis Vuitton bag in Paris in 2010 but hesitated in buying the matching wallet. It haunted me ever since…..until our recent trip to NYC and a visit to The RealReal. I was on a mission to find a matching wallet and I did. Since the bag is almost 11 years old, I liked having a wallet that had some miles on it as well.
Because of my regret over not buying the LV wallet all those years ago, after purchasing my Chanel bag a few years ago, I immediately went looking for a wallet and found on on Poshmark. My Chanel bag is navy, so I had a little bit of searching to do to find something, but I did find the wallet shown below.
Another recent experience I had was in purchasing a vintage Chanel bag online. I loved the bag in the pictures, but when I received it, I didn’t. Luckily I had made sure that the store had a good return policy, which it did. That is a key to look out for, as we talk about below.
Even though we’re talking about mostly luxury goods, I do want to add a place that I love for vintage china, stemware, etc. It is replacements.com. I have my mother’s china from when she got married in 1950. It’s Wentoworth china, which was popular in the 1950’s. I remember the story she told me about when she first saw it in the store window. She loved purple and lavender as much as me, so she fell in love with it instantly. It’s a 12 piece place setting that I remember her telling me cost $100!
I was re-arranging my china cabinet and had a spot that needed something. Went to replacements.com on a whim, not thinking they would ever have pieces from her set, but they did! I got this beautiful covered vegetable dish, shown on the top shelf. Just as an aside, you can also shop at replacements.com for more modern dinnerware as well. If you’ve broken a piece from your current set, you might be able to find it there.
Another fun find I had was these vintage scented pens. I wrote about them in our “Scents of Smell” post a few months back. They don’t smell anymore or work, but my mom used to wear both of these perfumes and I thought they were a fun piece to have. They were only $40 on eBay. eBay, of course, is another great place to search for vintage items. I bought my husband a baseball signed by Willie Mays for his birthday from eBay last year.
Last, but not least, I do like to visit local vintage/resale shops. I like to make sure I have plenty of time to look through everything and hopefully find a treasure or two. I found this locket/pendant at a local vintage shop in Ann Arbor, MI. It’s costume jewelry, but I love it. It was only $17!
What are our favorite places to shop for these items?
Poshmark is great for buying luxury goods, because of their authentication policy. Anything over $500 will be authenticated by Poshmark, free of charge. The seller ships the item directly to Poshmark, who reviews it, and if authentic, is sent along to you! This is the best way to make sure you’re not being ripped off! You have the opportunity to make an offer for an item, and the seller can either accept or counter the offer.
Mercari is a good place to buy second-hand items, but you need to be careful about what you’re buying and from whom. There’s no authentication, so hold off on expensive items. Mercari is great if you’re looking for something hard-to-find. Jen’s husband managed to find a Walt Disney World Epcot Food and Wine Festival cookbook from the year they got engaged there on vacation! Mercari also has a similar offer system that Poshmark has.
We also love shopping on Etsy for vintage items. Jen’s been looking for vintage Disney World clothes and accessories for our upcoming trip, and have found so many great things!
We also purchased items at The Real Real on our trip to New York City. At The Real Real you know everything is authentic, however there’s no opportunity to “haggle”. The price you see, is what you pay.
Tips for finding the best deal and what to look out for
Things like be wary of items priced just below the authentication amount, make sure there is a return policy, etc.
Because of the $500 authentication on Poshmark, be weary of anything that looks too good to be true for $499 and under. It’s probably fake, and you’re going to lose that money.
We recommend steering clear of listings that show the original price as $0 instead of the actual amount. We also steer clear if the original price is way higher than what it is, or if they’re trying to sell the item for more than in stores.
Watch out for sellers who are selling tons of different luxury bags – it’s a little confusing on how they got all of those bags and why they’re selling them.
But all-in-all, because the bags are authenticated, you don’t have a lot to lose if you try to buy something for a good deal.
Make sure you look out for people trying to sell off of Poshmark too. People will come up with sneaky ways of directing people to email or Mercari for their transaction instead. Poshmark takes a bigger cut of the overall sale than Mercari does, so people will try to get as much money as they can.
And don’t forget to look at the photos! If there aren’t a lot of photos, ask for some more, and beware! You don’t want to buy anything off of seeing one photo, and when it arrives it’s a total mess!
Are you feeling excited and prepared to start doing some secondhand shopping for luxury items? Let us know in the comments below.