4 Ways to Boost Your Pre-Owned Designer Handbag’s Resale Value

/in , , , /by

Whether you bought your pre-owned luxury handbag for a season or for a lifetime, you may find yourself in need of extra cash or simply tired of your same old handbag styles. If that’s the case, you can sell your valuable luxury accessories for cash and make a significant percentage of the purchase price back. Some people even buy handbags as an investment because they know that they can sell them later and make all of their money back and then some.

However, not all handbags retain their full value on the secondhand market. If you want to sell your pre-owned designer handbags for as much as possible, try these four ways to boost your pre-owned luxury handbag’s resale value.

1. Do Your Research Before Buying

The best way to preserve resale value after buying your bag is to research the best investment pieces before you buy your bag. While you should buy a style you love, you should also do research into the resale value of that bag and how much other styles sell for on the pre-owned market.

Visit resellers of pre-owned luxury handbags online and search for the same brand, style, size, material and color as the bag you’re interested in. You may find that the style goes for more than the retail value on the secondhand market, or you may find that it goes for a fraction of its original price. Even if you buy a bag with a low resale value, at least you’ll have accurate expectations and make an informed purchasing decision.

2. Invest in Rare Pieces

If you want to ensure that your bag purchases have the best chance possible of preserving their value, look for limited edition items from historied luxury brands. Stick to designer brands that have been around for decades, or even centuries, like Louis Vuitton, Chanel or Hermès. Chanel and Hermès bags in particular tend to only increase in value over time. More contemporary or lesser-known brands like Fendi, Versace and Miu Miu tend to sell for less on the secondhand market, especially if they don’t have a consistent signature bag style like the Chanel Classic Flap or Hermès Birkin.

When looking for rare items, collect styles that are made in exclusive quantities, in collaboration with well-known artists or made with exotic materials. The more difficult to find a pre-owned luxury handbag is, the more a collector will be willing to pay for it. While some limited edition pieces may be lost to time, many will become in demand and give you a great ROI.

3. Protect and Maintain Your Bag’s Condition

Like any expensive luxury accessory, pre-owned designer handbags should be properly stored and maintained to preserve their condition. If your bag becomes discolored, misshapen, or odorous, it could significantly reduce its resale value.

Protect your handbag in storage by always storing it inside a dust bag. You should also keep it in a temperature-controlled environment that isn’t too hot and humid or dry. Too much moisture could lead to mold or mildew growth, while extremely dry environments could lead to leather cracking or peeling.

If you have a light-colored handbag, avoid wearing it with jeans or other dark colors, as you could transfer the denim color onto the back of your bag as you walk. Your bags also shouldn’t be left in direct sunlight for too long, or the leather could discolor and lighten over time.

If you already have some minor wear and tear to your pre-owned luxury handbags, you can usually have them repaired or restored at a handbag spa. At the Watch & Wares handbag spa, we perform professional handbag cleaning, handbag moisturization, stain protection treatment, edgewear restoration, color touch-up services, odor and mold removal, and more for a range of designer styles.

4. Sell at the Right Time

An important factor in pre-owned designer handbags’ resale value is time. If you don’t need to sell right away, study the market and wait for the best time to sell your bag in order to get the most money possible.

Highly popular classic bags like the Chanel Classic Flap or Hermès Birkin consistently increase in price over time, so the longer you can wait to sell, the better. With trendy pieces like the Prada Re-Edition 2005, prices spike as the bag hits maximum popularity and then fall as the bag goes out of style. In this case, you’ll want to sell before the trend dies completely, while there’s still demand for the item. In some cases, trendy bags can come back into style, such as with the Fendi Baguette or Chanel Diana. Trends tend to re-appear every 10-20 years, so if your bag is out of style now, it may come back into style in the future, and prices will once again rise as demand grows.

Whether you want to strike while the iron’s hot or take advantage of growing inflation, you can sell your pre-owned luxury handbags for incredible value at Watch & Wares. We offer some of the most competitive rates in the area for all premium designer names, and we can even restore your bag to its original glory with our handbag spa services.

For more than 30 years, Watch & Wares has been known as the best place to sell gold jewelry for cash in Orange, CA, but it’s also the best place to buy and sell pre-owned designer handbags. To find out more about our handbag spa services or schedule an appraisal for your pre-owned designer handbags, give us a call at (714) 633-2030 or fill out our online contact form today. We look forward to assisting you in any way we can.