When you design your own handbag, it is a work of functional art. It takes tremendous skill to choose the right leather, cut it precisely, and then finish up the work with expert stitching. Although you may want to keep a few, you could also sell handbags for cash. Simply find someone who appreciates the care and quality that went into fashioning your designer handbag. Fortunately, there are businesses that will buy your handcrafted work of art and sell it to someone who will appreciate your creative product. Look for a business that is familiar with the high-end luxury market, that has an A+ Better Business rating, and that has a sterling reputation as a business that offers a fair valuation.
However, what if you’re a collector? What if instead of making your own handbags, you have collected exquisite items over the years from Hermes, Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Balenciaga, Gucci, Goyard, Bottega Veneta, Prada, or Fendi? You can use the same type of specialized high-end handbag buyer, which are not just for designers but also for collectors of fine handbags. You can also here, even though you did not make the bags, but rather purchased them over the years and hardly ever used them. However, the bags must be in near-mint condition—that is, they must have been gently used–before they will consider buying them from you.
Since styles often change with handbags, you can sell them at a good price either as a designer or a collector.
Find a Buyer
Do your research and find a buyer that you like, then simply call them and schedule a free consultation. You will usually find their contact information on their websites. Sometimes, too, you will see an easy-to-fill form to arrange a time to talk about your designer handbags or your collector pieces.
A Common Mistake
Often women who are unfamiliar with the notion that there are high-end buyers of luxury items like hand-bags take their handbags to a consignment store, or even worse, to a pawnshop. Here inexperienced sales clerks, store managers, or business owners have no idea about the value of the handbags and offer to buy them from you at a ridiculously low price. It’s a little like taking your Mercedes-Benz C-Class to a used car dealer with a small lot at a busy street corner and ask how much he or she will give you for it. This, to put it mildly, is not what you want to do. You cannot expect an inexperienced buyer to make you a fair offer. Instead, you must find someone who has the knowledge and experience to properly evaluate a high-end handbag, either made by a creative artist like you or by a world-class designer. There is little point in becoming upset with consignment stores or pawnshops because they don’t hire specialists who can offer a fair appraisal of your handbag. They will either underpay you out of naiveté or greed.
Only Work with Reputable Buyers
It is worth taking the time to find a buyer of fine handbags. You will be treated with respect by someone who knows what they are doing. When you are working with a trained buyer, you are working with someone who has had extensive experience with appraising and buying quality designer bags. As a seller, this will be a completely different experience for you because, based on years of experience, this buyer will know the difference between, say, a vintage Balenciaga and the latest piece from Gucci.
After the expert has carefully examined your designer handbag, noticing the quality of the leather, the quality of any artwork, and the quality of the stitching, they will then offer you a price. You will not only walk away with a more than fair offer, but you will also have the satisfaction of knowing that your handbag will be treated with the delicacy and care that it deserves so that the new owner will get something that they can truly cherish.
A Few Ways to Sell
When you decide to sell your bag, you can get cash for it right away. That is certainly one option. However, there are others. If you really cherish the handbag but are selling it to meet a temporary cash emergency, then you actually do not have to sell it, but can simply use it as collateral for a temporary loan. After you pay back the loan, which is usually around $2,500, then you can get your handbag back. Finally, if you want to sell your handbag, but are not in a hurry to get cash right away, there is something you can do. You can ask the buyer to sell it for you it for you on a consignment basis. This strategy will enable you to earn thirty percent more than if you sold it directly for cash. Incidentally, if you are unable to go to the buyer’s office, you can ship the bag from home and then receive an appraisal by phone.
Takeaway
A fine handbag like any other work of art cannot simply be sold to anyone, but has to be sold to a buyer who appreciates that type of art. Only they will be able to understand the quality and give you a fair price for it.