Whether you need cash in a hurry or no longer want your designer handbag, selling or pawning it can free up cash you can put to good use.
According to research, the luxury handbag market was valued at $58.3 billion in 2018 and is expected to reach $89.9 billion by 2026. It’s a huge market with strong demand for popular brands like Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Prada, Dior, and Chanel, to name only a few.
Most women would like to own a new handbag that has not been previously used. But, if they can get a pre-owned designer handbag in good condition and at the right price, many won’t think twice before buying it.
Read on for tips on selling or pawning your designer handbag, including where to sell it and how to get the best price for it.
Where to Sell Your Designer Handbag?
If you are like most sellers, you want to sell your handbag for the highest price in the shortest period of time. Your options typical include:
Friends or Family
You could potentially get the best price by selling your luxury handbag to a friend or relative.
The challenge of selling your designer handbag to a friend or relative is that they might not be interested in it or able to afford it. And let us be honest, it can be embarrassing. Whether it’s true or not, the first thing they might think is that you are desperate for cash.
If you do not mind the typical questions, such as “Why are you selling it?” (and being the subject of gossip stories), and you can get a good price for it, it is a good option.
Online Marketplaces
Online marketplaces such as Facebook Marketplace, eBay, and Craigslist are popular. And you might be able to get a decent price for your handbag.
However, you will probably be competing against many other sellers. And there is no guarantee you’ll get your asking price. Many items take weeks to sell, and some don’t sell. In addition, selling on a marketplace such as eBay is not free.
A further consideration is that many online marketplaces have their fair share of scammers, and new listings often attract a lot of spam.
Consignment Stores or Boutiques
There are multiple consignment stores or boutiques in Southern California that accept designer handbags. Most of them cater to a select clientele and only resale luxury handbags in excellent condition from top brands.
Although your designer handbag may find a good home soon, it may take weeks or even months. Expect to pay the store or boutique a commission of between 40% and 60% of the retail value of your handbag.
Pawn Shops
Selling or pawning your designer handbag to a pawn shop is one of the best ways to get a fair price for it within minutes. But there is a caveat – not all pawn shops deal in luxury handbags or have customers interested in buying them.
Maxferd pawn shops specialize in buying and selling designer handbags.
Here are some of the advantages pawn shops have over online marketplaces:
1. Option to Pawn Instead of Sell
One of the main advantages of pawnshops is that you don’t have to sell your handbag to get cash – you can pawn it. Pawn shops specialize in offering short-term collateral loans. Once you have redeemed your loan, you can collect the item you pawned as security.
If you’re attached to your designer handbag and don’t want to sell it but need cash, pawning it is a great solution. No online marketplace offers this option. If you sell an item on Craigslist, eBay, or Facebook Marketplace, it’s gone.
2. Safe From Scammers
There are many myths about pawnshops, but they are one of the most regulated industries in the United States. The same cannot be said for online marketplaces.
3. Free Evaluations
Specialized pawn shops have years of experience in dealing with designer handbags. And if they are not sure about the value of your bag, they will do the necessary research. Many have in-house experts that know the ins and outs of the designer handbag market.
Most online marketplaces do not provide an evaluation service. It increases the risk that you might burn your fingers if you don’t know enough about your handbag.
4. No Shipping & Handling
With sites like eBay, shipping & handling fees can get quite expensive depending on your handbag’s weight or dimensions and the buyer’s location.
Unless you regularly sell on online marketplaces or auction sites, fulfilling an order can be a pain!
5. Easier to Negotiate
It’s much easier to negotiate with a friendly person in a pawnshop than with a total stranger on an online marketplace. By talking to someone face-to-face, you’re more likely to agree faster.
6. No Waiting
Whether it is an online marketplace or a consignment store, once you list or drop off your bag, respectively, the waiting game starts. There is no guarantee your handbag will sell at a fair price or how long it will take.
Pawnshops are a completely different story. Whether you want to sell or pawn an item, you can get cash for it the same day you take it to a pawnshop. If you need money in a hurry and don’t have time to waste, going to a pawn shop is your best bet.
Sell or Pawn?
The decision on whether you should sell or pawn your designer handbag depends on your needs and circumstances.
If you no longer want it, it makes sense to sell it and put the money to better use.
If you don’t want to lose ownership of your handbag, using it as collateral to get a pawn loan is the way to go.
Getting a collateral loan from a pawn shop isn’t hard or time-consuming. In most cases, it can be finalized within a matter of minutes.
The advantages of getting a pawn shop loan include:
- No credit check required – Whether you have a good credit score or a bad one does not matter. Pawn shops do not approve a loan based on your income or credit history but on the value of the handbag you are offering as collateral.
- Won’t reflect negatively on your credit score if you do not pay the loan back – Pawn shops don’t report non-payment or late payments to the credit bureaus. And even if you fail to pay back your loan, you can always get another collateral loan in the future.
- Very flexible compared to getting a collateral loan from a bank – A bank will typically not be willing to give you a collateral loan against anything other than your house or car.
How Pawn Shops Determine Value
The value of your designer handbag is based on what it can be sold for.
It’s all about market value!
Market value or OMV (Open Market Valuation) is the price an item would sell for in a competitive auction. It’s the price that a willing buyer is prepared to pay a willing seller.
Pawn shops use a variety of methods to determine value. It includes the following:
Experience – The #1 method is through experience. Experienced pawnbrokers know how much designer handbags sell for. And they have a good idea of how long it will take to sell.
What Similar Handbags Have Sold for on eBay – Sites like eBay can be a useful tool to determine a ballpark value for a luxury handbag. It’s based on what the same or comparable handbags in a similar condition have previously sold for.
Ad Platforms – Huge and popular online ad platforms can provide pawn shops with a good idea on how much other sellers want for their items.
Auction Results Databases – LiveAuctioneers.com has a database of over 29 million items, including designer handbags, that were auctioned off from thousands of global auction houses.
Third-Party Experts – Experts in a certain field are often consulted if a pawn shop doubts the authenticity of an item or needs help to determine its market value.
Talking about authenticity, Entrupy.com is often used by pawnbrokers to authenticate handbags.
Entrupy certifies the authenticity of luxury products using an objective, scientifically-proven approach that better protects buyers and sellers of frequently-counterfeited, high-value items.
Tips for Selling or Pawning Your Luxury Handbag
Do Your Research
The more you know about your handbag and what they sell for secondhand, the better prepared you are to get the best price.
However, remember that a pawn shop cannot pay you the price they can sell the bag for – they won’t be in business for very long if they do. Like any other commercial business, they are not running a charity and need to make money.
Here are some ways that can help you to determine the value of your designer handbag:
Sold Listings on eBay
Search for your handbag brand and model on eBay. Find the “Show only” heading and tick the “Sold Items” block. It will show you recent sales and how much they fetched.
LiveAuctioneers.com
As previously mentioned, LiveAuctioneers.com has a database with more than 29 million results of what items, including designer handbags, sold for on auctions all over the world.
A quick search for “Louis Vuitton handbag” shows 232,703 price results on LiveAuctioneers.com.
Include All Accessories
If you have any accessories, such as the original box and paperwork, you might get more money.
If you are not sure if your handbag is authentic or cannot find any proof of authenticity, it might be a good idea to visit AuthenticateFirst.com.
Create an account, place an order, and upload your photos for their team to review.
Make Sure It Looks Presentable
Never underestimate how important presentation is. A neat, clean handbag that looks like it has been well taken care of might fetch a higher price.
Feel Free to Negotiate
If you feel you should get more money for your designer handbag, feel free to negotiate. It will help if you can motivate why you think your handbag is worth more. But understand that the pawn shop also has to make money and carries all the risk.
That's a Wrap
We trust you find our tips for selling or pawning your designer handbag informative and helpful. And understand why visiting a pawn shop makes sense.
Pawn shops are a great place to sell your luxury handbag for quick cash. Or pawn it if you’re not ready to let go of it but need a fast and convenient collateral loan.
All Maxferd pawn shops specialize in luxury handbags. We’re good at determining their value and are known to offer our customers fair prices.
If you have any questions about a handbag you want to sell, pawn, or have evaluated, don’t hesitate to contact Maxferd.
Call us at (800) 888-7296 or visit one of our Los Angeles pawn shops or our San Francisco pawn shop to find out how we can assist you.