In my May retrospective post for Mother’s Day, I wrote about what luxury means to both my Mom and me; at the centre of the post were my memories of a classic luxury handbag.

My Mom used her Louis Vuitton Speedy 30 in the monogram canvas every day for over 25 years, so it’s no surprise that her handbag long ago went to live in the big multi-level walk-in closet in the sky.

A gift years in the making, I spent a significant amount of time this year in search of a quality pre-loved replacement. And as I started to write my experiences and tips for shopping for pre-loved handbags, I quickly realised I learned so much I needed to create a series.

The Louis Vuitton series

• How to select and buy a pre-loved luxury handbag (this post)
• How to clean a pre-loved Louis Vuitton Speedy (coming soon!)

This post is about the how I found the perfect purse – and on a budget.

Budget luxury defined

Scoring luxury products and goods on a discount has been my shopping ethos for as long as I can remember. I learned my shopping thriftiness from my Mom, which I elaborate on in my Mother’s Day post on luxury shopping and gifting a luxury pre-loved Louis Vuitton Speedy 30.

In essence, budget luxury is scoring a luxury item for as much discount as possible.  This could be either an amazing voucher or discount code or finding a diamond in the rough in a thrift store.  The UK has some of the best charity gift shops in the world, but the US has amazing thrift stores as well.  Goodwill, vintage shops, thrift shops, garage sales or car boot sales – whatever your chosen venue – is the easiest way to score unexpected scores.

Like the almost brand new Max Mara skirts I bought at an estate sale for $5 each.  Or the Salvatore Ferragamo red leather pumps I scored, brand new, for $75.  Or the brand new Kate Spade skater dress I bought for $20.

Budget luxury is partly about the thrill of the hunt as much as it’s about the find.

Sarah’s steps to scoring budget luxury

1. Do your homework
2. Research the pre-loved/used market
3. Set your perfect criteria
4. Create alerts
5. Ask questions
6. Always negotiate
7. Celebrate your score

1. Do your homework

It’s one of the most recognisable handbags in one of the most recognisable designer monograms in the world. That didn’t mean I skipped my homework.

When purchasing anything second hand, I like to do my research as it helps me to frame prices in the context of quality. Before you start your quest for anything second hand – whether it be a Louis Vuitton Speedy or a car, really – is to know the item like the back of your hand. 

I always start with the designer/official website. Some key questions I always ask myself:

• What is the price of a brand new item?
• Does the retailer ever hold sales?
• Is it considered a classic or a special item?
• What does the item look like brand new?
• What does the new product come with?

The research is my benchmark.

I know that I can walk into a Louis Vuitton store and pick up the Speedy 30 in monogram canvas for £735 or $1050. The handbag comes, of course, brand new and with the fully luxury experience, including two keys, dust bag, authentication, proof of purchase, and the full luxury shopping experience.

Seeing the purse in real life is also key. Hold it. Get the feel for the quality of the leather and the weight of it. This is a vital part of the homework, just as important as knowing the retail description.

By the end of your research, you should know the colour of the stitching and remember the feel of the canvas; when you close your eyes, you see it as if it is in front of you.

This is such an important first step for when you go to the next phase.

2. And once again, more research: the pre-loved market

The next stage of the research game is to familiarise yourself with the pre-loved market. Since you’re now intimately familiar with the pristine version direct from the designer, this part is easier.

The key is knowing where to search. The goal of this is to narrowing down your target criteria for each site.

There are two categories of resellers:

1. Verified luxury marketplace – where the site provides third party assurance of the authenticity of the goods sold by individuals or professional resellers
2. No verification of authentication – no assurance of authenticity is provided, with varying degrees of purchase protection available

The most well-known resellers or marketplaces of pre-loved luxury goods are: 

Verified luxury marketplace

• Vestiarie Collective
• The Real Real
• Local luxury or thrift/charity boutiques

No verification of authentication

• Depop
• Ebay
• Gumtree (UK)
• Craigslist (US)

I chose to stay within the verified luxury marketplace, including Vestiaire Collective and The Real Real where both resellers build in third party verification to the purchase process. However, I did quite a bit of eBay shopping as well as I’m conscious using Vestiaire Collective and The Real Real do take commissions from the sales, which often can inflate the price.

3. My criteria for a pre-loved luxury handbag

Purse shopping is a bit like house hunting – after a while, after seeing a certain number of houses, the listings begin to merge together. This is where setting my criteria before I started my hunt became immeasurably helpful. 

These kept me focussed on what I was after:

• Lightly used 25 or 30 Speedy in monogram
• Under £300 ($450) – Brand new Speedy 30s in the monogram retail for £730
• Include lock, key and dust bag
• Minimal wear and tear, but not too concerned if not perfect
• Patina can be cleaned and conditioned
• All authentication and proof of purchase included

Now, my definition of minimal wear and tear is something that’s in “good” or “great” brackets – i.e. minimal scratches, the leather in good condition (not cracking). I wasn’t very concerned about the inside, but I stuck with the same criteria for consistency- i.e. in good condition, preferably not owned by a smoker so no odour.

As you can imagine, the pickings were slim with this criteria. Many bags didn’t have the authentication or the lock and key, or the leather trim around the monogram canvas were worn beyond the past of of being in good condition.

4. Set alerts

Once you settle on your ideal vendor, set up alerts.

I went through the pre-loved market and settled on a few outlets I wanted to pursue.  I’ve hunted down the perfect one for three months, with myriad eBay, Vestiaire Collective, and The Real Real listings scrutinised, scoured, and forgotten.  I still visited boutiques, but didn’t run across any candidates.

The perfect one finally came up a few months ago and the excitement was palpable – and I found it all because of an alert I set up on Vestiaire Collective.  So set your search criteria and lean on it – and be patient.

5. Ask questions

As informative a listing can be, always ask questions.  The listing I saw had quite a few pictures, which told me the corners were in good condition, the cloth didn’t have any scratches, the handles were well documented, but I found no pictures that told me of the inside.

I asked for a few pictures and the seller immediately responded and helped to make my decision quickly – as I was sure the purse would sell quickly.

6. Always negotiate or use vouchers…or both

The price was £305, but as with most everything in life, there’s always room to try your hand at negotiating.  It doesn’t have to be a lot; a little can add up in big ways.  I tried my hand at negotiating the price down by £20, but my offer was rejected.

It actually worked out for the best that my negotiation was turned down.

Vestiaire Collective had a voucher code where if you spend more than £300, you received £25 off.  You can bet I used that code.

7.  Celebrate the one

• 30 Speedy monogram made in 2010
• £285 (61% savings from original cost of £730)
• Includes lock, key, dust bag, and authentication, original receipt, original box
• Minimal wear, with a small water drop stain on the leather attaching the handle to the canvas
• Some patina on the handles, with darker colouring/dirt from use

The darkening around the handles was not too concerned about – I knew the dark was likely dirt and not patina, and I was willing to give it a go with trying to clean the handles. (I used leather cleaner and Mr. Clean’s Magic Erasers as I found in multiple blog posts, including the care for the revered purseforum.com).

The small stain on the leather attaching the handle to the canvas was noticeable, but for me it wasn’t a deal breaker – it was something I thought I could try to remove over time and a couple of cleans.

My experience with Vestiaire Collective

I purchased the purse on 3 March and it took over five days for the owner to ship the purse to the Vestiaire Collective centre where they inspect the purse matches the listing and check for authenticity, a service I felt was a strong benefit of using the site.

The purse then arrived at my house a week later, making the total time from purchase click to in my hands was 13 days. I wouldn’t purchase a purse from them that I needed tomorrow, that’s for sure, but as I had been planning and waiting for so long, waiting about two weeks for its arrival didn’t change much for me.

The purse came with the tag from the Vestiaire Collective inspection and everything from its description, with a beautiful package and signed-for delivery.

Final thoughts

If you’re in the market for a pre-loved designer handbag and on a budget, make sure to try out my method to find and score budget luxury.  I am actively looking for a few purses for myself in the next six month, slowly keeping tabs on the identified purses I want to add to my collection.

What tips and tricks do you use to score budget luxury?  Any other vendors or third party sites you use to purchase your pre-loved designer handbags or other fashion items?

I’d love to hear your tips in the comments!