Can You Find A Designer Bag At The Thrift Shop?
Over the last few years, shopping at thrift stores has become increasingly popular. The popularization of 90’s fashion has resurged and with that brought a lot more people wanting to wear 90’s fashion including designer bags and accessories.
Specifically, vintage Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Fendi, and Prada have all been some of the top picks.
Many people looking for Fendi bags often reminisce on their favourite tv show of the 90’s era- Sex In The City. This is where Carrie Bradshaw toted around various Fendi baguette bags.
The Thrill Of Finding Luxury Handbags
The allure of scoring a luxury handbag at a fraction of its retail price is undeniable. However, the question that arises for many is, "Are designer bags in thrift stores real?" In this blog post, I will delve into this question and provide tips to help you authenticate designer bags you may find in thrift stores.
Is It Possible to Thrift a Designer Bag?
In theory, yes it is possible to find a designer bag at the thrift store. This is possible because many people donate unused clothing, accessories, and home goods. So any thrift store has the potential to receive these unwanted items.
At thrift stores, you will often see “high ticket” items placed behind a counter or inside glass cabinets that require you to get staff for access. However, the fact that an item is behind a counter or in a glass shelf does not mean that it has high value.
In other words, the items typically are not authenticated. That said, one has to be mindful if they are truly getting the real thing should they choose to purchase from a thrift store.
The onus is mainly left on the customer to know if the item is authentic or not since thrift store often does not authenticate items.
So having a few tips and tricks in your back pocket would be highly advisable and beneficial.
You Found A Second Hand Designer Bag. What Should You Do Next?
Now for the fun part! You have sifted and picked through all of the items on a donation day. You went right at the store open time so you can get the first pick on all the items.
You find a vintage fendi baguette bag and are way too excited! Emotions are running through you. The first thing we recommend is to try and find a picture of the bag online.
The best ones are on the brand’s website if they are still currently being sold. This way, you know for sure you are looking at the authentic version of the luxury item.
If not, the next best thing would be listings from large reputable luxury resale website’s. Even if the item is no longer available, they still serve a a great point of reference for comparison. The reason I recommend using a large resale website as a point of comparison is because they have a large reputation to uphold.
That said, many of them use in house luxury authenticators or authentication software. So, it is less likely that they will post items that are not authentic. Which makes them a good point of reference if you are trying to authenticate a luxury item.
Features To Look At?
There are many areas you want to check on a second hand designer bags after you find one. You want to start looking more closely at the bag on a whole.
Particular points of reference to pay attention to are fonts (sizing and style) letter spacing, stitching, and materials of the bag. Often times, replicas are not able to replicate everything exactly.
So these areas are where you will find inconsistencies. In regards to materials, bags that are not authentic often use cheaper quality materials which will stand out and give a different finish to the final look.
Start comparing everything meticulously to the image from the brand’s website or the luxury resale website. Generally, if you find too many inconsistencies with the item you found, this typically means the item is not authentic.
This is the process many professional luxury authenticators take as well when they are trying to confirm authenticity for a product.
Misconceptions About Second Hand Designer Bags
Another large misconception that exists within the luxury space is that if the luxury bag has a date code or serial number, the item is authentic. I highly recommend not falling victim to this.
Replica items have gotten very sophisticated over the years. So they often include date codes, serial numbers, dust bags, and paperwork “from the brand”.
When it comes to date codes, sometimes replica manufacturers will completely make them up.
For example, Louis Vuitton date codes usually have a series of letters and numbers that indicate where the bag was manufactured and in what month and year.
Instead of the date code reading SD4101 it may read RXV 3936. If you are knowledgeable enough about Louis Vuitton, or do a simple search online. You will find many guides that tell you how to read a Louis Vuitton date code from various circas.
One resource we use to confirm this is https://lovethatbagetc.com/blogs/the-preloved-pages/a-guide-to-louis-vuitton-date-codes.
That said, any date code checker will tell you the code for each country which manufactures Louis Vuitton products. There are no 3 letter codes to date.
It is very important to note, the presence of a date code, serial number, or serial sticker does not automatically indicate an item is authentic. Replica items have become very sophisticated over the years.
So I highly advise getting your preloved designer handbag authenticated or using a reputable reseller.
I currently help luxury bag collectors find theirs dream preloved designer handbag at an affordable while being sustainable. Check out my curated collection >>HERE<<.
Should You Always Get Your Items Authenticated?
My answer is immediately yes! So you will want to utilize some basic authentication techniques to check for yourself before deciding to purchase.
Everything needs to be checked thoroughly to ensure it is consistent with the authentic version. Additionally, we highly recommend getting any items professionally authenticated. Here is an example of a certificate of authenticity for an item in my shop.
The authenticity certificate verifies that an item has been checked by a professional authenticator who is knowledgable on luxury brands from different eras. It also helps safeguard your purchase.
It is totally fair if you are not keen on taking the risks associated with purchasing a pre-loved luxury handbag from a thrift store or seller who does not provide certificates.
We highly suggest purchasing from someone who does provide a certificate of authenticity. This way you don’t have to risk your money and was your time.
Sellers who automatically include a certificate of authenticity take away the fear of purchasing a replica because you know due diligence has already been done. Additionally, some shop in a business to business setting like we do.
By nature, this means that a purchase made with such a business will be even more secure. This is because when a preowned luxury fashion boutique purchases items in this manner, the business whom they buy from also has a large interest in making sure the items are authentic.
They often do because they know they are selling to boutiques. This is also why many have in house authenticators as they sell items in volume.
That said, they have a large interest in making sure items are the real deal!
If their items are deemed to be replicas, it would be very damaging for both businesses involved.
Moreover, because smaller preowned designer boutiques are able to purchase in bulk and have access to wholesale pricing, they are able to offer better deals than larger companies that offer the same service.
How To Authenticate Second Hand Designer Bags?
If you choose to purchase a preowned designer bag that does not come with a certificate of authenticity. There are many professional authenticators who provide this service.
Some of these services utilize a device with software on it. Whereas, others have a trained eye and require very detailed pictures of the item in question.
A few reputable professional authenticators you may utilize are Entrupy, Legit Grails, Pro Authenticators, or Real Authenticators. A simple google search will show a plethora of options.
However, La Collection Élégance personally uses Legit Grails. Upon inspection of all our luxury items, they produce a certificate of authenticity which is then included with each purchase from our clients.
I recently had to authenticate a Prada item and provided what I thought were detailed photos. However, the authenticator shot back with a request to see a specific demarcation on the interior zipper.
This demarcation was actually on the under side of the zipper and in a very inconspicuous place.
That said, it is likely only a trained professional that would know about this marker and how it should look. The presence of this marker with others, confirmed to myself and the authenticator that the Prada bag in question was authentic.
Cleaning And Care Tips for Secondhand Designer Bags
Now you have gone through the authentication process and received an authentication certificate from a trusted professional. It is also important to learn some simple cleaning and maintenance techniques. Especially since the bag you found may be in need of some tender love and care.
Here are our top three items we recommend for cleaning and maintenance.
The first one we recommend is water wipes! Now you may be wondering what exactly that is. They are simply as the title states- wipes that have nothing but water on them.
These are super important, especially for any bag with leather on them. For example, many Louis Vuitton pieces have vachetta leather which can become dry and brittle.
I typically like to utilize water wipes when cleaning Louis Vuitton vachetta leather.
It really helps to remove any dirty, unnecessary oils or debris.
The second product I highly recommend is a product called brass. This can be used on any brass materials on your preloved designer handbag. I often use this to clean up hardware on Louis Vuitton handbags.
Trust me, it works wonders especially on their vintage pieces. The hardware can often become dark, and discoloured but this product will bring it back to life and have it shining!
See exactly how I use this product in one of my previous videos >>HERE<<
Lastly, I would highly recommend saddle soap. This product also works to clean, and condition leather handbags. As mentioned earlier, leather is a material that can crack and tear if not maintained and cared for.
I often use saddle soap to restore any leather handbags I have available in my preowned luxury online boutique. Once used, you will be able to tell the transformation from dry and brittle to shiny and nourished.
Conclusion
If you are looking to find affordable preloved designer handbags, the thrift store may be a good place to start if you enjoy a hunt and don’t mind doing the extra leg work to authenticate.
By utilizing the tips in the guide it will help you analyze if your preowned luxury bag find is authentic. For extra confirmation, it would be wise to use one of the luxury authentication services mentioned above.
If you would prefer shopping with confidence from a reputable boutique, check out my online preowned luxury boutique >>HERE<< All my items come with a certificate of authenticity from a professional authenticator.
This helps safeguard your purchase so you can shop worry-free while taking advantage of competitive pricing and building a sustainable capsule wardrobe.
Happy shopping!