High Price of Handbags!

PandoraGirl · ‎11-27-2010

I have been wanting to ask this for a long time. Why is it that every time a designer offers a handbag line, it is always priced well over $100? I am used to this price from Coach, Gucci etc but I'm not sure the Isaacs and G.I.L.I's of the world are worth that. It may be flawed but I judge this by how much a bag will hold it's value for resale. I look at ebay etc and while you won't get your retail dollars back, they still go for a reasonable amount. I don't see it with the other bags. Even Dooney struggles on the resale side except for the really high end bags. Do you consider this when you buy a handbag? Just a few thoughts early on a Monday about shopping....

stevieb · ‎03-10-2010

No, I don't consider resale value when choosing a bag. Primarily, I select bags for my use and don't even consider their selling price on ebay. Most new leather bags, even at discount, are going to go for a hundred or more. I don't, though, tend to buy many of my bags here because options can generally be found elsewhere for less.

In my pantry with my cupcakes...

brii · ‎06-20-2010

I buy bags for me, not for resale.

funwun · ‎02-03-2013

I buy a bag because I love it, not for it's resale value. With that being said, I also look for quality and gauge it's cost on that. My handbag collection ranges in price from the double digits to four digits...many of which I bought on sale or at a good bargain. I do agree, as a GILI bag owner, that this particular line is overpriced based on its quality....not necessarily on its resale value.

CouponQueen · ‎10-21-2010

but I don't consider resale at all.. I am a Coach and Michael Kors fan..more MK lately and I buy what I like..and price point I want - not thinking of resale value ever. I have a closet full of Coach that I would sell if I had the time and inclination to do it lol.I know I won't use them again.

I don't consider a GILI bag designer lol..nor would I ever pay that money for a bag that is really a nobody..yeah we pay for names. I do all the time but I don't find GILI a high end bag.

I think resale prices are low as they should be..who wants a used bag and pay half price for it?

Porcelain · ‎02-19-2014

It's an irrational purchase. Women use them to compete and display status like men use watches. So like watches and cars the price is totally elastic and they cost as much as people are willing to pay.

When you’re accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression.
"Power without love is reckless and abusive, and love without power is sentimental and anemic." - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr

tototwo · ‎03-09-2010

I consider re-sale price on my car, my boat, and my house, but definitely not on a bag! I carry a purse every day until it falls apart and I have to toss it. Then I buy a new one. I have one black leather bag I bought at the mall about 6 years ago for less than $50 that I get out and carry every winter. I won't buy a new winter bag until that one goes into the trash. I am not into "designer" anything. You can buy quality that doesn't have someone else's name on it. (are you all gasping in horror?)

Summer bags - I prefer cloth, so they usually only last one season, then I toss and buy a new one next year.

* A woman is like a tea bag. You can't tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water. *
- Eleanor Roosevelt

Jannyg · ‎03-10-2010

I do take my bags to a resale store. But I don't consider it when buying other than if I were to buy a GILI or Issac, I know this store wouldn't take them. That wouldn't stop me from buying if I liked the bag. But, I'm a bargain hunter and have gotten better deals on designer bags other places than the Q charges even for IM or GILI

chrystaltree · ‎05-10-2010

Ebay??? You gotta be kidding. First, when it comes to prices of handbags (and everything else), what is expensive is relative. $500 might be a fortune for some women but it's the average price of nice bag for others. And since no one FORCES any of to buy a handbag that doesn't appeal to us....I wonder why this subject keeps coming up. I mean, there are women who buy those $500 blenders and think nothing of it. They love them. They consider it money well spent because cooking is there thing. I on the other hand, wouldn't pay $500 or even $200 for glorified blender. I buy my blenders from Walmart. But I love bags and shoes and I don't consider any bag under $1000 to be "expensive". I generally pay $400-500 for a bag, 3 times a year. I don't resell them on Ebay, when a bag is done it's done. I toss it out if it's beat up, I give it to charity if it's just been gently used but I'm done with it. I don't know any woman in this world who buys a handbag with resale value in mind. No one does that. If $50 or $18.99 bags are your thing. Great. Nothing wrong with that. But there's also nothing wrong with $500, $1000, or $10,000 handbags. It's all about choice.

goodstuff · ‎03-09-2010

Check out off-price stores like TJ Maxx, Marshall's, Steinmart, Burlington.......and good sales at department stores. TJ's (for example) routinely carries many of the same bag labels QVC carries starting at about half the price, plus many less expensive brands that are very nice. Many department stores offer frequent significant sales and reductions, sometimes with extra coupons on top of the sale prices. I can't imagine ever buying a bag from QVC. I can do much better elsewhere. I've never resold a handbag and probably won't, since I don't spend for status bags.