Shopping Second Hand Designer Handbags
This post contains affiliate links.
Designer bags sounds like such a late 90s early 00s term, and makes me think of a Dior Saddle bag (never saw the return of that coming) or the Fendi Baguette and more recently the Mulberry Alexa. Maybe it’s because I was in my late teens during that time period, that lusting over handbags has never left me. My first ever job out of uni was working at Lulu Guinness where I racked up a substantial collection, especially for someone on very basic pay, with a hell of a lot of London rent to pay. Later I did have to sell quite a few on eBay to afford to stay in the city, but that’s kinda where my point starts. I definitely believe in the ethos buy cheap, buy twice and whilst I know not everyone is in a position to buy expensive, a well made handbag can hold it’s value if the need to resell arises. I mainly buy my bags second hand, as honestly I can’t justify them full price. I love giving things a new home and I also love selling things I no longer wear for other people to get use out of. I’ve bought and sold on eBay for well over a decade, but now there is also Depop too, which I really love. The main pro of eBay is that you can have saved searches, which if you are looking for something in particular, eBay will send you an email / text when something matching that search comes up for sale. My eBay alerts are emailed to me once a day, in the morning, with anything new that matches the several saved searches I have set at any one time. And the pro of Depop is that I prefer the quick an easy app to get in touch with the seller, and also for selling I find it much quicker to upload. Lastly, I haven’t bought anything from them, but I have a few saved searches on Vestiaire Collective, whilst I don’t have much experience with it - might be worth checking out.
Staud Velvet Bag
I’ll start with the one that started it all off in 2018. I saw the Staud Velvet Grace bag about three years ago and fancied a bit of that. I thought it would fit in everything I needed, when I say everything I needed, I mean a debit card, phone and portable charger, hair brush and lipstick. Not a day out with June to soft play, those are different handbag situations. Anyhow, I’d seen it in Green and then I bumped into Sophia Rosemary with it at an event (I have quite the memory for clothes / bags and where I saw them) and realised just how lovely it was IRL. After that I went home and set a saved search for it on eBay, I was looking for a pink or green one but decided a pink one would probably work all year round, eventually a pink one rolled up in my saved searches, and I got it for £130, brand new instead of £300. I’ve worn it a lot and oddly fends off quite a lot of dirt considering it’s velvet, and that was my gateway second handbag.
Mark Cross Grace Bag
Next up was the one that could have ended the whole love affair. The Mark Cross Grace bag, no idea why all these bags I like are called Grace btw. I know WHY this one is called Grace, a little film called Rear Window, and an unknown actress called Grace Kelly is the inspiration behind this bag. When it first came out it was around £850 and now it’s a staggering £1800, either price point means it’s wildly out my league but it was everything I’d wanted it a handbag. A small box-like vintage inspired in structure, quite plain, plus a cross body strap. I’d had a saved search on this one for YEARS, a black one came up near my 30th birthday, but was pipped to the post at the last minute. It sold for around £400, which I think would be impossible to buy one for these days. The £300 for my 30th birthday was put to one side, and eventually a dark green one came up in Australia and the starting price, whilst wasn’t cheap was something I could look to spend on a bag. I thought about it for a few weeks, and decided to go for it, I put an offer in and bought it for £350 plus postage. To cut a VERY long story short, the bag never arrived, it got lost in the post, eBay refused to refund me, but luckily a couple of months later ended up back in Australia with the seller. Annoyingly I had to pay the seller to send it to me again, but it arrived in the summer of 2018 to one very happy buyer! I had also used this one a lot, I need to definitely give it a buff with some leather polish, but it’s been well loved since it travelled so far across the world to relocate in my home. I have a pink and black Mark Cross Grace bag saved search, but I think it will be quite some time before I commit again as you can’t really find them second hand for under £800 anymore.
Shrimps Buttercup Bag
OK this isn’t technically a second hand purchase, but I wanted to talk about how I buy things in the sale that I really love. There’s a very useful website called ShopStyle, and once you’ve signed up and made an account you can begin to save items you like. It only really works for big retailers, as it works on an affiliate basis, so when you buy the item through ShopStyle the’ll make a small commission from your purchase at no extra cost to you. I have all kinds of things saved from all of Dodo Bar Or to this Simone Rocha flower bag (I’d snap it up at 70% off but cannot justify a bag that can barely hold a post it and it’s current price). I am sure you know I had set my sights on the Buttercup Shrimps bag for my wedding last year. It was £440 full price, and I knew from my years of following Shrimps that it would go in the sale, unfortunately I adore their bags but the majority of their target demographic just can’t afford their bags at full price. I set an alert, and waited, and waited, and waited….then one sunny morning it June, it happened. An email from Shopstyle arrived to tell me that Matches had put the bag on sale, at 30% off, I clicked that checkout button faster than a One Direction fan buying their reunion tour tickets. From my prior sale shopping knowledge, I knew this was likely to be reduced more, but for my wedding I didn’t want to risk it. I’d added it to my mood board and everything. It did eventually go down further, the last known price I saw it for was £220 on Liberty. But it did go quickly everywhere else once it had been reduced, but if you have your eye on something then ShopStyle is really great for giving you sale alerts on quite a lot of shops.
Staud Patent Bisset Bag
I like Staud’s bag designs, they are really simple but also really bold and fun. Their Bisset style is one that has been ‘inspired’ quite a few high street designs, but I wanted to get the original thing if I could afford it. I like the fact it can be used, kind of similar to the Mark Cross one, as a cross body or worn by detaching the strap for an evening bag. I’d seen this pink patent one a few times and I really loved the shade of pink, it just made me happy every time I saw it. I search Depop every now and again, instead of opening up Instagram, and search the things I have a list of that I’m hunting for. I gave Staud bag a quick search and there that pink bag was again…I can’t say if it was January but before I knew it that bag was purchased and winging it’s way to me. I got it for £90, instead of £290. It was in perfect condition, and I’ve worn it lots. It’s good in the rain, holds what I need in the daytime and that colour pink has been a mood lifter many a time on a grey day. My saved searches on the Staud Bisset still stand, as I think it’s a really cool handbag shape, and would love to replace my Cambridge Satchel Poppy bag in cream which I’ve worn to death with a cream Bisset. All good things, come to those that wait, was written about people who buy second hand handbags…I am sure of it.
Shrimps Antonia Bag Pink
Ok, this blog post is starting to feel like a confessional, two designer bags in as many months, but hear me out. I sold A LOT of stuff on Depop, and so I wanted to buy a second Shrimps bag. I love love love my Buttercup bag, and wanted to get the classic Shrimps shape, The Antonia. Whilst this style does sometimes go in the sale, it doesn’t go in the sale in the cream, just seasonal colours. But once I’d thought about it I knew I didn’t need a second pearl coloured handbag, but a lemon or a pink one would get worn a lot in the summer. I’d been watching this pink one on eBay for a while, and knew the pink would go with so much. I submitted an offer, and eventually got it for £220 instead of paying £495 which it was full price. It has been worn, but I can’t tell apart from a slight watermark inside on the lining, so to me it looks like new and I know this is going to be with me for a long time. It even came in an original Shrimps box, which I was very pleased about indeed!
A quick note about buying the genuine product. The brands I like are niche enough to not have a lot of imitations for sale. Do be aware of some copies of the Shrimps Antonia bags, they seem to be on the increase on both eBay and Depop, they are normally for sale for £60 or less. Tell me your second hand handbag wins in the comments below!
