Second-hand designer bags have always been hot property among the style set, acting as relics of fashion’s past. Because there’s a unique charm that comes with any pre-loved luxury item, be it the patina, the nostalgic collection it’s from or the tale of how someone procured it. And even those who are loyal to new season have found themselves yearning for revived archive and vintage styles, like Michael Rider’s freshened Celine Phantom, first introduced by Phoebe Philo for pre-fall 2011, Chemena Kamali’s reimagining of the Chloé Paddington and Jonathan Anderson’s Lady Dior.
Read more: The 12 Designer Bags Everyone Is Buying Second-Hand This Year
In the market for an original? While happening upon an iconic handbag down a Parisian back alley is entirely possible – and makes for great lore – the growth of the second-hand market and rise of social media has educated sellers about their stock. It takes but a quick Google to assess the value of something, meaning there are less people clearing things out with blissful ignorance as to whether it might be worth more than what they assume. Sure, Fake or Fortune aired its thirteenth season last year (different subject matter, obviously), but it’s unlikely you’ll be coming across bags with mainstream appeal at a car-boot anytime soon. Even if you did, authenticity would be hard to decipher on the spot, since the landscape if rife with counterfeits.
Resale sites like eBay offer services to tackle this issue: the platform’s Authentication Guarantee certification ensures that items are stringently checked before being posted to the buyer. This has not only encouraged more people to buy second-hand designer bags from eBay, it has also prompted more sellers to list items, so there’s always healthy stock of sought-after models. Scroll on to see some of our standout picks available now – and ranges from other second-hand specialists including Vinted, Farfetch Pre-Owned and 1stDibs.
