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Advice and tips on buying and selling between private individuals

Our tips for selling a second-hand handbag between private individuals

An essential accessory, a handbag can have several lives in different wardrobes! Selling your own handbag is therefore a real possibility, but before you place your ad, there are a few things you need to do...

Determining the condition of the part and keeping it in good condition

Logically, the more damaged a handbag is, the more its value will melt away. If you buy a handbag of a certain value, look after it! There are lots of care products available, and they're essential for keeping them in top condition.

Whether it's scratched, deformed, faded or has suffered any other kind of damage, a handbag will lose most of its value: no one wants to buy a fashion accessory in visually poor condition. What's more, even if your bag is in impeccable condition.

One last thing: it's not just the outside that counts, and the same goes for a handbag. The condition of the inside of the bag is just as important.

Don't base your selling price on new prices

Determining the price of a handbag

This is undoubtedly the trickiest part. You can already do a little market research by looking for similar items sold by other people on Leboncoin, Facebook, Vivastreet or Ebay, the latter offering a very useful tool: the advanced search. To see if a similar piece to yours has already been sold, and at what price, go to this link, and don't forget to tick the "completed sales" option to get a realistic idea of the price at which other similar bags have been sold. So don't base your selling price on new prices - you'll always be a long way off.

The exception that proves the rule?

Collector's bags (in particular limited editions or items produced in small quantities, even in continuous production).

To give you an idea of the prices for bags of this calibre:

Hermès: between 80% and 120% of the new price

Chanel: 85% of original value

Louis Vuitton: 70% of original value

Goyard: 1.3 times the new price

Of course, for these ratings to be valid, the bag must be in excellent condition. On this point, no item is safe...

Using photos to show off your handbag

A good ad also means good pictures. Remember to take the following photos so that your potential buyer is immediately satisfied with what you show them:

  • Close-up of the material
  • Front, side and ¾ view of the bag.
  • Overview of the inside of the bag
  • Close-up on the underside of the bag and its corners, as these are the areas most exposed to rubbing and therefore to damage.
  • If there are scratches or small chips, don't try to hide them - the buyer will eventually see them when he hands over the item. Be transparent and take a photo.

In all cases, you'll maximise results by being as transparent as possible!

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No need to worry about loose change, bad cheques or fake money transfers... Use Obvy to sell your bag - it's simple, secure and cost-effective!