I am a self confessed luxury lover, but I’m also someone who is always looking for the best deal. Preloved luxury goods are luxury goods that have been owned by someone else. My first preloved luxury purchase was about 7 years ago and over that time I’ve learned some tips that I wanted to share with you.
- The first and most important tip is to buy from a reputable site/seller. This is the most important tip because it decreases the chance that you will end up buying a fake. Transparency moment, I have purchased a fake before (accidentally) and both times it was from a personal seller (like eBay and Mercari). Thankfully, I was able to get my money back, but I would have rather not had that happen in the first place. Now I typically only purchase preloved goods from Fashionphile (a large luxury resale site that is partnered with Neiman Marcus). Other resale sites include Rebag, Yoogi’s Closet, and The Real Real, but to be completely honest, Fashionphile is the only one that I recommend.
- If you do decide to purchase from personal seller sites like eBay, Poshmark, or Mercari. Make sure you have your item authenticated. Poshmark & Mercari have their own authentication services, but I would advise you to get the item authenticated yourself by a third party site. I have used Real Authentication multiple times and have always had good experiences. I even used their documentation to help me get my money back from my credit card when I was scammed.
- Look for deals! Just because something is preloved, doesn’t mean it will be priced well. In fact, a lot of preloved items are sold at the same price as a brand new item from the retailer. As a rule of thumb, I never purchase something preloved that costs more than the retail price. Fashionphile discounts their items after they have been on the site for awhile and sometimes they even do a 10% or 15% off selected sale items.
- Pay attention to the condition of the item that you are interested in. I typically go for items in excellent or new condition, but I pay close attention to the flaws that the item has. You have to have the mindset that if you buy a preloved item, it is not new (in most cases) and will have something “wrong” with it that you have to determine if you want to accept. For instance, a tiny interior scratch on the inside of a bag is no problem for me, but a pen mark definitely is a problem for me.
- Don’t buy something just because it is a good deal. If you are a sale shopper like me, then I’m sure that you have purchased something at a great price, only to later discover that you never used the item. For this reason, I typically keep a list (mentally or physically) of luxury goods that I want and I try to stick to that list. Of course, I veer off the list, but I really try to think through my purchases to make sure that I’m buying items that I really want as opposed to buying them because the deal is great.
Buying preloved luxury can be a fun experience and can save you some money. Not to mention, sometimes you can find that discontinued item that you have always wanted. Hopefully these tips are helpful if you are looking to try it!
