Putting Profit in the Bag

Got a closet filled with handbags, belts, or barely-worn shoes? If they have the right label, they could be worth quite a bit on eBay. In fact, several brands of designer handbag turn up in eBay’s list of top searches again and again.

The most sought after classic brands:

Coach
Gucci
Chanel
Dooney & Bourke
Prada
Louis Vuitton
Dolce & Gabbana
Hermés
Marc Cross

Marc Cross 1960's handbag Handbags made before 1980 are considered vintage — and designer bags from the 50’s and 60’s are especially popular. The 1960’s Marc Cross red leather hand-bag shown here sold for over $400 on eBay, even though it is missing the shoulder strap that could have been attached to the fittings. (Remember when Grace Kelley snapped her look-alike Marc Cross bag shut in Jimmy Stewart’s face in Alfred Hitchcock’s movie, “Rear Window”?)

Newer brands like Baby Phat, Juicy Couture, Kate Spade, and Badgley Mischka are also popular searches on eBay.

Wallets, clutch purses, handbags, belts and other accessories from top designers can command top prices on eBay because they are beautiful, fashionable, and made to last – and they aren’t available everywhere.

While you’re searching the closet for handbags and accessories, don’t overlook shoes you don’t wear often. Designer shoes from the same brands – and “hot” designers like Jimmy Cho, Manolo Blahnik, Jennifer Lopez, and Ungaro – also fetch high prices.

Condition and authenticity are the post important factors in the price you’ll get. eBay does not allow the sale of knock-off or reproduction items (even if listed as “faux” or reproduction items), so the first step is making sure that the item is authentic. Unfortunately, there are a lot of fakes and grey-market reproductions out there, so some would-be consignors who have brought what they thought were genuine designer handbags to Easysale have been disappointed.

For details on eBay rules and restrictions regarding selling designer items, check the eBay Policy Guide.

Buyers on eBay are cautioned again and again in the popular “reviews and buying guides” published on eBay that the reputation of the seller is the most important factor in ensuring that you purchase only authentic merchandise on eBay. That’s one reason why designer handbags, accessories, and shoes listed by sellers like Easysale, with thousands of positive feedback reports from satisfied buyers, sell better than the same items listed by occasional or new eBay sellers.

To find out if you have items in your closet that can help you put profit in the bag, contact one of the five Easysale locations in North Texas for a pre-auction estimate of their value. The company’s auction experts can come to your home to help you identify saleable items – or you can bring them in to convenient locations in Addison, Arlington, Dallas, Frisco, or Southlake.

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dennajones/ / CC BY 2.0