As bag lovers there are many things that excite us. For starters, let’s start with the obvious: nothing is as thrilling as acquiring a brand spanking new, fresh out of the dust bag, designer purse. We all know the feeling—that butterflies in your stomach, weak in the knees, shaky-hand inducing experience. Almost nothing is as exciting as a fresh designer handbag, except for when you score a seriously great deal on that shiny new purse.
While there are certain bags that we willing buy full price, knowing that a steal is just not possible for our latest love, other times we handbag lovers will wait it out. We wish, we pray and yes, we stalk our list of wants with the hope that we’ll snag a great deal. Other times we browse the sale section out of boredom and pure curiosity, just to see what’s out there. And while sometimes the right deal is hard to come by, occasionally the stars align and the handbag odds are in our favor.
Take Megs for example, who a couple of months back shared the insane bag deal she scored on a croc Proenza Schouler PS1. The bag was a silhouette that she was already fawning over in a stunning exotic skin, and the markdown was basically too good to be true. She pulled the trigger and never regretted the purchase, which sometimes is the problem with a great deal.
While deals and steals aren’t hard to come by (retailers make markdowns seasonally, often offering extra percentages off as incentives too), the right sale bag is. As bag lovers, it’s easy to be blinded by a great price. Let’s be honest, most of us have been enamored by a bold red 70% off headline, only to realize that the bag in our cart isn’t actually all that great. However the best bag deals are the ones we find on styles that are already high on our want list, thus ensuring we won’t have buyer’s remorse.
For me, the best deal I ever scored fell right into my lap. I had always wanted a Chloé Drew bag when a friend of mine texted me that Intermix was having a crazy sale. I added a Chloé Drew in blush pink to my cart, hands shaking as I typed in my credit card number, but when I went to finalize my purchase, I realized the bag had sold out. Though I was bummed, I didn’t feel that I was settling for my backup up: a creamy off-white Drew with a chunky gold chain. When the bag arrived any hesitation I had disappeared and I was in love.
The bag retailed for around $1,950 and I scored it for about $500—it was a steal and though I have to baby it a bit more than I would a blush pink, I’m so happy that I purchased it, and to this day it remains the best designer bag deal I ever scored. What was yours? Were you blinded by an insane markdown or are you and your deal living happily in bag heaven?
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Kaitlin – you’ve shown your white Drew bag on PB many times, and I covet it so hard! I’ve never seen any other Drew with the thick chunky chain, which I love, plus the brushed gold hardware vs. shiny gold.
I’ve seen a ton of bag deals come and go in the past 6 months with COVID and all, but I did my best to stay disciplined and not pull the trigger unless the bag was on my list (which comprised solely of a neutral color Kelly in size 28 or 32). Worked out great for me because I just bought a vintage box leather Kelly 28 for $5,000, which feels like a fantastic score to me. If I’d taken the plunge earlier in the spring, I wouldn’t have had the spare cash lying around to jump on my first Hermes acquisition!
My Drew is SO rare since Chloé only made the chain this way for one season. It was sort of an ‘off’ style but I am so happy I got it.
I 100% agree with you about sticking to bags that are on your wish list already—as I mentioned in the post it’s the best was to truly ensure you’re not just blinded by a great deal. There’s truly nothing worse than buyers remorse. Congrats on your first H, share a photo with us in the comments if you can!
Alexander Wang Rockie for $30 (Value Village). Gucci Jackie for $14 (Goodwill) Fendi baguette and a Fendi Mama for $75 each (eBay…they were out-of-style when I bought them). Dita Galore sunglasses for $7.50 (Value Village).
With the exception of the Fendi’s, I didn’t mind spending the money because they were so cheap. No big loss if they were fake. I have no qualms about tossing them in the trash. Lesson learned. I still have each of these. The only one that I really don’t wear is the Wang bag. I need to take it to be cleaned.
Amazing!!
My best bag deals are just when I have to travel to Europe for work and get to stop by Chanel and LV and get them at European prices. LOL.
Chloe suede mini hudson in cloudy blue. Found it at a Last Chance store in Illinois for $148. It’s just large enough for my iphone Xs, wallet, and keys, but not much else, so I don’t use it much other than for quick errands.
Also, a Proenza Schouler PS1 pouch in white leather fringe for $247 from Nordstrom Rack. The white leather makes me hesitate to use it due to color transfer fears.
I love both, but don’t get as much use out of either as I would like. But for the prices, well worth it!
So this is a little different, but I still consider it one of the best deals I ever made. In 2007, I was in Dior in Houston. On a whim, I asked if they had a medium Lady Dior in navy. I had seen in it a magazine (it was 2007, after all!) and loved it. Anyway, they did. A customer had ordered it but changed her mind. I bought it. It was $1400 which was stressful to me at the time. Well, 13 years later, I still have it. It still looks great. And I still love it. I don’t carry it as often anymore. But seeing as how it would cost me $4000+ now, I think I got a deal! Invest in those classics when you can. The price will only go up!
Several Louis Vuitton items for under $100 – some brand new.
If 2nd hand, mine was a barely used Burberry barrel bag bought from my sister’s friend for around $150 in 2005. The friend was more of a LV girl and she wanted to let go of the Burberry. I constantly use that bag up to this day.
If brand new, it would have to be a Gucci Jackie O hobo bought in 2004 for around $330. I’m thrilled that the style has made a comeback this season.
Both of these are so relevant now! The Jackie and the Burberry barrel is back too. $330 for a Jackie is a STEAL!
Bought a louis vuitton multicolor speedy in ebay last year for my birthday. Ive been wanting that bag for the past 10 years. Got it for only $550. Few people made a bid and i waited the last minute to place mine and had my fingers crossed. Its in excellent condition and so beautiful. Im sooo in love with it.
Lately with my recent bag purchases each of them has a great story to tell. Ive just realized that if she is really meant for you it will happen and she will cone along at the right time.
I had my eye on a Bvlgari handbag and Miu Miu foldover tote in 2008. Even their ebay prices in 2013 were a little high for me. I got the Bvlgari 6 years ago and the Miu Miu last month. Both in mint condition. If it’s meant to be, it will be. 😀
I love that last sentiment!
I found a $2200 Givenchy medium Antigona at TJ Maxx marked down so many times it was $1000. (I live in an area where I’m pretty sure people only know LV and Gucci monogram items, so it was under appreciated in my town.) The condition was perfect except for a tiny scratch on the back that was barely noticeable. I was able to authenticate the serial number.
$100 for a vintage Dior trotteur bag on Japanese ebay. I bought it literally right before Maria Grazia Chiuri’s first runway show was released with the trotteur re-edition!
I used to work at Saks and sometimes they would have employee sales for items they couldn’t sell to customers either because they didn’t carry the brand, was a damaged return, or no UPC existed. Lots of deals were to be had then, but my best were a BV Olimpia for 200 that was a damaged return because the mirror had somehow got stuck to the interior leather and made a tiny scratch, and two Celine bags under 300 each. The Celines were a clearout when Hedi took over. I think at that point they were 80% off original prices.
which celine styles?!
Recent college grad, so my real life budget hasn’t matched my aspirational one yet lol. As a present to myself for landing my first grown-up job I stumbled upon the large Molly work tote in chili (a bright red!) from Kate Spade for $96! Free shipping too! They were doing a summer clearance sale I think, and have updated the design drastically since then, so it makes me appreciate the one I have even more. The color is also a nice mental pick-me up with all of the uncertainty going on ^_^.
My best deal is a Fendi Peekaboo that I bought after clicking through one of Purseblog’s summary of Friday sales. I have no idea how it happened because it said 30% off but after clicking to the site (SSENSE) the bag was $1,600 because of an additional discount. The bag is a gorgeous neutral blue. I had been dreaming about the Peekaboo for a while but could not sign off on the price so this bargain was a game changer.
I got a Prada nylon crossbody at a local consignment store for $14 out of pocket! It’s in great condition and while vintage, very similar to the nylon crossbody bag they’ve been releasing in recent years. It was marked $114, but I had a credit from selling some of my stuff there so my total came to about $14. One of my favorite bags!
Omg!! 500 is such a good deal… I think mine had to be the coach camera bag that i scored for less than 100$ and it is so functional. Carries both my cards and phone.. Love it.
Technically not a brand new bag, but around 2016 I found a Fendi Large B-bag still in good condition at a small thrift store for $15. The clasp was broken, and I asked for a discount because of that, and I was able to get it for $10. I paid $30 to get the clasp fixed, and got a Fendi dust bag off eBay for $20 for a total of $60. Just for reference the same bag on the RealReal is selling for $625.
looooove a good thrift store find.
Hello, I have browsed most of your posts. This post is probably where I got the most useful information about Bags. Thanks for posting, maybe we can see more on this.
I got a beautiful red Anya Hindmarch Bathurst marked down from around $1800 to $390. I had really wanted it so once it went down that low, I snatched it. No regrets, its a great bag.
i LOVE this thread! i was in the hamptons and a model was hosting a pop-up shop to offload all of her designer goodies. scored a black chloe faye (a dream bag of mine since my COOLEST ever coworker showed me an ad for it back in 2016!) for $250. the interior of the bag was FILTHY, but nothing a tooth brush and vinegar (laundress scented) couldn’t fix. i lovingly restored it the way men do with cars. i was both blinded by the price and thrilled with the purchase. on the drive back to nyc, i carried it home in my lap!
I bought a LV Keepall 45 with shoulder strap & luggage tag from a thrift store for super cheap. Some woman returned it to the store claiming it was fake, I knew it wasn’t. Figured out it’s from 1983 so it’s older than I am. It’s monogram canvas all in excellent condition (so the canvas DOES last!) as was the exterior leather was almost brand new except a beautiful natural aged tan to it. It needed a new zipper so I brought it into LV and they replaced it. The French woman helping me was gawking over it the whole time telling me how beautiful it was (got a nice new LV dust bag for it as well). Ironically enough the original lock was stuck on the zipper but no key so I searched for key numbers a bit. Went back to the thrift store and found a really cheap looking fake Louis Vuitton speedy that had a genuine vintage LV lock on it WITH the keys, bought the whole thing for $5 gave them back bag and kept the lock and now use that on my bag!
I got an Hermes birkin 35. Black Togo leather and palladium hardware At a store closing who had a partnership with LXR. For $3,700 with tax from $18,994
I think that was the best deal I have ever gotten!?!