Over the past decade, the secondhand luxury market has exploded, becoming bigger and buzzier than ever before. In a post-pandemic world, more than 30% of buyers say they prefer to buy secondhand, with the luxury handbag sector projecting a compound annual growth rate of 6.10% over the next 10 years.
Consumers are increasingly turning to the secondary market for a variety of reasons. The first is price, followed by sustainability, scarcity in the primary market, accessibility, and more. Despite the market’s tremendous growth, it continues to be dominated by the world’s top luxury players—Chanel, Louis Vuitton, and Hermès, of course—with other heritage Houses continuing to fall short.
Despite constant price hikes and a continued focus on commitment to quality, specific top-tier luxury brands like Bottega Veneta historically have not held their value as well as the so-called holy trinity. How can that be when Bottega Veneta continues to churn out some of the season’s most-wanted bags? Are the tides changing?
Let’s take a look.
The Current Market
The luxury handbag market has always been a game of numbers, but it’s no secret that prices of luxury goods (handbags included) have become astronomical. Consistent price increases mean that investing in a luxury handbag has become less affordable, leading many to defer to the secondary market, hoping to snag a deal.
While certain bags (depending on brand, style, condition, and demand) can retain up to 100% of their retail value, if not more, there are typically deals to be found. Yes, there are brand-specific trends across the board. Our research shows that in the case of Bottega Veneta, it is really a toss-up which party lucks out—buyers or sellers.
Across the board, Bottega Veneta retains around 60% of its retail price. This is good news for buyers and bad news for sellers, particularly for sellers looking to sell via resale sites like Rebag, Fashionphile, or The RealReal, which can take up to 45% of the selling price if you sell on consignment.
Measure Up
So, how do some of Bottega Veneta’s most popular bags fare? Let’s Take a Look:
| Bottega Veneta Bag | Retail Price | Resale Price | Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Andiamo | $4,500 | $4,029 | 89.5% |
| Small Hop | $3,900 | $2,213 | 56.7% |
| Teen Jodie | $3,500 | $2,479 | 70.8% |
| Sardine | $4,500 | $2,977 | 66.2% |
| Small Loop Camera Bag | $2,900 | $1,455 | 50.2% |
| Classic Cassette Bag | $3,000 | $1,314 | 43.8% |
To compile this data, we took the average selling price of every bag for sale on the 3 major resale platforms: The RealReal, Fashionphile, and Rebag. For each style, we compared only the exact models of each (i.e., classic Andiamo, not the Andiamo with chain) in regular intrecciato leather only, not suede.
It’s worth noting that certain styles seem to fare far better than others. Two examples are the Andiamo, a new House classic, and the Maxi Cassette, a Daniel Lee original. Color seems to impact selling price more than condition, which is also a notable mention.
Let this be a cautionary tale if you tire of bags easily. While certain styles retain a fair amount of retail value, most bags won’t yield a decent return. Unfortunately, this compounds further if you’re selling on one of the major platforms.
Personally, I’m glad that BV has lower resale rates. Gives a different perspective of how people really view the brand. Of course there will always be those who pay the full freight for BV products (and that’s their choice). I did myself, once, but am not likely to do it again — unless it’s for a bag I really, really want in a special color. Even then I have limits.
In general (and taking Hermes BCK out of the equation), the luxury bags that retain the highest proportional value at resale are the bags that feature obvious logos or monogram patterns. Without trying to psychoanalyze buyers, there is just a lot of demand for these bags on the second-hand market. I know that I can resale my monogram Louis Vuitton or Gucci bags for close to what I paid for a few years back. However, I’m likely to take a significant loss on their leather counterparts, even though they were top-of-the-line. Bottega Veneta remains somewhat under the radar for many first-time luxury buyers. As a result, their bags tend to sell for a lot less when listed on resale sites. It doesn’t mean that they are bad quality or less attractive. It means that they are less desirable to that particular pool of potential customers.