Designer Items you are planning on selling are going to go much faster if they look great and have all the authenticity documents – we all know that! But, what about the price? I’m sure all those fabulous designer items have cost you quite a bit and it’s only logical to expect to sell them for an equally good price. Right? Well, I have some great tips for you today, tips that will enable you to both love, enjoy and use your designer items while still being able to set a good price on them once you decide to sell them!
1. CHOOSE COLOR WISELY
Your designer items will find their buyer eventually, but if you really want to ensure high demand and, therefore, higher price, I’d suggest opting for colors that are always hot! Experienced sellers claim black Chanel bags can be sold for almost retail which is not the case with red, blue or even brown ones. Choosing light colors as well as metallic shades which easily fade is definitely not a good strategy because they tend to show signs of wear much sooner making it virtually impossible for you to make a good sale.
2. CHOOSE MATERIALS WISELY
Materials are also one of the things you’d want to have in mind in case you don’t tend to get emotionally attached to your designer items. Exotic skins are very sensitive and prone to peeling for no obvious reason, Chanel lambskin feels like a dream but wrinkles like the worst nightmare while satin can be stained easily. Oh, and some even say their lambskin Chanels have developed mold spores which is something you should definitely have in mind in case you’re living in an area known for its warm, moist climate. If you’re buying a Vuitton and you’re planning on using it quite a bit before sending it off to the next owner go for textured epi leather, instead of glossy patent. If you want a Chanel that will look brand new even after a couple of years of “civil service”, get your favorite style in grainy, almost indestructible caviar leather.
3. STORE YOUR DESIGNER ITEMS CAREFULLY
Both clothes and bags should be kept in their original packaging, away from pets, heat, water and other things that might cause damage. Don’t leave your light colored bags lying around, keep them stuffed with tissue paper and tucked inside their sleeper pouches when you’re not using them, and, if you don’t prefer original boxes, make sure the items are organized neatly, not piled on top of each other. Your extravagant clothing (yes, those dresses you’ll wear twice and resell after that) should be kept on a hanger, with a dust cover too.
4. DON’T THROW AWAY ANYTHING
Keep the tags, the original box, authenticity cards, care booklet, dust cover and pretty much anything that came with your designer items. In fact, when you’re keeping all that, you might as well keep the store receipt! You see, counterfeiters are not what they used to be which means that even fake designer items come with hologram stickers as well as all the necessary paperwork and that, my ladies, makes things really hard for the buyer. Counterfeit authenticity “accessories” aren’t as perfect as the real deal, of course, and that’s something buyer will notice. A recently bought item (non vintage) can’t sell good without authenticity papers because there’s always a chance that it is fake or stolen.
5. NO ONE WAY ALTERATIONS
Many potential buyers, collectors and owners think messing with the original design will make the item look fake and they would never buy a redesigned item. If you feel the dress/blouse/whatever would fit better if it was just a bit tighter at the waist, get it professionally fitted and tell the seamstress not to cut the extra material so that the garment can be returned to its original size. If the chain strap of your bag seems too long or too short for you, never change it for an off brand chain- take out or add a few links and return it back to normal once you decide to sell it.
6. NO DIY FIXING
This mostly goes for bags, shoes and jewelry so I’ll use what space I have to warn you to stay away from superglue, shoe polishes and other care products or actions that might ruin your designer items. If your bag needs to be cleaned, re-dyed or repaired take it to the boutique and they will send it back to the manufacturer. Most high end brands offer free repairs during the first year, so if you’re planning on selling your bag after 10 months or so, definitely use this free service before the sale.
7. CLEAN YOUR ITEMS CAREFULLY
Most sales assistants know which types of products work best for the brand and the item you own and will gladly both recommend and sell it to you – except Chanel, of course, because this house insists on those expensive in-house touch ups. Clean your jewelry with soft cotton cloth, follow the instructions for washing your designer clothes and test your new leather conditioner on a small area (bottom of your bag or the inside of the strap) before applying it on the whole bag.
Do you baby your designer items? Well, I think you should because you never know when you might decide to sell something! After all, every collector must downsize his collection of fab designer items once in a while, so remember these tips anyways, just in case you ever need to clear out your closet a bit, so that the new things can fit.
Top Photo Credit: weheartit.com
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