When I was in my teens and twenties, I would go to the local strip mall and search for a cute purse that I could buy. I didn’t have much money, and I often thought, “wow, why would anyone pay that much for a purse?” I would carry the less expensive; okay, let’s say it, “cheap” handbags and wallets thinking that spending more than $20.00 on a purse was excessive.
As I grew up, had children, and was launched into my career, my style and personal statement matured. By the time I was thirty, I had realized how much I had spent on inexpensive handbags that didn’t last long, went out of style, and I just thought they looked cheap.
These inexpensive purses were poorly made, and the materials didn’t hold their shape within a short time. My journey to save money added up to cash invested in nothing. I took a look around my closet and realized I didn’t have any of the inexpensive bags any longer because they had fallen apart or looked tattered.
As I grew into adulthood, I realized that the handbags I own and wear need to be chic sophisticated, and they need to make a statement of who I am. The only option is to buy designer handbags.
Knowing I was in the market for designer bags, I researched what was available and the cost. My designer handbag can range from a few hundred dollars to thousands. There are several types of luxury handbag designers. A Louis Vuitton bag, Gucci bag, Hermes bag, Chanel bag are all options.
The Louis Vuitton Bag
Louis Vuitton handbags have been around since 1859 when Louis Vuitton opened his first shop outside of Paris, France. He had 20 employees focused on making trunks and luggage for protecting goods when people traveled.
By the 1920s, the company was making designer handbags for personal use. Customers were excited about the quality of the bags and their craftsmanship. Designers in the company focused on quality, appeal, and durability, knowing the designer handbags would be a purse and a timeless piece that wouldn’t go out of style. A Louis Vuitton bag is an investment.
The Gucci Bag
2021 was the one-hundredth anniversary of quality = Gucci. From a bellboy starting a business using alternative materials like imported leather and woven hemp, through family turmoil, to expanding to create shoes, bags, and accessories, the Gucci is now known worldwide.
Gucci is a designer handbag that holds its value as well as it holds its shape and style.
The Chanel Bag
Once upon a time, in February 1955, the Chanel Flap Bag appeared, and the story unfolds for the next 25+ years and continues to gain loyal customers. Chanel handbags are comfortable and an accurate statement of fashion. The Chanel 2.55 came out in February 1955 and was the first designer handbag with a shoulder strap giving women the option to carry a purse off the shoulder, leaving their hands free.
How Can a Mother, Daughter, Career-Minded Woman Afford Luxury Brands?
Men buy tools, cars, and electronics. Not that women can’t buy these things too. These things show status and taste. Women buy handbags, jewelry, and shoes.
Buying all of my handbags second-hand through the best pawn shop in the area, R&J Jewelry, and Loan, I save money, but I can also purchase luxury handbags that are a genuine article without paying a higher price than I can afford.
Big box stores sell beautiful and unique designer handbags in my area, but these bags come with a price I can’t afford or, more honestly, am not willing to pay. The designer handbag inventory at R & J Jewelry and Loan offers a great selection, and I visit them often because their inventory changes frequently.
A designer purse is a statement of style, sophistication, and style.
Of course, like everybody, I have purchased cheap, inexpensive bags from local big box stores, and they lasted a season. The zippers break, and they get tattered, scratched, and stained.
A high-quality, luxury handbag is just not at the same level as an inexpensive bag. A significant difference is the high-quality brand is made to last, and they are an investment. Designer handbags hold their value, but they also stay looking nice for decades. They never really go out of style, and their polished look brings a touch of chic to my look.
I have been to many shops looking to find a designer bag at a bargain price, and I have shopped online for gently owned designer bags, but I have not seen the same selection or customer service I receive at R&J Jewelry and Loan.
I did a bit of math, which isn’t my most desirable pastime, and calculated out the long-term value of buying a designer bag at a higher price versus purchasing a cheaper bag at a lower price. Suppose I pay $2000.00 for a luxury bag, and I treat it like an investment for the next 30 years, wearing it twice a week, keeping it in its dust bag, and storing it in the original box when it isn’t being used. In that case, it will hold its shape and style, and I can pass it down to my children or sell it for about half the amount I paid for it.
The best-kept secret…when I purchase a luxury handbag as an investment to wear and enjoy, I always have cash in my closet. If I get in a pinch, I can sell my designer bags for the highest price.
The price I paid for it is nothing compared to if I purchase a cheaper bag at a big box store for $150.00 and then I have to replace it six months later because it tears or the zipper breaks. If I make two purchases a year for 30 years, I have spent a fortune for nothing. Which is the best price, a designer bag or a cheap bag?
People always want to sell their luxury bags because they are tired of them and want something different, or they need extra cash.
Pawn shops accept luxury bags as collateral for short-term loans in good and excellent condition. They also buy them outright. Some people don’t pay back their quick cash loan, and the pawnshop can then sell the bags so they can recoup their money.
This is great because the bags are then added to the luxury items for sale either in their pawn shop or through their website store.
You don’t have to worry about pawn shops selling stolen goods or goods that aren’t genuine. Pawn shops work with local police, check each serial number, and authenticate the luxury items they take in. The entire process for selling or pawning at a pawn shop is safe and confidential.
Pawnbrokers are experts and understand how to authenticate designer brands. It wouldn’t make much sense for a pawn shop like R&J Jewelry and Loan to buy, sell, or loan on a luxury brand that wasn’t genuine because they would lose money.
R&J Jewelry and Loan also has a vast selection of fine jewelry, Rolex and luxury watches, and other brand named items for affordable prices.
They offer the highest price possible when buying an item outright, so they draw in customers who have great things they want to sell and get cash for.
Are you living in the greater Las Angeles area in the communities of Santa Clara, Los Gatos, or San Jose? R&J is nearby and is a full-service pawn shop offering pawn loan buying and selling services and has a great selection of affordably priced high-value items for you to purchase. There is no loan amount too large for R&J Jewelry and Loan. The pawn shop is family-owned and has an extensive history of providing customers with top dollar for their items.
Are you going to Las Vegas? Come by the store and bring us a high-value item to sell or pawn for extra cash. The quick cash you get can be used to finance your trip or help you with expenses while you are in Las Vegas.
Need to sell designer handbags safely stored in your closet to make room for new ones? Bring them by the pawn shop, and the pawn broker will value them and give you an offer. Whether you are a teen, twenty, thirty, or more visiting a pawn shop for items that may sell for more money on the resale market is a wise decision. Pawn shops have items that still retain a high value on the resale market for much less when compared to department stores. As a teen, I didn’t know what a pawn shop was. In my twenties, while I was giggling with kids, launching my career, and making ends meet, I not only visited pawn shops for designer brands, I made purchases and, from time to time, sold and pawned items. Now they are my one-stop-shop for so many things.
Knowing that R&J Jewelry and Loan, the professionals will work with me and find me the luxury handbags I want and give me top dollar for the ones I need to move on to someone else, provides me with options.
