Let’s take a few minutes to dive deep into the world of handbags. We don’t just mean any old bag you can buy at a department store — we mean designer handbags. Think Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Chanel and, of course, the mother load: the Birkin bag.
To learn more about this, The Show visited the owner of Luv Luxe, a local shop in Old Town Scottsdale that specializes in designer bags — and the resale of them.
Sydnie — no last name — doesn’t do consignment, but buys every bag upfront for resale. That means she needs to be absolutely sure that what she’s buying is real. And by real, that doesn’t mean that it’s an actual handbag made out of leather. No, this is much more complicated than that.
Here’s her conversation with The Show and how it all started out with a client who needed some money — and fast.
Full conversation
SYDNIE: I had a client who was in financial distress like blew through her trust fund money and was called me and said, “I really need to sell this handbag. Like I got to pay my electric bill,” and I was like, OK, let me see if I can help her out. So she’s like it’s in pristine condition. It’s fantastic. So I meet her in a parking lot at a local consignment store where she pulled it out of because they couldn’t sell it. And she hands over the bag and I hand her money, amateur move. Didn’t look at the bag. She drives off. I open up this dust bag and I’m like, what is this, this thing looks like it’s been run over by a truck.
So I have two options here, right? I call her back and say, give me my money. And this thing is not what I thought it was or I do a good deed and hope for the best. Long story short, I put it online, sold it and made like 200 bucks and I was like, huh, light bulb went off. So I’m forever grateful for this person because it created the beast that is …
LAUREN GILGER: Even though it was kind of a mess of a bag.
SYDNIE: Exactly. So this created the beast of the day. So it all worked out and that’s how life is sometimes. And I realized there’s the niche.
GILGER: I mean, obviously you saw a market in the consignment world and like a missing piece there. But all so just like for people who have no idea what we’re talking about when we’re talking about a Birkin bag or Chanel or whatever, like explain the demand and sort of the rise in demand that we’ve seen for these kind of luxury and designer bags in particular in the last decade or so since you’ve been doing this.
SYDNIE: So they’re great investments. People have noticed over the years that these things obtain value, they’re holding their value. So when you buy a bag that’s like a non branded bag, let’s just say, from a major department store, Dillard’s Macy’s or whatever, not a recognizable brand. And you pay $200, $300 when you’re done with that in a couple of years, it’s really valueless. I mean, you know, maybe a sentimental value to you or whatever, you like the craftsmanship of it. But these brands are really demanding their price point.
And, you know, so if someone bought something 56 years ago, it’s most likely went up in retail, especially with, I mean, what hasn’t went up in the last 2-3 years? So if you’re taking care of them, if you’re wearing them with care, you’re leather conditioning them, you’re not, you know, destroying the bag, people think sometimes just because it’s Louis Vuitton, it’s bulletproof. You know, that’s not the case.
But if you’re really taking care of your product, it’s going to obtain its value, which is nice. So then, you know, when you’re with it and it’s in decent shape, you’re able to get something for it and you’re able to put it towards the next piece or you’re able to move on to whatever else you’re collecting.
So people really appreciate that and you know, they become family heirlooms. It’s the new, it’s a new tennis bracelet they say. So the Birkin bag is a new tennis bracelet, meaning, you know, moms are now passing them down to their daughters on their wedding days or grandmothers.
GILGER: So interesting. And it’s like a multibillion dollar industry worldwide, but there’s also a fake side of this that you’re watching out for. And we want to talk a little bit about too. Tell us about just first of all, how good these fakes can be so they can be really bad too.
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So there’s a thing called super Fakes and they are super expensive too, but they’re obviously mimicking a bag that’s gonna retail $10,000, $15,000, $20,000. You’re still paying a couple of $1,000 for it. With that being said, if you know what you’re doing, it shouldn’t be that difficult. But there is, you know, super fakes out there that are a little bit more challenging. So we pride ourselves in authentication. We have an in-house authentication team and also use a third party non biased opinion and our purchasing.
So we really stand behind what we’re selling here at Luv Luxe. But you know, there is some things that you can look out for, but the fashion industry is always, in my opinion, a couple of steps ahead. So when they see that these people are catching on to what they’re doing, they’re on to the next, they’re on to the next. So they’re giving them a little bit of a challenge.
These, copiers per se run for their money, which I’m very thankful for because unfortunately, you know, people think they’re just getting a bag that looks like Louis Vuitton and, you know, getting a steal of the day, it’s a really dirty industry. There’s a lot into it, children trafficking and, and labor and it’s, it’s not a very pretty thing.
So besides not only just stealing from the brand itself, it’s just, it’s not something that I personally would want to carry because there’s a lot more into it besides just getting a Louis Vuitton quote, quote bag for $100 bucks.
GILGER: OK. So show us how you do this because this is a, a very in depth and like you said, like multilevel process to me make sure the bags you’re buying are real.
SYDNIE: Yeah. So back in the day, we’re going to use Louis Vuitton for an example because it’s probably one of our number one selling brands. So date codes and authentication cards is a big part of this. Louis Vuitton does not have authentication cards. People always come in here and like does this come with an authentication card?
So that’s what people like deemed as what was authentic, but they have date codes. They did have date codes. So that means that it’s two letters typically followed by four numbers that says what fact the product was made in what year and what month.
So this was kind of like their log to kind of control or show where this product was made. Now, of course, anyone can make up two letters and followed by four numbers. So they realized that you could just copy that. So now they do microchips, they started that in 2021. So it’s not something that you physically see, we have a scanner that’s going to scan and pick up that microchip.
GILGER: So it’s like hidden in the bag somewhere hidden in the bag.
SYDNIE: You can’t see it to the naked eye for Louis Vuitton. That’s what they’ve switched off to do. But you can even tell with the and I gladly show you here a date code, the print, the lettering. They, they don’t miss a mark with Louis Vuitton. You know, a lot of things are handcrafted. It goes through a lot of inspection process, which also is the reason it costs so much. You know, these aren’t just made by machines and pumped out a lot of it’s handmade. There’s a lot of artistry. It goes through a lot of steps to get to the final product.
So you can just see by the stitching the coloring. They just don’t miss a mark. You know, there’s no loose threads. Sometimes this threading hair is like bright neon yellow. This is like super candy apple red. A lot of times in fakes, this red coloring here will be dripped down or, you know, in the pressing of letters. It just isn’t to the craftsmanship of Louis Vuitton.
So from afar, squinting with sunglasses on and a few drinks in, maybe it looks real. But when you really look close, you can, if you know what you’re doing, you can tell the real deal.
GILGER: Do you get a lot of people coming in and trying to sell you fake bags or do you think they even know?
SYDNIE: Sometimes I would say the answer is no, they don’t because I think that if someone’s trying to pull a scam and they look at what we do here, no, some people, unfortunately, not knowing that once in a while happens and we have to kind of like we don’t ever say something’s not authentic.
We offer an authentication service, you know, but when you have to, you know, kind of cushion the wording and stuff. It’s unfortunate. For the scammers out there, we have a long process. When you come in store, it’s very detailed. We ask for your driver’s license. We only pay out for bags via check. So typically those people that are looking to make a quick buck don’t come here and we are thankful for that.
GILGER: So last question for you then tell us, you know, what do you love about this? Is there a bag that you love and we, you know, buy every time you get it.
SYDNIE: You know, it’s funny people always ask me that. Do you steal like all the bags? And I’m like, well, technically it’s not stealing because I own them. But there’s something about it. I love for my clients to get them too.
I’m a big Hermes fan myself. So when the orange box comes in here, we all start dueling. So I love the Hermes Evelyn bag. 95% of people that are listening to this are like, what is an Evelyn bag? Go Google it. It’s really cool.
But you know what I really love about this is the community and being able to grow this business so that we are able to donate bags to certain charities and, and there’s more than just like a very, like vain, superficial industry. There’s a lot you hear people’s stories of how they were able to collect these.
And I’ve seen people at their lowest points in life that have to sell things that, you know, went through really tragic things and lost family members or so be it and then seeing that person, you know, rise out of that and be on the other side and come back and shop or, you know, you sell more bags.
So I really value and appreciate the community we’ve built here. And to me, I know it just seems like another little retail store, but it’s my world. It’s my life and I’m really fortunate to be on the journey. I’ve buckled up and I’m here for it.
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