The luxury market can be intimidating - with sky high prices and pieces that aren't designed to necessarily match with casual day to day outfits. Saving up for that big ticket item you've been eyeing for months can be exhausting, sometimes even leaving you uninterested in the item by the time you've managed to save the money for it.
In this blog post, we'll highlight key techniques to finding luxury handbags, shoes, accessories and more for less, both here at SHOPUBBI and at various popular resale platforms/ secondhand stores in general.
1.) Shop previous collections and seasons - don't just stick to a current fast trend!
Although it's tempting to want the pieces from the latest season - at the end of the day, by next year - this season will be last season - with a dramatic price drop on some of the most statement items that were the front runners of a luxury fashion brands campaign. Shop previous seasons for the same luxury fashion items that often become timeless pieces you can wear repeatedly all for a lower price. (Nobody will ever know you didn't get it when it first came out)!
2.) Designer clothing + accessory swaps- with friends - or strangers!
If you've got a group of friends that loves designer, it probably means you've got a good amount of items in rotation that you can use to refresh each-others closets with. This applies to trades on secondhand platforms or other areas of resale such as Facebook marketplace. If the main reason you're selling a current designer piece is to fund a new one, see if you can find someone with your desired piece willing to trade for your current one.
3.) Shop secondhand - DUH!
Overall, secondhand will always be the best and most affordable option for finding a great price on a designer item. You can easily assess wear, flaws, and be comforted by the fact that nearly all resale sites perform some level of authentication checks to ensure the item you are receiving is authentic. You can always find current season items secondhand for either close to or the same price as they may be by the time they have been phased out in a year or so.
4.) Pay attention to SALES!
If you have a brand that you love, and a place you usually shop secondhand from or brand-new items from. Make sure to pay attention for bi-annual or even monthly sales that used to make way for new inventory coming in. Signing up for mailing list subscriptions or post notifications on specific companies Instagram accounts will help you snag an item that may sell quickly during a sale. To sign up for our mailing list scroll to the bottom of our site and put in your email! You'll be notified of incoming items as well as given access to subscriber only sales. Make sure to follow us on Instagram @shopubbi as that is where we showcase items before they are available for purchase.
5.) Borrow your luxury item - if you only need it for a special occasion!
We're in favor of anything that promotes reducing waste, consumption, as well as saving money. Two of the best sites for borrowing designer goods include Rent the Runway or Bag Borrow or Steal . These sites will allow you to rent a designer piece for a specific amount of time depending on your needs. Costs are considerably lower than buying the piece itself, and also eliminates the problem of buying something you only end up using once.
Sources:
Jacqueline Curtis Jacqueline Curtis writes about edtech, Curtis, J., & edtech, J. C. writes about. (n.d.). 7 ways to get discount designer clothes for less. Money Crashers. Retrieved June 1, 2022, from https://www.moneycrashers.com/discount-designer-clothes-cheap/