Sure, it may sound like a cynical way to shop, but when buying a super-pricy designer bag, you might consider the potential dough you could make if you re-sell it. There are three bags that should be on your shortlist if you might cash out eventually, and they probably won't come as a surprise: the Louis Vuitton Neverfull (pictured), Chanel's 2.55 styles, or a Hermès Birkin, according to Racked.
Based on data from designer resale site Tradesy, bags by that super status-y trio of brands (beyond just those particular, iconic styles) are the safest resale bets, as are Goyard totes. By contrast, Proenza Schouler bags haven't proven to be very lucrative on the resale market, as supply has increased more than demand in the past two years.
Don't expect to make back all of, or more than, the hard-earned funds you paid for that designer carryall, either, with the exception of Goyard bags, which tend to fetch 1.3 times the retail value. Chanel resales go for an average of 86% of retail value, while Hermès numbers can make 72% back, and Vuitton bags net 70% or more, Racked reports.
And if you want designer arm candy you can offload quickly, Goyard pieces sell the fastest: they're usually snapped up in less than five days, per Tradesy. (For context, the average span from listing to successful sale on the site is 21 days.) Givenchy, Chanel, and Louis Vuitton items are typically sold in less than two weeks, while bags by Marc Jacobs, which gets discounted more often than the aforementioned brands, could take over six weeks to be resold, according to Racked.
Also, just because it's a reliably chic designer name, it doesn't mean it will kill it on the resale market. Bags by brands like Balenciaga, Bottega Veneta, Dior, Fendi, Prada, and Saint Laurent have average resale values that are less than half of the brands' median retail prices on Tradesy (Dior, Fendi, and Prada seem to have the biggest discrepancies on average between retail and resale price).
So if that designer bag splurge doesn't end up being something you will love for years and years, or even the rest of your life, you've now got the re-sell intell to put it in a better place. And if you're still in the market, use this info to make that investment purchase a more solid investment, just in case you tire of that logo-plastered Neverfull or realize you're just not quite a Birkin type some day.