Research

Designer Discounts: Which Designer Brands Have the Highest Resale Value?

Ever sat, watching an episode of Sex and the City, and wondered which of Carrie’s classic luxury handbags would offer the best return on investment? 

The research team at Wethrift have got you covered, analysing the designer bags and satchels that gain the most resale value, as well as the ones that lose the most when resold. We also delved into the top trending luxury bags of 2022, along with the general trending designer products of the year. 
Not only this, but analysing brand data allowed us to reveal the ultimate fashion reselling platforms – so you can flog your own luxury goods as well.

Which luxury bags have the highest resale value?

01 Which luxury bags have the highest resale value

When it comes to the luxury bags with the highest resale prices, the one that reigned supreme was the 1991 Mini Kelly Bag by Hermes. Known for its sleek, timeless design, the bag has a resale price of a whopping £34,995, as well as a search volume of 17,000 on Google. These results highlight a 468.19% increase in value since its release in 1991. Originally sold for £6,159, this represents a massively successful return on investment. 

Second on the list was the Chanel 2.55 handbag. The instantly recognisable quilting of the bag exudes opulence and style, which is one of the reasons why the item comes with an impressive resale price of £6,862. 

As the bag was originally sold for £3,360, it has more than doubled in value since its release in 1955. This surge in popularity was emphasised by a 104.23% increase in market value, making the bag a worthy contender for second place. 

We discovered that the Alix chain crossbody bag by 3.1 Phillip Lim was in third place, with a resale price of £739.20. Originally sold for £415, the bag has increased in price by 78.12% since being released in 2015. 

This item also had an increase in searches of 8300.00% over the course of a year. Finally, in fourth place was the Classic Single Flap by Chanel, boasting a resale price of £6,018.95. As the bag was originally sold for £5,495.00, this represents an increase of 9.54% in value since its release and a great return on investment.

Which luxury bags lose the most resale value?

02 Which luxury brands lose the most resale value

At the other end of the scale, the bag to decline in value during the resale process was the Sicily Bag by Dolce & Gabbana. Since its release in 2009, the bag’s value has plummeted from £2,400 to just £668.25. This represents a -72.16% loss of value for the luxury bag since its release, possibly due to the controversy surrounding its designers in 2021.

Next up was the Baguette 1997 by Fendi. The bag retailed at £2,150 back then but has now free-fallen to an unfortunate £695. This signifies a -67.67% drop in value since the bag was first seen on the market – despite a recent surge in popularity in 2022 after being seen on the arm of Carrie Bradshaw in the Sex and the City reboot And Just Like That. 

The bag that secured third place for the most devastating drop in value, is the Marni Trunk Medium by luxury Italian fashion house Marni. The item was released in 2013 for £1,850 but has since dropped to £600 through the resale process. This huge descent means the value of the bag has gone down by -67.57%, suggesting that people who purchased this item in 2013 have not achieved a good return on investment. 

Finally, in fourth place was the Drew shoulder bag by Chloe. The stylish bag was released with a price tag of £1,988 but has plunged to £725.18 in recent times. This represents a depreciation of -63.52% in value, leading to disappointment for anybody who bought the bag expecting it to retain revenue over the years. 

There are all kinds of reasons why bags are losing resale value, from the controversy surrounding the designers and trends changing, to the rise in demand for materials not derived from animals. 

The popularity of a brand relies on keeping up to date with fashion movements, or whether they can create their own craze. If they cannot, they are likely to drop off the radar for people, leaving their items with a less-than-desirable return on investment.

Top trending designer bags of 2022

When it came to the most in-demand designer bags of 2022, it was the Small Taos Crossbody Bag by Jil Sander that topped the charts. We were able to determine this by analysing the search volume over a 12-month period, using Google Trends. This particular bag received a massive 9900% surge in popularity, firmly securing its first-place spot. 

In second place was the previously mentioned Alix chain crossbody bag by 3.1 Phillip Lim, with a very impressive 8300% rise in searches in the last year. Third place was secured by the Dior Book Tote by Dior, proudly boasting a 5200% boost in searches in the last 12 months. 
With a 2900% spike in search volume this year, the Jacquard bag by Balmain leapt into fourth place, while fifth place was filled by the Pillow Tabby Shoulder Bag 26 by Coach. This handbag was on a lot of people’s wish lists this year, with a rise in popularity of 2200%.

Luxury Fashion Trend Forecast 2022

Luxury fashion trend forecast 2022

By taking into consideration the product demand in terms of Google searches we were able to determine the key fashion items and their designers that would be flying off the shelves for the rest of this year. At the top of the list was The Everyday Shoulder Bag by the luxury fashion label established by Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, The Row, which came in with a very strong search volume increase of 9900% over the last 12 months. Minimalistic and versatile, it’s easy to see why so many people have their eyes on this item.

In second place were the Gucci 1953 Horsebit loafers, with an increase of 8900% searchers throughout the year. With the 2021 House of Gucci movie release causing such a stir, it’s no wonder that the fashion house is in higher demand than ever. 

Third place saw the Telfar Azalea Shopping bag by Telfar receive a 6800% increase in interest throughout the year. With its supple vegan leather outer and modern unisex design, it is no wonder the bag is causing a stir. As well as this, the fashion house is owned by Liberian-American, Telfar Clemens, highlighting a want to support black-owned businesses.  
The Loewe Anagram Tank Top by Loewe racked up an impressive boost of 5500% in search volume, which could have been boosted by entrepreneur Kylie Jenner wearing one in a recent Instagram picture.

The Best Resale Fashion Sites Online Right Now

05 The best resale fashion sites online right now

Now we have broken down the most in-demand brands and items that are on the market right now, it makes sense to discuss how you would go about selling your own goods. 

The best resale fashion site was discovered to be ThredUp, which boasted 13M in traffic per month. This could be down to having no fees to pay (0%) and an authentication service, allowing sellers and buyers to feel reassured that their details are safe.

Next up was StockX, with a massive influx of traffic at 61.6M each month alone. The top spot could have been lost due to the site having a buying and selling fee of 9%. However, they remain very low compared to other resale sites. This platform also comes equipped with an authentication service built-in. 

In third place was eBay, an eCommerce giant with a staggering surge of traffic each month – 564.4M people, to be exact. However, despite this, eBay’s overall placement in the list could have been dragged down by the site averaging a 1.6 rating out of 10, possibly dissuading people from selling or buying from there for a second time. 
Finally, in fourth place was LePrix, with monthly traffic of 61.7K. While this is seemingly low compared to other sites we have discussed, LePrix makes this up in other ways, like with their very low fees of around 4.50%. They also have an authentication process in place, and a maximum score (100) when it comes to Google Trends.

06 Designer discounts

Lastly, we have deciphered the most used designer discount codes that people will be using in the lead-up to Christmas and Black Friday this year. From January to September 2022, people have used the Cettire discount code 152,231 times, making it the most in demand.  Next up was Birkenstock racking up a very impressive 78,738 hits, while OOFOS came in third with 43,529 uses. 

Nick Drew, a Trends Expert at WeThrift, shared his thoughts:

“While it is always tempting to make a huge, extravagant purchase based on brands and products celebrities are favouring, or the hope of making a profit one day, it’s always worth acknowledging that trends change rapidly and without warning. 

“With big investments like these, you could end up losing out on a potential return on your investment that could have been better spent somewhere else, so try to shop wisely – especially around Black Friday and Christmas.” 

Methodology

  • Which luxury bags have the highest resale value? – Taking a seed list of the top 30 designer handbags, the trends team at Wethrift analysed which bags gained the most resale value based on the price the item was sold for and the current market value on reselling platforms such as Farfetch, Vestiaire Collective, and The Handbag Clinic.
  • Which luxury bags lose the most resale value? – Taking a seed list of the top 30 designer handbags, the trends team at Wethrift analysed which bags lost the most resale value, based on the price the item was sold for and the current market value on reselling platforms such as Farfetch, Vestiaire Collective, and The Handbag Clinic.
  • The Top Trending Designer Bags of 2022 – Taking a seed list of the top 30 designer handbags of all time, the team at Wethrift used Google Trends data to analyse the increase in search volume over a 12-month period.
  • Luxury Fashion Trend Forecast 2022 – Analysing sources such as WhoWhatWear, Vogue, and Lyst, we compiled a list of current trending luxury products and used Google search volume data over a 12 month period to determine which are the top trending products around the world.
  • The Best Resale Fashion Sites Online Right Now – We analysed 14 online resale sites and ranked them based on factors, including: monthly traffic, Google search volume, star rating on TrustPilot, resale fees, and if they have an authentication service.
  • Designer Discounts – We analysed Wethrift data to discover which coupon codes for designer brands people are using the most, from January 2022 to September 2022.