Here’s How I Girl Math-Ed Buying a Vintage Chanel Bag for $2,050

• Koyaana Redstar, a vintage luxury handbag expert, swears by resale handbags.
• She said she bought a Chanel Boy bag for $2050 in 2015 and sold it for $2000 in 2024.
• Taking good care of a bag is essential in making sure it retains its value, she said.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Koyaana Redstar, the head of luxury buying at Luxe Du Jour, an online luxury boutique for vintage designer handbags. It has been edited for length and clarity.

I’ve worked for Rebag, The RealReal, and other vintage consignment stores, and I have 20 years of experience in the resale industry.

I swear by resale, just because your return on investment is always going to be higher if you buy resale and sell resale, versus buying at retail price and then selling it off.

Here’s a fun bit of girl math. In 2015, I bought a new medium, studded Chanel Boy bag.

In the years I owned it, I wore it at least six times a month — and that’s a conservative estimate. I paid $2,050 for it in 2015 at Rebag, a luxury resale company.

I loved that bag and took good care of it, but I sold it this year for $2,000 to supplement the funds I needed for my wedding.

All in, you could say I basically paid $50 to own it for eight years.

To me, buying this bag was a hundred percent worth it — and a great deal.

How to take care of luxury bags

Preserving a bag’s condition and caring for it is what helps it retain its value.

My biggest tip is to always store the handbag in climate-controlled environments that are not too cold and have moderate humidity.

Always remember that most pieces are made of leather, which is really just skin. Heat and humidity make it wither. You also don’t want the bag to be too wet because mold could grow.

Just make sure you clean the piece with a leather moisturizer or just a fabric cleaner.

But don’t buy designer handbags just to resell them

My advice, however, is not to buy bags just to sell them. I give that same advice to consigners who come to me after shopping at Hermès or Chanel and want to sell their bags.

When we quote them prices below retail, they say that they want to make what they paid for it.

The truth is, reselling bags also takes into consideration the demand for an item. I can’t guarantee that I’ll be able to help customers make a profit.

So, I always tell people, “Buy something you like, for you. Don’t do it to resell it.”

At the end of the day, investing in a bag you don’t like is a gamble. You want to build up a collection because you like the pieces because they speak to you, and because they complement your personal style.