Buying a pre-owned luxury bag: what to check before you pay
On a €900 second-hand bag, the difference between a good purchase and a regret is almost never about the price. It's about how much the seller told you before you paid.
These are the checks we perform on each item before listing it for sale, and you can use them as a guide wherever you are buying.
Are the photos of the actual item you will receive?
This is the first filter, and it already eliminates half the problems. A used bag is a unique item: it has its marks, its patina, its corners. If the images are catalog photos from the brand or generic shots of that model, you are not looking at what will arrive in the package.
Look for close-up photos of the areas that wear out first: corners, handle bases, bottom, interior, hardware, and zippers. If they are missing, ask for them. A seller who has already taken them will send them to you in a few minutes.
Are the conditions described or just labeled?
"Excellent condition" alone says nothing. You need a full description: where the marks are, how deep they are, if the interior is clean, if the hardware is scratched, if the handles have darkened.
On our product pages, you will find two distinct fields, which serve different purposes. The condition level is the general class, and we use three levels: like new for an item practically never used, excellent condition for minimal signs of wear, good condition when wear is visible. The conditions are the text that explains what is actually seen on that item. The class guides, the text decides.
Are the measurements in centimeters provided?
The commercial names of models can be misleading. A "mini" from one brand can be more spacious than a "small" from another, and the same bag changes its entire use depending on whether the bottom is 7 or 14 cm wide.
For each item, we indicate length, height, and depth. Before buying, take a tape measure and reproduce the dimensions on a table: it's the quickest way to understand if it will fit a laptop, a planner, or just your phone and keys.
What exactly comes in the package?
Dust bag, box, tags, lock with keys, detachable shoulder strap, original receipt: these affect the price and are often not included. This is not a defect, but it must be stated beforehand, not discovered upon opening.
On each product page, you'll find a field dedicated to what you will receive. When the original dust bag is not present, the item travels in our own fabric dust bag.
Does the seller tell you how old the item is?
The year of production, when obtainable, changes the interpretation of wear: signs of use on a fifteen-year-old bag are different from the same signs on an item from last year.
Where the data is determinable, we state it, along with the decade. Where it is not, we do not write it: an invented date is worse than an absent one.
How authenticity is managed
Every item undergoes a check before being listed for sale. If you want a verification that is independent of the seller of the bag, you can add the Entrupy authenticity certificate to your order: a third party analyzes it, and the item arrives already certified to you. It must be requested before shipping, and it is not available for shoes and glasses.
What rights do you have if something is not right?
When buying online from a professional seller, you have 14 days to exercise your right of withdrawal, without having to give a reason for your choice. For used goods, the legal guarantee of conformity applies for one year from delivery, as provided by Article 133 of the Consumer Code: it covers discrepancies with what was declared and photographed, not wear already described.
If this information is not written anywhere on the website where you are buying, it is a red flag.
And if you prefer to see it first
The items you see online are the same ones displayed in the window at Arcore, in Via Casati 167. You can stop by, look at them, and try them on. If it's more convenient for you, write to us on WhatsApp at 331 203 9599 and we'll send you more photos or a video of the item you're interested in.
