Designer Handbags -- Is Renting Better Than Buying?
Designer Handbags -- Is Renting Better Than Buying?
Well, potentially, yes.
But it does depend on what you want out of your designer
handbags.
Are you the type of handbag lover who enjoys collecting? Do you
gain a huge boost each day when you go to your closet and try to
work out which bag you'll carry today, a huge rush of
satisfaction warming your insides as you survey your collection
of shapes, sizes and colors?
Or do you use a handbag to finish off your outfit for the day?
Each bag has a specific function or role to be used for, beyond
which it rarely sees the light of day?
If you are the first type of handbag lover, one who delights in
collecting and owning handbags, then I suspect renting them is
not for you in the main. Maybe as a quickie solution to solving
a particularly knotty "What would go with this outfit" problem
as you buy a one off outfit for a wedding or dinner.
But if you are the latter type of handbag lover, one who's not
so worried about possession but is keen to have a huge selection
available and to be able to "duck and dive" in your choice of
handbag, renting would be almost ideal for you.
Although the principles of renting have been around since Ugg
rented some space on the side of his friend Urg's Brontosaurus,
to advertise his new fangled idea of round stone wheels, the
idea of renting handbags is relatively new.
Currently there are three major Handbag Rental sites available
online, with more sure to appear before long.
So -- how does it work?
Well, to begin with, you have to become a member of the site in
order to be able to rent their bags.
The level of membership you join under dictates which bags you
are allowed to rent. The more you pay in membership fees each
month, the more you get back -- so to speak. Sort of like life
really!
So, if you join at the basic membership level (around about
$19.99 per month on average) then you'll have a selection --
depending on which rental site you joined -- of about 100 low
name designers. (Bear in mind that although there may be some
similarity here and there, what one rental company classes as
low name designer, another may not and vice versa. It's worth
looking around before you take membership of one particular site
to see what bags they list at each level.)
Designer labels we've seen at the basic level across the
different rental sites have been ones such as Balenciaga,
Brighton, Vittadini, Spader, Aitken and one even had Coach bags
listed at this level!!
Now, I think in all sensibility you need to be fairly realistic
when it comes to those high quality and expensive designer names
that you expect to be ale to rent from sites such as these.
If you're expecting to find Hermes, Versace, Louis Vuitton and
high end Chanel on them -- you might just have to think that one
through again. (Especially the Hermes!!)
But this isn't to say that you can't find good, solid names on
there. Dior, Gucci, Chanel, Fendi, Juicy Couture are all
available on one rental site or another.
So -- you've set your membership level and started drooling over
the bags. What happens next?
Once you've chosen a bag that you'd like to rent, you put in a
request for a bag rental online at the site. The staff there
check and make sure that the bag you want is available and, if
it is -- bingo. Two to three days later, a UPS man arrives at
your door, bearing gifts! (Didn't you ever listen to your mommy
tell you never accept gifts from strange men! Tch!)
Once you have the bag you can keep it for as long as you like --
there is no minimum and no maximum period that you have to
return the bag within.
Once you do decide that you've had enough of that particular
one, simply search again, choose another bag that you like. Send
back the one you currently have and they'll send out the next
one by return. (Certain levels of membership on the different
sites let you hire / rent two bags at the same time)
But -- shock horror gasp -- you've fallen in love with your new
Hyanuki Shoulder Sling Bum bag and want to keep it. You can't
give it up. Spots form in front of your eyes and you feel faint,
slightly sick and deranged at the mere thought! Is skipping the
country the only way you can keep hold of it?
Thankfully for you -- and the bounty hunters -- you CAN keep a
bag that you grow attached to. Simply let the rental company
know that you'd like a quote to buy and they'll make you an
offer price, based on age, condition and popularity of the bag.
If you can come to some agreement -- it's yours!
What about damage? Has little Tommy just emptied the contents of
your Revlon No8 Blush Red nail varnish into the rented bag??
(Oops -- Tommy's about to get to see a lot of his room for the
next few weeks!)
No worries -- just send the bag back to the rental company with
a short, explanatory note and they get a quote on the cleaning
cost. If you disagree with the price then you have an option to
buy it 'as is', otherwise they go ahead and get it cleaned and
you pay. Simple really.
(P.S. Is Tommy allowed out of his room yet? No? Oh, okay!)
So, is renting a designer handbag a good idea?
Well, let me put it this way. Is the Pope Catholic?
There you go then!
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