Magazines have long touted handbags and purses as an “investment” – a piece in your wardrobe that should be high-quality, classic, and long-lasting. I can never quite bring myself to call a depreciating asset an investment, but I’ve realized the cheap bags aren’t exactly the deal that I thought they were.
The average price of all my purses is probably around $20. But even though I always found cute and cheap bags, those in the sub-$50 range are usually not made to withstand frequent use. I have some great fabric bags that have lasted, but faux leather totes? Forget it! The lining is easily torn, the stitching falls apart at the seams, the faux leather cracks after a while. I begin to wonder how much a bargain a cheap bag really is if it falls apart in less than a year… then there’s the waste and the clutter.
So I went to a couple of off-price retailers and found a dark brown leather satchel by B. Markowsky at Marshalls. It had a beautifully rich color, supple leather, understated but interesting hardware, and just the right dimensions. In short, it’s a bag that I can probably carry for the next 5+ years. I also appreciated the discreet branding on the bag – no giant logo, thanks.
The leather satchel retails at $250+, but it was marked down to $150 at Marshalls. Add in a couple of gift cards I’ve been saving, the total comes to just under $100. I know $100 isn’t unreasonable for a quality leather bag, and certainly is a fraction of the prices of designer handbags. But it was still difficult to put down the money. I started thinking, “but I can buy 3 bags for this price. No, maybe even 4…”
Have I become so conditioned to cheap prices that I don’t want to pay for quality? After 30 minutes of internal deliberations, I did purchase the bag. This is the old “quality vs. quantity” / “price vs. value” debate. Instead of adding another falls-apart-in-one-year bag to my closet, I invested in purchased a versatile leather tote with solid construction. I struck a balance between price that I can afford and quality that I’ll be happy with. I don’t think that good quality is unaffordable – you just have to 1. buy fewer items and/or 2. look for reasonable prices, which can be found at sales, sample sales, thrift stores, or off-price retailers.
This is a consumer lesson I’ve learned: Don’t look at only price, also consider value.
Related posts:
Well said! I couldn’t agree with you more. Choosing quality over quantity has its long-term benefits.
I struggle with this as well. Cheap bags are good for a season or two, and sometimes I get sick of a certain bag. But then the higher quality (and I hate to spend a lot on bags, just like you) will totally last longer and not fall apart, but then you also run the risk of getting sick of the style after a while.
I think it’s okay to spend a little bit more on quality pieces that you LOVE! I sometimes fall into the “but I could get 4 XXXX for the price of that one XXXX” trap, but the thing I come back to is whether or not it’s worth it to me to spend more money. When something is kind of expensive I either do the think about it for a few days and then go back and buy it trick or make sure it is returnable and think about it once it is in my possession. If I love it, it stays!
I am at this point myself. I fight with myself when I think something is pricey but am working on forging ahead if the quality deems the value worthy. I’m also working on buying what I love. This has cut my spending quite a bit. As I look at something it has to really grab and hold me. As it stands, I’ve made some really great purchases that haven’t fostered buyers remorse and because I’m moving past the “price” issue (within reason) they are keepers!
I usually try to spend under $150 on handbags. Scouring stores like TJ Maxx and Loehmann’s, while utilizing their sales really helps bring down the price. I have bought off of eBay, but you need to be very careful or you could end up with a fake. I also try to stick to leather, since I’m hard on my bags and would like them to last. Buy about 1 bag a year and in a few years you’ll have a decent rotation. Also if you do buy leather spending buying some leather conditioner goes a long way!
My parents raised me to think about price vs. value. I have some very pricey purses and shoes in my collection, but some of them i’ve had for years and I know I will have them for many more. I’ve also gone the cheap route and bought cheap purses and they usually fall apart or look like crap after a while.
Now that i’m off my dad’s payroll, I allow myself to buy one purse i’m lusting after once a year (and it can’t be more than $800). I usually stalk the purse until it’s on sale and then get it. It works for me, and I don’t need a new purse every few months. Although i’d like it, I don’t need it
Too much of a hassle moving all the contents over.
What I can’t stand these days though are the pricier clothes that still fall apart or end up with random little holes (no moths in my closet!). Quality control seems to have gone down, while price continues to go up.
I can’t bear to spend more than $50 on a purse, even if it’s ridiculously pretty. I LOVE Nine West purses but can’t afford them. Then I found out that Burlington Coat Factory carried off season Nine West purses! I bought the one I currently have for $20 and it’s lasted almost 3 years until my puppy got ahold of it. If you have a Burlington Coat Factory near you check them out.
That is the debate I have with myself almost anytime I enter any store and the price usually wins. I have been able to keep my items in good condition by just buying a lot of whatever, whether it be shoes, clothes, etc. My reasoning is that if I don’t use them often, they will last longer, which has turned out to be very true.
Judging by paparazzi photos of our celebs, I don’t think the pricier items are meant for heavy wear, but I would assume that they certainly do last longer given the material of which they are made.
On a related note, $100 is a steal for a good quality bag. With name brand bags being over $300 and some even being thousands of dollars, I think $100 for a bag that you plan on using for the next 5 years means that you just bought 1 $20 bag a year…is a great deal.
The thing is – how many years do you want to carry the same bag around? If you are the type to have different bags for different outfits then buying purses that cost hundreds of dollars each will get prohibitively expensive. If you will carry the same bag every day for 5 years, then it is a good investment. I think it depends on the person and how they accessorize.
I came by your site from the BlogHer introductory e-mail and I wanted to tell you that I love your style and what you’re doing. I hardly have time for browsing blogs the manner I used to, but yours drew me in and I find myself still here, after a lot of browsing, hot coffee in my hands. I love it. I can’t wait to see what else you come up with at BlogHer.
I definitely agree with this post, considering that I just spent $300 on a pair of knee-high leather boots. BUT–I know they will last for years and years.
Having grown up extremely poor, we never gave much thought to price versus value; that’s just one of the many things that the generationally poor never learn about: the time-value of money. As such, I still have a VERY hard time splurging for quality even though I’ve broken the cycle and am no longer poor. Quantity almost always wins out.
Luckily, I’m not much of a shoe or handbag fan so I don’t feel as though I’m going without.
Just the other day I bought a new purse by Lucky Brand. Not high end by any means, but certainly of a higher quality than my typical Target purse purchases! It originally retailed for $175, but DSW had priced it at $100, AND it was in the 50% off bin, so I got it for $50. That’s definitely the most I’ve ever spent on a purse, and it’s by far the most “valuable” one I’ve ever had.
My last $20 Target purse lasted 2 years (and is actually still totally usable, I’ve just gotten bored of it), so if this one better last twice as long.
Dude! I recently posted about doing this in your TJMaxx/discount retailers post. Sounds like we might have scored the same bag. This one, but dark brown?
http://www.kaboodle.com/hi/img/c/0/0/7/9/AAAADAbGMKMAAAAAAAebCQ.jpg
I <3 the zippers – cool-looking for this season, but not so trendy that it's not classic. I had the same internal debate about paying for quality, too. Hooray for quality purchases (at Marhsalls prices)!
