Skip to main content

Reselling Vera

While repairing and upcycling the bags I've thrifted, primarily for my own use, I've started to notice antique mall vendors reselling lovely, pristine Vera Bradley bags, generally for about a third of what they go for new. I'd say the average price is $25.00, and most of them are retired patterns, so resellers are the only source for these.

I have about a half-dozen bags now that are in mint condition, like this lunch bag covered with pups. It will be a summer gift for my favorite person, but I can't help wondering. If I keep thrifting these bags, should I consider a side hustle in reselling the like-new ones that I don't intend to keep or gift?

I seem to have really good luck with finding rare, retired patterned bags in pristine condition.

I've had a lot of luck in assembling sets of them, too.

It's an interesting prospect. I know just where I would set up my shingle, too -- my favorite local junk shop, as the owner and I have become friends. :) But as I think more about it, the less enthusiasm I have for the idea. It means paying monthly rent for a space, and going weekly (or more) to asssure everything looks good. I'd have to create a new business entity for the sideline, and tread carefully so I don't end up with trademark issues.

If I were twenty years younger, maybe. But I think sticking to donating the excess to local thrift shops who are helping our community is more my speed.

Comments

Maria Zannini said…
You do such an expert job repairing and refurbishing these bags, I would definitely try reselling. But instead of a brick and mortar seller, I would try Etsy. Once you set up your online "shop" it should require no further attention until you sell. I'm not sure what the fees are, but they used to be quite nominal.
September 4, 2025 at 7:55 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Goodwill Gamble #2 Arrives

My second Goodwill gamble arrived; this is one I paid ten bucks for last month. Just inside the lid was a big roll of plastic mesh that I think is for latchhook work. In the auction listing it looked like fabric to me, so that was unexpected. Someone at the seller's end was nice enough to put a note on this pinned fabric. I'll put on my gloves before I take it out to inspect it. The embroidered green fabric turned out to be 1-1/2 yards of sequinned and three-dimensional designer fabric. I'll guess this cost somewhere between $20.00 to $30.00 a yard, and it's in pristine condition. But here's a shot of everything in the lot, which is mostly crafty odds and ends with a small amount of cotton fabrics, a large amount of synethetic fabrics, and some other surprises. The original owner of these was probably a Catholic school teacher; these beads, crosses and medallions are the kind of rosary kits for kids to make at Sunday school or Bible camp (and s...
Post a Comment
Read more

Love Means This

Invested in a couple of hand-dyed bundles from one of my favorite fabric artists. This one said "Make me into something for Valentine's Day." So I went for a quilted and embellished tote. I kept thinking about what love means to me as I worked on it. Here's the finished tote. Although I was tempted to embellish with beads and pins, I got sick and only felt well enough to do a little stitching every night. As I worked I thought about how often love seems disappointing to us, especially when it fails to live up to our expectations. But now that I've experienced love in many forms, I can say that it's made me a better person than I might have been without it. Love is a precious thing, and should be appreciated in all its forms. I am very grateful for the love of my guy, my child and my friends who have stuck with me all these years. That's you two, in case you're wondering. :) Also finally found something to do with a ve...
1 comment
Read more

Other Stashes

Along with clearing out the spare bedroom and tidying my office and our guest bedroom, I decided to reorganize some of my stashes. This is all the yarn I have on hand, sorted by color. It looks like a lot, but lately I've been using up a minimum of half a bin every month, so this is approximately a year's supply. All of my solid color cotton perle thread. I go through a lot of this every year, too. I need a container in which I can fit all of it together, but I haven't found the right one yet. I won't show you all of my fabric -- I'm still reorganizing this stash -- but I went through everything and donated two bins of fabric I won't need to the local quilter's guild.
Post a Comment
Read more