Luxury-handbag-resale platform Rebag has launched a tool called Clair, which stands for Comprehensive Luxury Appraisal Index for Resale. It enables sellers and buyers to check the value of their pre-loved handbags before selling or purchasing them online. Unlike other resale platforms, Rebag buys directly from consumers. With a database of over 10,000 bags from 50 brands, algorithms are able to accurately predict the value of a bag based on details – such as age, model, and condition – inputted into Clair. “The majority of luxury consumers still aren’t participating in this resale economy,” says founder and CEO Charles Gorra. “There’s a lot we can do to make the process more seamless, so they want to be part of it.”

CLAIR HELPS SHOPPERS VALUE-CHECK PRE-LOVED LUXE BAGSTrent Szmolnik (2019)

With the resale market valued at $24 billion in 2018, Rebag is offering transparent pricing to stand out. Given that people increasingly want brands to reject linear economies, adopting a circular approach is shifting ideas around luxury purchases, too. With 47% of Americans willing to buy second-hand luxury items, ‘luxe’ no longer has to mean ‘new’. And by making it easier to know how much value an item has retained over time, Clair’s financial assessment uses the circular economy to influence people’s motivations for luxury handbag purchases. Farfetch and Kardashian Kloset are also revamping resale for luxury shoppers and challenging perceptions that second-hand is second best.

Sophie Robinson is a Junior Behavioural Analyst at Canvas8. She has a degree in Social Anthropology from the University of Manchester and always tries to deconstruct stereotypes of normality. When not questioning why she’s watching a short film or writing a screenplay.