How Do People Find Genuine Hermes Bags to Sell?

I was talking to a friend of mine the other day about eBay, and she said a friend of hers does very well selling Hermes bags and other designer items on the site. (Yes, I can imagine she does!).

I asked her where her friend finds these things, because I know there are many fakes out there and these upscale brands don't generally offer their stuff willy-nilly for people to resell.

She says her friend lives in New York City and finds such items at designer sample sales, and in some cases, she has relationships with individual stores.  For example, she knows one owner of a very high-end jewelry store whose name we all have heard of, and he offers her some pieces to sell. Whether these are pieces that hadn't sold by the end of the season, returns, or if they had some other reason the store needed to get rid of them quickly, I don't know, but I would guess that was the case.

Oprah's Vuitton Bag

I'd like to experiment with selling more luxury items, because they seem to sell so well, but I know you have to find the right item, too.  I have to say I am not normally attracted to Vuitton so much because I feel the logos are too in-your-face (and then there's the high price issue), but I know the genuine items are extremely well-made and beautiful.  But the most beautiful Vuitton bag I've seen is the one Oprah was sporting on her show when Marc Jacobs was a guest.

(Another thing I learned from that show was that Marc Jacobs designs for Vuitton as well as for his own label). 

According to a comment posted on Purseblog.com, it's called the "Ostrich Oskar Dora Waltz Monogram" and "a lot of LV stores
don�t carry them. It�s one of a kind. Only a few are made and
distributed among V.I.P.S." Bummer!

This link has a pic of the bag:

Purseblog's Post about the Vuitton Ostrich Oskar Dora Waltz Bag

Weschler's auctions piece in the Post

This is my first post to my new typepad blog! ("Alert the media," as my sister would say).

A saw a good piece about Wechsler's Auctioneers (an offline, "real-world" auction house in Washington, D.C.) recently (Monday, July 31, 2006) in the Washington Post.

People come in and bid on the many lots that cycle through during a day for many reasons.  Some are mysterious characters who seem to be hoarders. Others just want to get the good deal, like a guy who got a painting worth $400 for $20.

One man sums up how I feel about buying things at yard and estate sales: "For me, it's about the history of things. You're constanty learning. It's a great second career."

So what about my scores over the weekend?  Well, usually I buy with an eye to resell stuff, but I'm gonna keep some of this weekend's haul. For example, I got a lovely original oil painting of autumn foliage for $17.  I also got a Dooney & Bourke purse and a great Kenneth Cole tote bag for $4. What good stuff did you find over the weekend? Post a comment here.