Are your bags new?
Purse Alert is not the original owner of any of the bags listed for sale. All bags are secondhand, and therefore are sourced from vendors of secondhand goods.
Ok, so where do the bags come from, and are they real?
We only do business with vendors with clearly defined policies against selling counterfeit goods, primarily auctions operating out of Japan because of their very strict laws regarding the sale of authentic goods, tightly regulated reseller licensing and strong adherence to those laws because of strict penalties concerning the sale of counterfeits and effective oversight by regulators. Some sources take the extra step of hiring a third party authentication service to inspect an item before listing it, in which case I will note that this item includes a Certificate of Authenticity. Other sources contract with appraisers, or have their own internal authentication team such that an actual certificate is not included with the sale. No certificate does not mean that it is not authentic; it just means it hasn't been authenticated by a third party service that generated a physical certificate. There are no replicas sold here. Every bag is from a trusted source, and has been at least double-authenticated, by the source as well as by Purse Alert.
Designer? Pre-loved? So are they expensive or cheap?
Pricing reflects the fact that Purse Alert is not the original owner of any of these bags, however we often find bags that have never been used, sometimes even with tags still attached. Other times, we find bags that have seen their fair share of usage. These bags get a little extra love and attention before they're listed. While not perfect, they clearly have many years of use left in them because they’re well-made, from quality materials and are more timeless than trendy.
How do I know what condition they’re in?
Each product listing has a set of photos to show the current condition of each bag, from front, back, top, bottom, each side angle, interior, any accessories, tags, serial number or branding, and sometimes a mannequin shot for proportions. Use these photos to form your own judgment as to the condition of the bag. All photos are of the actual bag you will receive in its current condition; no stock photos on display here. As the photos confirm, for a small percentage of the original price, the bags from Purse Alert are steals when compared to the cost of new retail.
What’s the deal with shipping?
We only ship to customers within the continental United States, and for now, shipping is provided free of charge. This may change, but it won't be done in secret. While most items ship within 24 hours, please allow 2 business days after your order is confirmed for it to ship. All shipping services are provided by USPS Ground Advantage, which provides tracking and insurance. Delivery is usually within 2-3 business days after a package ships.
I bought a bag last month, and after wearing it out last week, I decided I don’t like how the straps feel and the color is slightly different than what it looked like on the computer screen. Can I return it?
We want you to love your purchase, and also feel secure that when you send us your hard earned money, you will receive the bag described in the listing and shown in the photos. All purchases are 100% covered in the event your shipment is damaged when you receive it, or it does not match the listing. That said, we are not able to accept returns for other reasons. As you can understand, pre-loved bags are one-of-a-kind items and the condition of each bag is something in flux. While shipments are carefully packaged and protected, it is still not a delicate process. Returned items would de facto begin to add wear and tear during the return trip. Similarly, it can be hard to tell if a bag has seen a night out on the town before being returned, or overloaded when testing how much it can hold. One person’s “test wear” in their closet mirror is another person’s "test wear” summer cruise, but the longer it's gone, the likelihood of a mishap increases. Aside from our authenticity guarantee and protections against shipping damage or mistake/mis-match with listing, returns/refunds are just not feasible for a small business that wants to remain profitable.
Ok, this sounds good and everything. But I’m still on the fence. I wish I knew if other people had a good experience.
All of the customer reviews, located at the bottom of the homepage and the About Us page, are from real customers. You can see their original reviews either on our Poshmark Closet Love Notes page or our eBay seller profile reviews at www.poshmark.com/closet/purse_alert and www.ebay.com/usr/purse_alert. It’s true that PurseAlert.com is a newer site, but we’ve been selling pre-loved bags online for years with hundreds of 5-star reviews at this point. So we can continue offering the best deals, we are migrating our business to our own website rather than continuing to use other online marketplaces because of the insanely high fees they charge. We have to pay 20% of every sale to those marketplace providers, and it just doesn’t seem like they provide a service commensurate with such a high fee. They provide little protections that aren't actually provided by the payment processor, very low support, and no real way for user input. It's easy to complain, but I've chosen to take action and build something. I hope you'll join me here.
Ok, I’m convinced! But is my data secure?
Of course, we don’t sell any user info to third parties, and all payment details are secure. For a more detailed explanation, please review our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
Is there anything else I should know?
Well, if you’ve made it this far, you just won a free car! Sorry, there’s actually no free car, just testing if anyone is still reading. IF you are, just stop, and go look at the bags! That’s why you’re here, right?
