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Brands brave the Wild West of the second-hand market
The rising popularity of second-hand goods is upsetting the balance of the traditional luxury market.© Studio Pachamama

Running Story
Brands brave the Wild West of the second-hand market

The second-hand market is exploding, leaving the luxury sector with a new battle on its hands. Between platforms that lack transparency, counterfeits that are impossible to detect and brands that are scrambling to regain control, the absence of regulation is benefiting the most agile.

But with the luxury sector in the grips of a crisis, brands are less and less willing to see second-hand platforms reap the profits from reselling their products. Beyond its eco-credentials, preloved fashion also shifts the parameters of prestige: luxury houses have long made scarcity a strategy, but today the rarest pieces are not necessarily found in their boutiques. 

Brands brave the Wild West of the second-hand market
The rising popularity of second-hand goods is upsetting the balance of the traditional luxury market.© Studio Pachamama

Monogram's mysterious return

The French upmarket online second-hand clothes and accessories reseller, which closed with a bang last year, is set to reopen next month. Plans for its revival had been in place for over a year before it went bust, Glitz has learned.

LogoSubscribers only France Entourage 06.01.2026

Spotlight
The case of the 500 secondhand watches stuck in US customs limbo

Thanks to the work of watch industry leaders, a hard-fought compromise on customs duties between the United States and Switzerland has just been reached, but grey areas remain, particularly in the pre-owned market. Glitz can reveal that a shipment of more than 500 secondhand timepieces has been held by New York customs for two months due to the duties dispute.

US customs have blocked a large consignment of pre-owned luxury watches, highlighting the confusion that has arisen from the new duties introduced by the Trump administration.
LogoSubscribers only United States Entourage 18.11.2025
US customs have blocked a large consignment of pre-owned luxury watches, highlighting the confusion that has arisen from the new duties introduced by the Trump administration.

France's anti-money laundering unit homes in on luxury sector

Reports of suspicious transactions in the luxury market have rocketed over the past two year, prompting the French government's financial watchdog to introduce a raft of priority measures targeting the trade in luxury goods.

LogoSubscribers only France Houses 11.09.2025

Monogram contends with angry customers and potential lawsuits after going bust

The luxury second-hand e-commerce platform founded by Beverly Senego went into receivership on 24 July. This has prompted a string of complaints and threats of legal action, as customers seek to recover proceeds from sales as well as the items they had put up for sale on the website.

LogoSubscribers only France Entourage 31.07.2025

Latest robbery adds to Monogram's financial woes

Not only has the luxury consignment platform been struggling to pay its customers for several months, its Paris showroom has just been robbed for the third time in a year.

LogoSubscribers only France Entourage 26.06.2025

The RealReal cuts costs thanks to AI

The online marketplace has deployed its own artificial intelligence tools to put its finances on a more even footing. But using AI is also about surviving in a market where more and more brands are opting to develop their own services for selling pre-owned goods.

LogoSubscribers only United States Entourage 12.06.2025

Spotlight
Audemars Piguet enters challenging second-hand market, hoping to hit the big time

More watchmakers are launching certified pre-owned divisions to regain control over the resale of their old models. But between rampant speculation, the fight against money laundering, and stolen and counterfeit watches, it'll be a complex task.

Rolex, Cartier and AP are tentatively moving into the potentially lucrative certified pre-owned market.
LogoSubscribers only France Houses 29.05.2025
Rolex, Cartier and AP are tentatively moving into the potentially lucrative certified pre-owned market.

Front Row
Sophy Rindler's mission impossible on eBay luxury partnerships

The Franco-American has been trying to turn the e-commerce platform into a genuine player in the luxury second-hand market, but it's turning out to be an uphill struggle.

The Franco-American Sophy Rindler is spearheading eBay’s efforts to position itself in the luxury second-hand market.
LogoSubscribers only United States Entourage 22.05.2025
The Franco-American Sophy Rindler is spearheading eBay’s efforts to position itself in the luxury second-hand market.

Airport boutiques targeted by second-hand dealers

To escape the strict checks carried out in the major luxury brand outlets, second-hand dealers have taken to shopping for rare items at airport boutiques. The phenomenon was highlighted by a recent affair involving the Rolex boutique managed by Galeries Lafayette at Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport.

LogoSubscribers only France, Switzerland Entourage 01.05.2025

Counterfeiters
A Max Mara coat for €150: Tunis underground designer goods market brings European resellers flocking

The Tunisian factories that make clothes and accessories for Celine, Max Mara, Longchamp and others sell a percentage of their wares locally at rock-bottom prices. But some unscrupulous retailers are smuggling the goods into Europe and selling them second-hand with a high markup.

Discount designer goods are winding their way from Tunis to second-hand luxury sites in Europe.
LogoSubscribers only Europe, Tunisia Entourage 10.04.2025
Discount designer goods are winding their way from Tunis to second-hand luxury sites in Europe.

Brands upset over Collector Square at Le Bon Marché Paris department store

The Collector Square consignment platform, which has just launched a permanent space in the iconic Paris department store offering second-hand leather goods, has not got a unanimous welcome from the luxury houses.

LogoSubscribers only France Entourage 27.03.2025

Vinted rivals Vestiaire Collective with luxury offering but struggles to stem fakes

Just over a year after acquiring the German second-hand luxury platform Rebelle, Vinted is competing neck and neck with Vestiaire Collective in the segment in France.

LogoSubscribers only France, Lithuania Entourage 13.02.2025

In Focus
The hidden costs of Hermès's model of orchestrated ultra-exclusivity

Hermès, which is due to unveil its 2024 results tomorrow, is weathering the crisis in the luxury goods sector much better than its competitors, thanks in particular to its business model, which is based on the rarity of its bags.

Hermès does all it can to ensure its most iconic models remain in short and much sought-after supply.
LogoSubscribers only France Houses 13.02.2025
Hermès does all it can to ensure its most iconic models remain in short and much sought-after supply.

Chanel sets sights on second-hand market

As speculation rumbles on about the brand potentially branching out into menswear, Chanel HQ is busy with other things. Its pieces are consistent bestsellers on second-hand sites, and the company is trying to figure out how best to capitalise on this.

Free access United Kingdom Houses 30.01.2025

VIP client in legal battle with luxury consignment platform Monogram

A Paris court has ruled in favour of a regular customer of the luxury consignment shop Monogram who had entrusted it with several items to sell and later learned they were sold unbeknownst to the client.

LogoSubscribers only France Entourage 31.10.2024

Vinted vies in vain to lure luxury labels

Leading second-hand retail platform Vinted is keen to add luxury goods to its wares. Brands, however, remain reluctant to work with the online marketplace, in the name of preserving their image. But the downturn in consumer spending could leave luxury houses with little choice but to sign on.

LogoSubscribers only France Entourage 10.10.2024

Second-hand luxury retailers cut deals with likes of Cash Converters

Companies that sell second-hand luxury goods are increasingly signing contracts with more mainstream operators such as Cash Express and Cash Converters. It's a handy way of offloading less popular items and cutting down on storage costs at a time when the market is slowing down.

LogoSubscribers only France Entourage 13.06.2024

The RealReal is stocked but no longer selling

US second-hand luxury site The RealReal has presented its shareholders with mixed first-quarter results.

LogoSubscribers only United States Entourage 23.05.2024

Spotlight
How second-hand sales send Hermès bag prices soaring

Manufactured in limited quantities, Hermès's most sought-after bags are at the core of a resale system orchestrated by second-hand luxury retailers, which sell brand-new items as if they had been pre-owned. That practice distorts the market and ramps up prices.

Among Hermès bags, the Birkin and Kelly models are very popular on luxury consignment platforms.
Free access France Entourage 16.05.2024
Among Hermès bags, the Birkin and Kelly models are very popular on luxury consignment platforms.

Spotlight
Monogram struggles to sail out of online doldrums

Following the woes of luxury e-commerce giants Farfetch and Matchesfashion, which have been bought by Coupang and Frasers respectively, one of France's leading web-based consignment stores, Monogram, is facing both financial and supply problems.

Beverly Sonego, founder of Monogram.
Free access France Entourage 04.04.2024
Beverly Sonego, founder of Monogram.

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