Investing in your first designer handbag is no small task. Finding the right one, especially if it's vintage, is a feat in and of itself — and that's before you even think about the price. Different from most cases of vintage shopping, buying a secondhand designer bag can cost more than double the price you'd pay if you bought it new à la Barneys. Why? There are a few reasons: first, if a certain style has come and gone, the only way you can purchase it is secondhand. Rarity, after all, doesn't come cheap. Then there's the case of the rising secondhand market. As vintage Birkins rise in value, they often overtake their modern counterparts. The reason that clothing and shoes rarely move with the same upward mobility is that, well, you wear them. Soles scuff, coffee stains your dress, or the worst: Aiden's dog eats your Manolo's. Bags, however, stay perfectly wrapped in a dust bag at the top of your closet (right where they belong).