In Sophie Kinsella’s Shopaholic series, Becky explains her obsession with Denny and George scarves. They’re super luxurious, super gorgeous, and every girl aspires to own one — and correspondingly, they’re super expensive. Accessorize, on the other hand, is a generic store that sells various accessories, much cheaper than the brand-name Denny and George.

“Usually what happens is, I spend half an hour lusting after scarves in Denny and George, then go off to Accessorize and buy myself something to cheer myself up. I’ve got a whole drawerful of Denny and George substitutes.”

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If you’re anything of a strategic shopper with limited funds (practically the definition of a college girl), you may have paused here, like I did, to say… but wait! Why didn’t she stop buying junk at Accessorize, and save up for the Denny & George? Probably if she held off on 10 items from Accessorize, she’d be able to get the scarf!

Yes, it’s a classic fashion dilemma, to buy many cheaper, lower-quality items, or a few (or one) expensive, high-quality items? There are advantages and disadvantages either way, and most of the time it’s ultimately up to the type of shopper you are. I’m firmly in the latter camp, and am here to show you five routes through which you can purchase a premier designer bag for less than retail price!

{RELATED POST: The Best Designer Bags from Top Luxury Brands}

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Before We Begin…

To fully use my tips, however, you need to stop wasting money on substitute brands, i.e. doing what Becky did with Accessorize. Just because you can’t afford Chanel doesn’t mean you should continuously squander your money on Guess!

Premier designer bags (Chanel, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Balenciaga, etc) have classic designs that are still bought and sold today, many decades after their original release, and are also reinterpreted with new materials and variations. Non-premier designers (Coach, Guess, L.A.M.B., Juicy Couture, etc.) usually don’t have a “famous bag,” and so bags by those brands lose both their appeal and price value within a couple years time. Premier designer bags, on the other hand, often resell for at least 75% of their retail value (depending on the bag condition), and often much more than their retail value if the specific color/variation is prized or discontinued. They are a much better investment for your hard-earned dollars.