The ability to sniff out a bargain is an excellent skill but Reece Morgan takes this particular talent to a heightened level.
Working within the world of pre-owned luxury goods, the designer handbag aficionado can detect a fake from the real deal by smell and guess the correct label when blindfolded.
It’s something he’s acquired from handling thousands of handbags over the years, given each designer house uses different production processes, and he uses it as part of a six-point authentication process for clients.
Meanwhile, his colleague, Megan Young, a watchmaker who has trained in Switzerland, can detect the exact type of watch someone’s wearing from metres away.
This is just a sample of life at Xupes, the pre-owned luxury retailer beloved by the rich and famous, including the Kardashians, which is the focus of a three-part fly-on-the wall docuseries for Channel 4, Second Hand For 50 Grand.
With the need to cut househould spending more pressing than ever, and today’s launch of Second Hand September, Oxfam’s campaign to get people to solely shop second hand for 30 days, the series is timely.
Filmed over nine months, the show provides a glimpse behind the scenes at Xupes’ headquarters in Hertfordshire as well as its new boutique in London, detailing just what goes into buying and selling pre-owned, vintage and rare products.
Items such as Audemars Piguet watches – with an average price of £120,000, one of the most expensive timepieces in the world – a unique Dior saddle bag and a £13,000 pair of Louis Vuitton LED trainers, for instance.
‘A lot of our clients prefer to remain private, which we respect, but the clients who appear in the show are all really interesting’ says Joe McKenzie, founder and CEO of Xupes, who established the business in 2009. ‘They’re from different walks of life, with different stories.’
His knowledge of pre-owned goods is encyclopaedic but he insists he’s still learning.
‘Every day is a school day, and that’s what makes it exciting,’ says McKenzie, who regularly travels the world to meet clients and value collections. It was during one of these trips that he came across a Rolex 6241 Lemon Daytona in yellow gold in Amsterdam, one of only five to have ever surfaced. It was worth £950,000.
‘Sourcing is a big part of what we do and every day we get people saying they’re looking for something in particular,’ he says. ‘They’re probably the most fun because we have to get out our black book of clients to see who might have it and who might be willing to sell it. Sometimes you can’t find something but we’re up for a challenge.’
Given the cost of living crisis, a series dedicated to designer goods worth hundreds of thousands of pounds could be deemed insensitive. It’s a fact not lost on the founder.
‘It’s a tough one because these goods are not a necessary purchase for people,’ says McKenzie. ‘They’re a luxury purchase, an aspirational one, but… a lot of people selling these products also need the money for whatever reason and we’re helping them realise the true value.’
The benefits of buying pre-owned:
- There are unique choices
- It’s likely to be cheaper than buying it brand new
- By reusing or re-wearing, it’s a more sustainable and conscious option
- It’s a form of investment – enjoy an item, and then trade it in, or sell it, and you’ll often make a profit
It’s the beauty of the craft, really, to get something in that’s broken and needs to be rebuilt
The show highlights tricks of the trade – you don’t have to be a millionaire to make a pre-owned investment.
‘Some viewers might think, “why should someone spend that money at a time like this?”, but the fact is these alternative assets have become quite a safe haven for investment when other things aren’t doing as well,’ says McKenzie, who insists it’s more accessible than people presume. ‘We sell a lot of high-value products in the show but there’s also “entry level” products, which start at hundreds of pounds.’
Morgan, who is Xupes’ director of handbags and jewellery, agrees.
‘We don’t sell consumables, we sell assets, so they’re likely to increase in value,’ says the former fashion stylist, who joined the company in 2014 as an assistant photographer before heading up the new handbag department in 2015. A highlight of his career was repurposing Louis Vuitton bags ‘coming to the end of their lives’ by collaborating with an artist.
‘I came up with the idea of painting Kris Jenner on the front,’ he says. ‘Everyone in my office called me crazy, questioning who would want it. It turned out Kris Jenner bought it, gifted it to Kylie [Jenner], then Kylie posted it on her Instagram and it blew up.
‘We get strange requests every day, though, impossible requests, and you have to either make them happen or at least manage expectations with the client and find alternatives. Whether a bag is worth £2,000 or £200,000, we put the same amount of effort into every request.’
Top tips for buying pre-loved items:
- Do your research and know exactly what you’re looking for
- Opt for items that are classic and trending well on the resale market
- Look online to see what similar items are selling for
- Make sure the seller is legitimate and vetted. Do they have a physical shop? Do they have reviews and feedback from people? Can you visit them?
- Are authenticity guarantees and processes in place?
- Ensure the transaction is fully secure, from collecting the item to a returns policy
The Chanel Classic black bag is a perennially popular purchase, he notes: ‘We price a medium Classic Chanel between £5k and £6k. The retail price is more like £8k, so here you can buy it below the retail price and it will increase in value.’
As for whether wearing it will decrease its value, he adds: ‘I’m a big fan of enjoying your investment but I have rules. Don’t put your bag on the floor, don’t put pens in your bag. Simply, try to keep it in the condition you bought it.’
Compared to handbags, pre-owned watches are easier to mend but require an intricate level of skill.
‘On average there are 150 to 200 parts in even a standard movement and the pieces are so tiny, even your breath can flick them off the table. It’s why the workshop is so quiet – everyone is concentrating,’ says Young, Xupes’ director of service and watchmaker. ‘It’s the beauty of the craft, really, to get something in that’s broken and needs to be rebuilt. I also love how watches say so much about the people wearing them.’
Young recommends the Cartier Tank as an entry-level investment.
‘You can probably get one for just over £1,000 that maybe needs some work but really, it’s always about the rarity of items,’ she says. ‘If it’s very desired and there aren’t many, it doesn’t matter whether it’s a £20 watch or £7,000, it’s a good buy. But as with anything pre-owned, don’t just buy anything, get advice, whether it’s from a dealer or a good friend who is a collector. And always buy from trusted places.’
Second Hand For 50 Grand is on Channel 4 on Monday and is available on 4oD
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