Pre-owned or New…Who’s the Fool?

Today with the help of the internet, it’s easy to buy “pre-owned” designer name brand jewelry. Most of the popular brands are available in the secondary Estate Market at discounted prices, although they can still be bought brand new from the store directly. Names like Cartier, Tiffany, Van Cleef & Arpels, and David Webb just to mention some.

Many discerning buyers today don’t mind forgoing purchasing new for the bargain of buying something that was owned by someone else before them. Sometimes it’s budget, but some people are actually intrigued by the provenance some of these estate pieces have. Since “signed” high-end jewels are in such demand, the pre-owned pieces still fetch quite a strong price, although considerably less than the price of new. Keep in mind, that many of these heirlooms are no longer for sale by the designer manufacturer, and so the option of owning new is not always there.

On the other side of the coin there those that insist on buying new. They want the blue box and the experience of walking into the store to make that memorable and sometimes quite expensive purchase, feeling special that they are the first to own that particular jewel.

So what will you do? Buy brand new and pay the price, or buy pre-owned and revel in the knowledge that you bought quite a bargain?
I wonder…who’s the fool.