Luxury Online Consignment Guide

Photos from Anns Fabulous Finds and Luxury Exchange

Once in a while, I fantasize about finding a perfect-condition black Chanel quilted purse at a clearance bin of a vintage store. That may have been possible 15 years ago, way before EBAY made “thrifting” trendy and decreased any chances of ever finding that elusive Chanel at a super discount. So what’s the next best thing? Find the perfect vintage without ever venturing inside a second-hand store or spending your Saturdays braving estate sales. These online consignment stores offer guaranteed authentic Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs, Hermes, and other luxury accessories all categorized and ready for perusing. Some of these sites offer 30 or 60-day layaways with a minimal upfront deposit.

On the flip side, if your NY's resolution includes a "shopping ban", some of these sites offer consignment programs to help you unload your designer goodies and earn you some extra cash.

Anns Fabulous Finds: Stocks new arrivals frequently but some brands sell quickly, so visit often for best selection.

Portero: Easy navigable and well organized website.

Couture USA: Diverse selection of clothing, bags, luggage, jewelry and other accessories.

Luxury Exchange: Look at sale items for even deeper discounts.

Bag Borrow or Steal Private Sale: Offers barely-used items. Don’t want to buy? Its sister site, Avelle, offers rentals of bags, accessories, watches, etc.

Flash Deals: Budget Travel Magazine and Whole Living Magazine

Get a 1 year subscription to Budget Travel Magazine for only $2.99 with coupon code: BUDGET or a 1 year subscription to Whole Living Magazine for only $3.99 with coupon code: LIVING.

Do You Kindle?

So you’ve already bought an e-reader for $200, and now you have to spend more money filling with up with literary goodness. Before you chuck some more hard-earned cash, there are places you can get electronic books for free. A lot of these are older books in public domain, but many public libraries have e-book depositories where you can “borrow” the most recent bestsellers. Going this route requires some patience and time (where the most popular books may be checked out and have long waiting lists), but it’s worth a try before selling out $10-20 for an e-book.

ManyBooks.Net

Munseys

Google Ebooks

Feedbooks

Baen Library

Project Gutenberg

Get Free Books

These are some library ebook databases I've used in the past:

Los Angeles Public Library

Orange County Public Library

Southern California Digital Library

Original Photo Copyrighted Living Budget Chic. Do not reproduce without permission.

6pm.com LUXE Weekend Sale

Welcome the weekend with some designer goodies up for sale at 6pm.com. Up to 75%-80% off on designer shoes, bags, accessories--- Marc Jacobs, Pucci, Kate Spade, See by Chloe and more...

Winter Restaurant Guide

We love Restaurant Week! When else can you get a chance to sample delicious three-course meals at the finest restaurants at a fraction of the price? We’ve had the chance to try out some fabulous discounted meals at past DineLA and Orange County Restaurant Week (which are both fast approaching), but there are numerous similar events in other cities, so plan your budget and your diet accordingly!

• Alexandria, VA: Jan 21-30


• Annapolis, MD: Feb 21-27


• Ann Arbor, MI: Jan 16-21


• Atlantic City, NJ: Feb 27-Mar 5


• Baltimore, MA: Jan 21-30


• Bethesda/Chevy Chase, MD: Jan 24-30


• Boston, MA: Mar 6-11, 13-18


• Charlotte, NC: Jan 21-30


• Chicago, IL: Feb 18-27


• Denver, CO: Feb 26-Mar 11


• Kansas City, KS: Jan 21-30


• Los Angeles, CA: January 23-28, Jan 30-Feb. 4


• Maine: Mar 1-12


• Nashville, TN: Jan 17-23


• North Carolina area: Jan 24-30


• Orange County, CA : Feb. 27-Mar 5


• Newport Beach, CA: Jan 21-27


• New York City, NY: Jan 24-Feb 6


• Philadelphia (Center City), PA: Jan 16-21,23-28


• San Diego, CA : Jan 16-21


• San Francisco, CA: Jan 15-31


• Sonoma County, CA: Feb 21-27


• Vancouver, Canada: Jan 24-Feb 6


• Washington, DC: Jan 17-23

“When” to Buy “What” Shopping Guide

It’s the beginning of the year, and what better way to plan any purchases than knowing when you’ll get the best deals for them. There are obvious days where everything seems to be on sale, such as Black Friday, Cyber Monday, after-Christmas, etc, but there are those times of the year that are more under the radar. We’ve scoured different internet sources and guides and compiled the “perfect” time to buy certain items:

Winter (Dec-Feb)
• Air Conditioners (when there’s low demand)
• Bicycles and Outdoor Gear (when new models are filling up store shelves)
• Carpet and Flooring (when there’s low demand)
• Champagne (steep competition during the holidays)
• Chocolate (stock up after Valentine’s Day)
• Digital Cameras (January and February for deals on last year’s models)
• Furniture (January, when stores have to make way for new inventory)
• Gas Grills (when there’s low demand)
• Linens and Bedding (January, coinciding with “White Sales”)
• Wrapping Paper (January, once Christmas has come and gone)

Spring (March-May)
• Cookware (coinciding with graduation and wedding season)
• Car Parts and Accessories (April, in honor of National Car Care Month)
• Gym Memberships (starting in Spring, when NY's resolutions have all been forgotten)
• Used Cars (Dealers increase their inventories in April to prepare for spring selling season)
• Winter Clothes (end of season sales)

Summer (June-August)
• Beach/Swimming Gear (in August, when retailers are making way for fall items)
• Furniture (July, when stores have to make way for new inventory)

• Hardware and Tools (for Father’s Day sales)

Fall (September-November)
• Car Parts and Accessories (October, in honor of Fall Car Care Month)
• Cookware (gearing up for the holiday buying season)
• Home Appliances (in September/October when new inventory hits the stores)
• New Cars (Dealers get inventory in September and are eager to get rid of old models.)
• Shrubs and Trees (as nurseries are clearing out inventory)
• Toys (because of fierce competition for the holidays)
• Wedding Dresses (between Thanksgiving and Christmas)

Photo courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net