The biggest issue when shopping secondhand is that you’re rarely buying from the brand directly, so ensuring you’re getting the real deal is important. While our four experts work for trustworthy brands, not every pre-loved bag undergoes the same authenticity procedures. So, if in doubt, remember Gallagher’s simple yet effective phrase: “If the price is too good to be true, it often is!”

To make these processes watertight, Olivia Rands, accessories buying manager at Selfridges, tells us that each bag in the Reselfridges edit is third-party validated. eBay offers similar assurances: an ‘authenticity guarantee’ is available for handbags over £500, (look for listings with the blue tick). “This means the item is eligible to be vetted and verified by a team of expert authenticators at no additional cost, allowing you to shop for pre-loved luxury with complete confidence,” says Hamilton.

If you want to do some sleuthing work yourself, Staerck has some top tips for spotting a fake. “Ask the year they bought the handbag and check the digits in the serial number corresponds to the production year; if it’s outside of that, it’s definitely a fake,” she says. Additionally: “The hardware colour should match the logo colour on the inside of the handbag,” and when shopping for Chanel, its quilted handbags “have 10 stitches per inch. It can sometimes be ever so slightly outside of that, but never by much. So, if you count seven stitches, you know it’s not authentic.”

Plus, you may be surprised to learn there’s a best time to buy these luxury label finds. “The fashion houses hike up prices on their evergreen styles annually in the spring. For Louis Vuitton, this used to be around 5%, but this year we’ve seen as much as 71% for Chanel, 25% for Louis Vuitton and 21% for Gucci,” says Staerck. “Between December to March is a great time to snap up a bag you’ve been hankering after as it will increase in value on the pre-owned market post-purchase in line with the fashion houses.”

Secondhand bags are big business – here’s how to shop them according to the experts