Checking a pre-owned bag before you pay for it

The description is the strongest tool you have

Section 11 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 provides that every contract to supply goods by description is treated as including a term that the goods will match the description. Information the trader gives about the main characteristics of the goods under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 becomes a term of the contract, and it cannot be changed afterwards unless both sides expressly agree.

That has a practical consequence worth more than any stitch count. Before paying, get the seller to state in writing what the bag is: maker, model, material, year if claimed, and condition. A screenshot of a listing is evidence; a verbal assurance in a shop is harder to rely on later.

Goods picked out from a display still count as sold by description, and where goods are sold by sample and description, matching the sample alone is not enough. A bag that matches the photographs but not the written claim is still a breach.

What the law already requires of the leather

Leather sold in Great Britain is regulated on one chemical in particular. Entry 47 of Annex XVII to the REACH Regulation, retained in UK law as UK REACH, provides that leather articles and articles containing leather parts coming into contact with the skin must not be placed on the market where the chromium VI content is 3 mg/kg or more — expressed in the regulation as 0.0003% by weight of the total dry weight of the leather.

That limit exists because chromium VI causes allergic contact dermatitis, and it is one of the few material claims that is enforceable rather than descriptive. A handle, a strap or a lined interior that sits against skin falls inside it; a bag sold in Great Britain should meet it regardless of where it was made.

Exotic skins come with a separate control. Moving items made from protected species such as crocodile, python or alligator leather into or out of Great Britain generally requires a CITES permit. There is a narrow personal effects exemption for items carried in personal luggage for personal use, which covers up to 4 worked items containing Crocodylia species, and it does not apply to live specimens or to species with stricter controls.

• Chromium VI in skin-contact leather is limited to 3 mg/kg, which is 0.0003% by weight of the dry leather
• The limit applies to the article placed on the GB market, not to the country it was made in
• Crocodile, python and alligator leather normally need a CITES permit to move across the GB border
• The personal luggage exemption covers up to 4 worked Crocodylia items for personal use
• A seller who cannot name the species on an exotic bag cannot tell you whether it can legally be posted to you

Physical checks that need no brand knowledge

Compare the bag with itself. Count the stitches across 10 cm on one side of a seam, then across the matching 10 cm on the other side: on a machine-made bag the two should agree closely, and a seam that drops from 22 stitches to 17 across the same panel has been resewn or was never sewn on the same machine. Do the same with panel heights, strap holes and the gap between studs.

Weigh the hardware with your hand against the body of the bag. Solid clasps, zip pulls and feet feel heavy relative to their size and warm slowly; plated hollow pieces feel light and warm instantly. Open and close every clasp 10 times, because a spring that drags on the fifth operation will fail inside a year.

Then look where wear is unavoidable. Base corners, the strap holes, the underside of the handle and the zip ends are the four places a carried bag always shows its age. A bag described as lightly used with crisp corners but a worn strap hole has had a strap changed, which is a repair rather than a fault, and is worth knowing before the price is agreed.

Price, payment and the two clocks

Price is evidence rather than proof. Rather than comparing against a figure quoted anywhere on this site, compare the listing against at least 5 completed sales of the same model in the same stated condition, and treat anything below half the lowest of those as a reason to ask more questions rather than to move faster.

Pay by a route that leaves a record and a dispute mechanism, and keep the written description with the payment record so the two can be put side by side. Under section 11 that description is part of what you contracted for, which is only useful if you still have it.

Then watch the two dates. Online purchases carry a cancellation period that ends 14 days after the goods come into your possession, with no reason required. Separately, the short-term right to reject faulty or misdescribed goods ends 30 days after delivery. Inspect the bag properly within the first week so both routes are still open if something is wrong.

Before you buy

• Get maker, model, material and condition stated in writing before paying
• Screenshot the listing, because the description becomes a contract term
• Ask for daylight photographs of base corners, strap holes, handle underside and zip ends
• Count stitches per 10 cm on both sides of the same seam and compare
• Open and close every clasp 10 times before agreeing the price
• For exotic skins, ask for the species by name and for CITES paperwork
• Note the delivery date: 14 days to cancel an online order, 30 days to reject faulty goods

Questions readers ask

What happens if a bag turns out not to be what the listing said?

It is a breach of the term implied by section 11 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015, that goods match their description. The short-term right to reject runs for 30 days from delivery, and if you asked for a repair or replacement inside that window, the clock pauses while you wait for it. Keeping the written description is what makes the claim provable.

Is a paid authentication service worth it?

It is a cost to weigh against the price gap, not a legal step. On a £900 purchase, a service costing £30 is about 6p a wear across 520 wears, which is less than the care budget in the budget guide on this site. What it cannot do is change your statutory position, which comes from the seller's description either way.

Can I be sure a bag's leather is safe?

Goods placed on the GB market must meet the 3 mg/kg limit on chromium VI in skin-contact leather set by entry 47 of Annex XVII. That is enforced on the article rather than on the seller's claim, so it applies to a second-hand bag being resold in Great Britain as much as to a new one. A bag imported directly by you has not passed any UK check.

What should I ask about an exotic skin bag?

The species, in words, and whether the seller holds CITES paperwork for it. Crocodile, python and alligator items generally need a permit to move into or out of Great Britain, and the personal effects exemption is narrow: up to 4 worked Crocodylia items carried in personal luggage for personal use, with stricter-controlled species excluded.

Are photographs enough to judge condition?

They are enough to judge the four places that always wear: base corners, strap holes, the underside of the handle and the zip ends. Ask for a photograph of each, taken in daylight. Those four pictures tell you more about how a bag has been carried than any number of styled shots of the front panel.

Sources

1. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 11 — goods to be as described — checked 2026-11-03
2. Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 22 — time limit for the short-term right to reject — checked 2026-11-03
3. REACH Regulation Annex XVII, entry 47 — chromium VI limit of 3 mg/kg in leather articles contacting the skin — checked 2026-11-03
4. GOV.UK — CITES imports and exports, including the personal effects exemption — checked 2026-11-03