Rebag, AKA "Handbag Heaven," Opens a Store in Miami's Design District

There’s a new store on the block in the heart of Miami’s Design District, and it's ready to handle all of your handbag needs. Rebag, the popular online store that buys and resells customers' handbags, is opening the doors to its seventh brick-and-mortar today.

Rebag, which calls itself "handbag heaven," has had its eye on Miami for a while. As a company that started online before opening physical stores, it has kept track of where its customers are located geographically, as well as where there’s a strong luxury-brand presence. The Design District was a perfect match.

This is "definitely our most ambitious store," founder and CEO Charles Gorra says. "It’s pretty much twice as big as any store we’ve ever opened." At two stories high, the shop measures about 4,500 square feet and carries approximately 50 designers, mostly luxury brands such as Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and Prada.
It’s also a visual experience for visitors. Like all Rebag stores, this one includes the Hermès Birkin Wall, a statement wall full of coveted Birkin and Kelly bags in every color of the rainbow. When they need a break from shopping, customers can relax in an outdoor courtyard by gazing at a 15-foot-tall mural by artist Andrea von Bujdoss and lounging on furniture in pastel yellow — Rebag’s signature shade.

"We wanted to make this more of a destination, somewhere where you can spend time and enjoy," Gorra says.

Not your average handbag store, Rebag wants to be a one-stop shop for people both buying and selling bags. Customers can hang out in a VIP area upstairs while they wait their turn at the Rebag Bar to get a quote for bags they want to sell.

"We purchase the bags outright," Gorra says. "We’re not consignment-based; we’re not peer-to-peer. Show us a bag, and we can make a quote and buy it right there."

There's no appointment necessary, and the store will determine the quote for your bag(s) within an hour and pay you on the spot. Their hope is you’ll then put that money toward your next bag and shop for it at Rebag. It's a model reminiscent of places like Rent the Runway, except that with Rebag, customers own the bags outright before selling them to the store.
Rebag also offers deals to incentivize you to do your buying and selling in one place. If you take Rebag credit instead of cash, the store will pay 10 percent more for your old bags. In the new Rebag Infinity program, every bag you buy from the store — on- or offline — can be sold back within six months for at least 70 percent of what you paid. You get the money back in Rebag credit, which you can then use toward your next purchase. In theory, this means you could have a new handbag every season and always keep up with the latest trends without breaking the bank or accumulating piles of purses you'll never use again.

"We realize people want change," Gorra says. "Trends change, especially these days with social media. They want to have something new, something different, something special. The idea is that you can get into those shorter patterns where you can flip your bags."

This playful (and environmentally friendly) approach to shopping should be a welcome addition to one of Miami’s most fashionable neighborhoods. After all, if you’re going to splurge on a designer bag, why not try a whole bunch of brands and styles for (more or less) the price of one?

Rebag Miami. 140 NE 40th St., Miami; rebag.com. Monday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., Sunday 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.