Check the label before you decide a bag is just a bag

A charity shop shopper's find, reported by The Mirror this week, shows that the name inside a bag can matter far more than the look of the outside.

A red crocodile-pattern leather handbag with two handles.

Collectables

The Vintiqi team · 14 October 2026

The story

A leather bag bought for a few pounds in a charity shop turned out to carry the name of a maker whose similar bags sell for many times that, The Mirror reported this week in "Man buys leather bag from charity is gobsmacked after checking label at home (external source)".

The shopper had not read the label in the shop. He bought the bag on looks alone and only checked the name once he was home. The Mirror reports that he then posted about it on Reddit: "Found a leather bag for £8 and it looks absolutely new."

After that he looked the maker up. "Checked their website and found a similar bag for £120," The Mirror quotes him as saying. The bag was by Ashwood, a British leather goods maker, and The Mirror says its bags usually sell for between £25 and £125, with some pieces going well above that.

The part of the story that stays with us is how little he knew when he paid for it. Asked by other readers about the find, his answer, as The Mirror reports it, was simply "Thought it looked really nice."

Why the label is the first clue

The man in this story got lucky, and whoever gave the bag away lost out. Somewhere a bag with a good name inside went into a donation sack because, at a glance, it looked like any other leather bag. We see the same with handbags and small leather accessories every week.

A name inside a bag tells a valuer a great deal before the bag is even handled. It says who made it and roughly when, and it gives a quick way to check what the same maker's work sells for today. Condition and age then settle the rest. Without the name, the same bag is judged on its leather and its stitching alone, and most bags look ordinary that way.

That is why we ask people to turn an item over before deciding it is worth nothing. The lining and the underside of a flap are where a maker usually signs their work. The same habit applies to the back of a watch case or the base of a silver dish. Maker's marks are small, and they are easy to miss in a hurry. Nobody should feel foolish for missing one. Most people do.

Got a box of old items at home? Post it to us free and get one offer for the lot.

Get your free pack

What to do this week

If there is a bag, a case or a leather accessory in the pile for the charity shop, give it five minutes first.

Look inside for a name or a stamped number. Check the lining, the pockets, the zip pulls and the metal fittings. A good maker often marks the hardware as well as the leather.

Photograph any name you find, in daylight and in focus, and take a second picture of the whole bag. A clear photograph is enough for us to say whether it is worth keeping apart from the rest.

Do not clean or repair it before asking. Leather dressing and a hard scrub can lower the value of a bag that was fine as it was. Our before you post page explains what to leave alone.

If the name means nothing to you, that is no reason to give up on it. Some of the best makers are the least known outside the trade. Our vintage handbags and purses page shows the sort of bags we take, and it is easier to send one in the free pack than to guess.

The books, the crockery and the bulkier items can go to the charity shop as planned. Anything with a name inside deserves a second look, and the same goes for old jewellery, which can be worth hundreds or even thousands when it looks like nothing much. The difference might cover a family dinner out, or a weekend away.

Check the label before the bag leaves the house

The man in The Mirror's story found the name after he got the bag home. If you find one before yours leaves the house, send us a photograph or put it in the pack, and we will tell you by post, at no cost, whether it is worth keeping apart from the rest.

Vintiqi buys vintage items and antiques by post from homes across the UK. We carefully value each box and pay a fair price for it.

We take cameras and lenses, watches and pocket watches, retro games and consoles, medals and militaria, vintage toys, clocks, pens, old coins and banknotes, costume jewellery, jewellery, silver and gold, and much more. See everything on what we buy.

Call us free on 0800 048 8777, Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm. Or visit vintiqi.com and ask for your free postage pack. Put your items in one box, post it to us on the prepaid label, and we make one offer for the whole box within seven days of arrival. The offer stays open for 14 days, and you are free to say no.

Not sure what you have? Send it to us to value.

From the blog