New Haslingden shop offering bags of chic on the cheap (From Lancashire Telegraph)

New Haslingden shop offering bags of chic on the cheap

3:21pm Wednesday 29th April 2009 in Search By Jemma Humphreys , Deputy features editor

HOW many designer handbags can one woman possess?

In the case of 37-year-old mother-of-three Emma Foster, the answer can be more than 100 at any given time.

Since she launched her online business alwaysauthentic.com with her partner Darren Waldron five years ago her collection of shoulder candy has just kept on growing.

But she doesn’t get to hold onto them for long. Within hours of purchasing her pre-owned designer handbags she sells them to women across the world at a fraction of their original price.

And from today, ladies in East Lancashire will have the pick of the bunch as Emma opens a shop in Manchester Road, Haslingden, where the stylish accessories can be bought and sold.

Emma, a former compliance manager for Starbucks, said: “One day I bought £3,000-worth of second hand designer handbags in good condition on my credit card and Darren thought I’d gone mad.

“But there are so may fakes around that I thought why pay out for a fake when you can get a gently-used real bag for the same sort of money.

"It turned out lots of women agree. We have been selling online for a long time and its going well.

"But we thought opening a shop was somehow more trustworthy.

“Our core work will still be online but this will target a different audience that is perhaps scared of the internet.”

When she first started out, Emma would keep all the bags in her bedroom and sell them from a computer under the stairs at the couple's home in New Street, Haslingden, before branching out into nearby office space.

Emma, who with Darren gave up her job to run the firm full-time, said she was a bit of a tomboy before setting up Always Authentic.

“I never used to be that into handbags, but now I’m a total convert,” she admits.

“When we get a new one in I say to Darren, ‘look, do you like my new bag?’ "And it’ll be mine for a month or so until one I prefer arrives and then I’ll sell it and use the new one.”

Currently in stock is a pre-owned limited edition Chanel which looks as good as new, on sale for £755. It would have retailed originally for £1,200.

One of the most exciting items is a rare Louis Vuitton Olympe Nimbus GM, which was bought for nearly £2,000 and is now being sold for £1,150.

But don’t think you can pull the wool over their eyes by selling them a fake. Emma is an expert in spotting even the best of copies.

The couple only buy and sell genuine bags in reasonably good condition.

Darren, who used to work at Selfridges, said: “I’d rather undersell and over-deliver.

"People will say they look new but we don’t want to say that.

"We do clean them up and they look good but they are still second hand.”