Purpose-Built for UK Designer Handbag Dealers

Designer Handbag Inventory Software for UK Dealers

Inventory management software for dealers of pre-owned designer handbags. Record authentication, serial numbers, condition grades, and inclusions on every piece. Push to Shopify, manage consignment and fairs, and stay HMRC-compliant on the VAT Margin Scheme. Built by a former UK dealer who left the trade to solve this full-time.

gemjam.app

The Challenges Designer Handbag Dealers Face

Buyers in this market start from suspicion. They want the date code, the authentication route, and an honest account of the wear before they will part with a substantial sum. A general-purpose stock system gives you one notes field and leaves the rest to you.

Every piece needs authentication and provenance evidence

A £6,000 Birkin needs the date stamp, blind stamp, and authentication source on record. A vintage Chanel needs the serial card and hologram photograph. Generic software forces this into a "notes" field where it gets lost — or skipped — and buyers walk when you cannot produce the paperwork.

Condition grading is a free-text mess in most systems

Like New, Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair — every dealer uses similar grades but encodes them differently. Add corner wear, handle patina, hardware tarnish, and interior staining, and a free-text notes field cannot keep up. You end up rewriting the same description on every listing.

Inclusions matter — and tracking them is fiddly

Box, dustbag, authentication card, original receipt, padlock, keys, clochette, rain cover. A full set is worth materially more than the bag on its own, and buyers will ask what is missing. Knowing exactly what came with each piece is the difference between pricing with confidence and discounting because you cannot remember.

Multi-channel selling across Shopify, marketplaces, and in-person

Designer handbag dealers sell through their own Shopify store, 1stDibs, Vestiaire, Grailed, in-person at fairs (Sign Of The Times and similar), and on consignment to other dealers. Keeping a unique piece in sync across channels when every item is one-of-a-kind means constant manual updates and the genuine risk of selling something twice.

How GemJam Closes Each Gap

Authenticate, grade, price, list: the same order a bag reaches you.

Custom templates with the fields handbag dealers actually use

Create templates with brand, model name, year or season, serial or date code, material, hardware, exterior and interior condition, inclusions, and authentication source. Different templates for Hermès, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, or your most-traded brands — as broad or as specific as you need.

Automatic channel pricing

Set one number per bag: what you would take for it with nobody's commission in the way. Each channel's fee structure is configured once in settings, and GemJam works backwards from your number to the price that channel needs to be listed at.

Automatic margin scheme calculations

GemJam assesses each bag for the scheme as you record the purchase, weighing what the piece is and how you acquired it alongside the seller's VAT status, and flags what it finds for you to confirm. The VAT is then calculated against the margin on sale. That matters when nearly every acquisition comes from a private seller rather than a VAT-registered supplier.

Push to Shopify, marketplace bridging coming soon

Push a bag to Shopify without leaving GemJam. Record a sale and your stock and your live Shopify listing move together; channels you have not connected yet still need updating by hand. eBay integration is in development. Marketplace bridging tools for 1stDibs, Vestiaire, and Grailed (Professional and above) are coming soon, so you can bulk-export listings without retyping every piece.

gemjam.app

Every Brand Has Its Own Tells

A Hermès Birkin is identified by its blind stamp and craftsperson. A Chanel Classic Flap by its serial sticker and hologram. A Louis Vuitton by where the date code sits. Build a template per brand and each bag is asked for the evidence that brand is judged on.

Hermès, Chanel, Louis Vuitton

Create a template per brand with the fields that matter — blind stamp year and craftsperson for Hermès, serial card and hologram for Chanel, date code position for Louis Vuitton. Filter your stock by hardware, material, or model when a buyer asks for something specific.

Condition and inclusions tracking

Define select-list fields for headline grades (Like New, Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair) and separate exterior, interior, and hardware grades. Track inclusions precisely — box, dustbag, authentication card, receipt, padlock, keys, clochette, rain cover — so a "full set" piece is priced and described accurately.

Serial number masking

Record the full serial or date code privately and use a calculated field to generate a masked version (e.g. "1234XXXX") for public listings. The full number stays in your records for authentication and insurance; counterfeiters cannot copy what you do not publish.

Authentication evidence per item

Attach authentication certificates, date code photos, and condition photos to each piece. Custom fields record authentication source (Entrupy, Real Authentication, in-house, brand boutique receipt), date authenticated, and grade — ready to share with sceptical buyers and to prove provenance to HMRC.

The Margin Scheme Without the Spreadsheet

Buy from a private seller and there is no VAT invoice to reclaim against. The Margin Scheme answers that by charging VAT on the profit margin rather than the full selling price, and GemJam applies it as each bag moves through your books.

Eligibility assessed at the point of purchase, never assumed from the seller alone

VAT calculated at 1/6 (16.67%) of the margin on each eligible bag

Stock Book, VAT Return Report, and dual invoices produced to HMRC's specification

Xero-compatible export, ready to forward on to Dext

GemJam vs Generic Inventory Software

What each option gives you, and what it quietly costs you.

GemJam

  • Custom templates per brand
  • Authentication and serial number tracking
  • Condition grading and inclusions
  • Channel pricing calculator
  • VAT Margin Scheme
  • Multi-channel (Shopify; eBay coming soon)
  • Photo management
  • Unique item management

Spreadsheets

  • Manual columns (no templates)
  • Manual authentication notes
  • Free-text condition only
  • No channel pricing
  • Manual VAT formulas (error-prone)
  • No multi-channel selling
  • No photo management

Generic Inventory Software

  • Limited custom fields
  • No authentication workflow
  • No condition grading
  • No channel pricing
  • No VAT Margin Scheme support
  • Bulk-focused, not unique items

Dedicated Dealer Software

  • Custom fields vary by provider
  • Authentication tracking varies
  • VAT Margin Scheme
  • No e-commerce integrations (own website only)
  • Limited accounting integration

Also for UK Dealers

GemJam works for any dealer of unique items — explore the dedicated landing pages for adjacent categories.

Handbag Dealer Software: Common Questions

Authentication, grading, channels, and VAT, answered without the sales pitch.

Price With Confidence, Not From Memory

Authentication evidence, condition grades, inclusions, and margin sitting on the bag's own record when the buyer starts asking. Join the waiting list for early access.