Secondhand stores feed frenzy for top-end goods (3)

At the shop, a secondhand Bottega Veneta bag sells for more than $3,000, compared with its $6,000 original sticker price.

Zhu said the secondhand luxury goods market has recently been hit hard because more people are turning to the Internet to shop for luxury items.

"The thing about online shopping is that you can't tell whether it is fake or real," Zhu said. "Sometimes shoppers are attracted by the low price online, but it might be a fake with cheap leather or it is missing details. You wouldn't know if you don't see it."

Zhu plans to expand one of her stores into a place where consumers can find a secondhand purse for only $100, far cheaper than it would be online.

"I've been in the luxury goods market for more than 10 years and I have accumulated much in my inventory during this period," she said. "The place will be somewhere I can clear my stock and at the same time enable genuine luxury to be within reach of the average Jane."