COS purses: price by condition
| Condition | Typical |
|---|---|
| New with Tags | £55 (~$73) |
| Like New | £47 (~$62) |
| Good | £36 (~$48) |
| Fair | £25 (~$33) |
| For Parts | £14 (~$18) |
Seller-declared grades, sterling with an approximate US dollar equivalent at £1 ≈ $1.33 (July 2026). What each grade means.
What holds its value across COS
- Oversized wool and wool-blend coats, which are the label’s signature and the thing buyers search it for by name
- Archive and limited-edition pieces, which are produced in small runs and are the only part of the range with a collectors’ element
- Plain, structured tailoring in neutral colours, which dates far more slowly than anything printed and stays saleable for years
- Heavier knitwear in merino and wool blends, which holds its shape where the cheaper high-street equivalents do not
What pulls COS resale value down
- Pilled knitwear, which is the commonest fault and shows immediately against the plain colours the label favours
- Faded blacks and washed-out greys, which are most of the range and where fading is most obvious
- Anything with a broken or replaced signature button or fastening, since the hardware is deliberately minimal and any substitute shows
- Basic jersey pieces, which are cheap enough new that a used one rarely justifies the postage on its own
Identifying and dating yours
- The neck label reads COS rather than any sub-line, and the care label carries a product code buyers can search to confirm the season
- COS sizing runs large and is cut deliberately oversized, so give flat measurements — buyers who have not worn the label before consistently order wrong
- Photograph the shoulder seams and the inside of the coat, because the construction is most of why somebody chooses this label secondhand
What lifts any purse, whatever the label
Purses are small, easy to post and hold value well at the designer end where the entry price to a brand is low.
- Designer labels with entry-level appeal
- Full-grain leather with even patina
- Card slots that still grip
- Box, dust bag and authenticity card
And what pulls one down
- Stretched card slots
- Split edge paint along the seams
- Coin section linings that have torn
- Bonded leather, which flakes
Working out what yours is worth
- Check the card slots still hold cards firmly
- Inspect the edge paint on every seam
- Photograph the interior and coin section
What to state in the listing
- Dimensions closed, and material
- Number of card slots, note sections and whether there is a coin compartment
- Closure type, and confirmation it fastens securely
- Condition of the lining, corners and clasp
Brand, material and type: “Leather Purse with Coin Section, Navy” or “Zip Around Purse, 12 Card Slots”. Say whether it has a separate coin compartment — it is one of the main reasons people choose a particular purse and it is rarely mentioned.
Preparing and photographing it
- Open and close the clasp or zip a dozen times and check it holds firmly every time.
- Turn out the lining and check for coin marks, pen marks and torn seams.
- Clean the exterior gently and check the corners, which wear through first on a purse carried inside a bag.
- The purse closed, front and back
- Fully open, showing all compartments and the lining
- The clasp or zip mechanism close up
- The corners and any scuff, lining tear or discolouration
When it sells best, and handing it over
Steady year round with a strong lift before Christmas and Mother’s Day. Branded leather purses sell quickly in those windows.
Very cheap to post. Use a padded envelope, a tracked service, and check every compartment twice for anything left inside before you seal it.
What buyers ask
Does COS clothing hold its value?
Reasonably, and better than most of the high street, because the designs are plain enough not to date. Coats and tailoring do best; plain jersey basics are barely worth listing on their own.
What size should I list a COS coat as?
Give the label size and the flat measurements together. COS is cut oversized and the label size alone misleads more buyers on this brand than on almost any other.
How much is a COS purse worth?
Roughly £8 to £55 depending on condition, against £8 to £55 for purses generally. The identification points above are what move a listing to the top of that range.
What the fees would take elsewhere
At the mid-range £31 for a COS purse, against what the commission marketplaces would deduct:
| Platform | Fee | You keep |
|---|---|---|
| Poshmark | −£6 | £25 |
| eBay | −£4 | £27 |
| Mercari | −£3 | £28 |
| Etsy | −£2 | £29 |
| WishThrift | −£0 | £31 |
Seller-side rates verified 26 Jul 2026, percentages only — the per-order and processing charges those platforms add are excluded, so the real gap is wider.
Listing is free and there is no commission — read how to sell a purse for the title, handover and timing, or the general purse value guide if yours is not a COS.
See also: all COS value guides · value guides by brand · buying a purse · Bags & Handbags · condition grades.