'Fashion Hunters' recap: Price Wars

Melanie VanDerveer

Marc Jacobs, Valentino, Louboutin. These are a few of Second Time Around's favorite things. When these designer pieces walk into the store to be consigned, everyone's radars go up. But while everyone loves them, there is no lack of disputing going on when pricing them.

Consigner, Yulia, walked into the store with a Marc Jacobs dress retailing at $3,800. She walked in with the thought of not settling for anything less than $3,000, but that's not how she walked out. She said it was from the limited collection and designed for Liv Tyler, although Tyler never wore it. Manager of the store, Tara, knew right off the bat that this consigner was going to be a tough one. She offered her $1,200 for the dress and without missing a beat, Yulia said no. Then she went to $1,500, and Yulia came back with $1,600. This consigner was a smooth operator and knew just what buttons to push on Tara, so Tara finally gave in and said, "Absolutely $1,600 for a new relationship."

Katherine, a consigner who used to live in Paris, walked into the store with two pairs of Christian Louboutin shoes. Wilson and Karina were at the counter, excited to hear the stories behind the fabulous original shoes. The first pair of shoes were flats that were custom made for Katherine by Louboutin and retailed for $600. Karina offered her $350 because they are one-of-a-kind shoes. The second pair were green satin pumps that retailed for $900. Katherine had never worn these shoes because they were too narrow. Karina offered her $500 for them, and said, "I buy Louboutins all the time and I know these shoes will sell at almost any price." Let's just say Katherine left very happy since she didn't expect to get so much for the shoes. And she's the only happy one about it because once Tara finds out the pricing situation, the war of egos begins. Tara is not only not happy about the pricing, but thinks the flats are too worn to even try to sell. Wilson jumps into the conversation between Tara and Karina and the a! ttitudes begin to fly. Karina stands by her pricing and Wilson has her back, but Ambria and Tara gang up on them. "Your radars are like totally off," Ambria tells Wilson and Karina. The battle ends with Tara reminding everyone they are a team. And just desserts come in for Karina who later sells the green pumps to a customer for $350; a lower price than what she paid for them and Tara's idea on pricing, but they sold quickly.

Maya, a consigner, walks in with what she believes to be a Valentino dress. The dress doesn't have a tag, so there are some concerns. Tara calls in vintage expert Keni Valenti to authenticate the dress. After going over the seems, fabric and zipper, Valenti said, "I believe the dress was made in America and not a Valentino." But he does think the fabric is actual Valentino fabric, so Tara offers Maya what she originally paid for the dress, $150, instead of the original offer of $50 from when she first walked in. Maya said no, and left with her dress.

Shelly, a consigner with some original jewelry, visited the store to sell a matching choker and bracelet set by designer Stephen Dweck. She tells Karina she needs the money to get more hair extensions so she can attract much younger men. The choker retails for $4,000 and the bracelet for $1,200. Shelly wants to walk out of the door with $3,500 to $4,000, but ends up accepting $600 for the bracelet and $1,200 for the choker. All's well that ends well. The store has new, hot jewelry to sell and Shelly can get her extensions and possibly a young "boy toy."

On the next episode: Charity auction brings in the big names and amazing fashions.