Last Updated on February 26, 2025 by Eve Dawes
Designer purse and jewelry rental is the affordable way to always have the latest luxury pieces
Designer purse rental and designer jewelry rental sites are becoming increasingly popular. What’s not to love? Access to your favorite luxury brands and pieces you can swap out without forking out thousands at a time. There are both pros and cons so here are my thoughts and why I chose Join Switch over Vivrelle and Bag Borrow Steal. I also have a purchase credit code for you I’ll leave at the end of this JoinSwitch review.
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Join Switch membership plans
There are 2 levels, Core and Select, and 4 plans to choose from that allow you to borrow pieces from their Core tier, Select tier, or a mix of both.
Their Core bags and jewelry have an average retail value of $1000 versus their Select pieces which have an average retail value of $4,000. The best value is to do their annual rather than monthly plans as that will save you 25% and you get $180 purchase credit.
Why I chose Join Switch over Vivrelle and Bag Borrow & Steal
There are a few main differences between all of these designer purse rental companies from pricing to commitment.
I tried Vivrelle a few years ago, so maybe they’ve improved but the issue was inventory. They have very similar designer brand bags and jewelry as JoinSwitch but there was never anything on my wishlist in stock. So I never got to rent anything I wanted and canceled my membership after renting only 1 thing (the Gucci Marmont bag). In saying that, the rental was smooth and the bag as pictured and described.
The different designer purse rental companies membership plans and pricing
Vivrelle has 3 tiers and 4 membership options ranging from $45-309 per month with 1 month free on annual memberships. Join Switch has 2 tiers and 4 plans to choose from from $49-221 and Bag Borrow & Steal has no memberships, you pay as you go and pricing varies from bag to bag. However, I found Bag Borrow & Steal to be the most expensive way to rent a bag e.g. The Row Margaux 15 bag is $550/month and the Saint Laurent Icare maxi Shopping Tote $450/month.
With all 3 companies, you can keep the item as long as you want BUT with Vivrelle you can’t switch them like you can with Join Switch, you have to keep it for the whole month. With Bag Borrow & Steal, you can rent as many bags as you want for a minimum of a month with the option to pay to keep it longer. Vivrelle has a minimum 3 month commitment, Join Switch and Bag Borrow & Steal you can cancel anytime.
They all give the option to purchase any of your rentals and have standard wear and tear coverage.
Join Switch review | Pros and cons
Pros
- They do have an extensive selection of handbags, jewelry and brands but see the cons below.
- Fast customer service replies (usually within a hour during business hours).
- Free 2-Day FedEx shipping both ways.
- Switch it up as often as you want.
- No surprises, you pick your pieces.
- Coverage for minor wear and tear.
- Membership pricing is very competitive to their competitors.
- Ability to swap items more than once a month.
Cons
- Limited availability of both Core and Select pieces so sometimes you feel like you have to settle vs getting what you really want. Which means you might have to keep your membership for a while to get what you really want (11 of 160 favorites are currently available).
- Overpriced items to purchase. See below.
- Ambiguous condition descriptions. The condition of each item isn’t listed, it’s the same description for all of them.
The images are a good indicator of the condition of our handbags. Some of our bags are in new or like-new condition while our vintage bags show more apparent signs of wear. While we periodically take images to show the updated condition of our bags, they may vary slightly from the images. Each and every bag is rigorously cleaned between wears. JoinSwitch
One thing I think is both a pro and con is that there’s currently a waitlist for their Select tier. The pro being that it stops that level from being oversubscribed making it easier to find available pieces. The con being that you have to wait to have select Select membership by joining the waitlist. Thankfully, I didn’t have to wait long as I’ve had membership with them in the past.
Join Switch review
They offer Free 2-Day FedEx shipping both ways so you should get your bag quickly if you don’t ship over the weekend. Because mine shipped on Friday it didn’t get to me until Tuesday morning (4 days). So bare that in mind if you’re renting for a special event or planning on swapping more than once a month. Otherwise, you could spend 16 of 31 days without a bag as you can’t rent again until they’ve checked it back in.
I was really impressed with the condition my Lady Dior bag arrived in, it looked brand new, there wasn’t one mark on it. Renting gave me the chance to try a micro bag and realize, they’re great to rent but I wouldn’t buy one as they’re so very cute but so very impractical!
I’ll keep updating this as I rent more purses from them but my first impression is really good.
Join Switch code
Use code DawesEve22J when you join for $50 purchase credit.
How to purchase from Join Switch
Purchasing items from Join Switch is limited as you have to have an active membership and can only purchase items you are currently renting. I also feel like their member purchase prices are way too high and you’re better buying from places like Fashionphile or getting them brand new.
Take their Van Cleef earrings for example which they say have a Retail Value of $4200 and the Member Price to purchase is $4150. The exact same pair is $4150 brand new from Van Cleef & Arpels! Why would I buy used earrings from JoinSwitch for the same price as I can get them brand new? Unless you’re using your purchase credit to be able to reduce the price. I can understand why they do that though, as it offsets all of the purchase credits people use so they’re not practically giving them away.
So for me it’s definitely a better place to rent than to buy. Please, do your research on pricing before hitting the purchase button on your rental!
Whats on my designer purse and jewelry rental wishlist
Let’s just say I have a long designer purse rental favorites list (over 160 items) but this is my top 30, some of which I’m tempted to buy but I like that I can try them first. Because some bags and jewelry I’ve bought before that I loved in the store just didn’t suit my frame wearing them. You can also see how much you’d actually use it and how many of your outfits it goes with to make sure it’s a good investment for you.
Tips for how to use JoinSwitch
Because it’s a popular site and they only have so many items, it’s always good to have lots of items on your favorite list. It makes it easier to find items and also have a better chance of them being available.
If you love something, definitely sign up for back in stock notifications so that you have a better shot of being able to rent it next.
Have a look at your calendar and see what you have scheduled, what you’re planning on wearing and think about which bag rental would go with those looks so that you get the most use out of whichever bag or jewelry you borrow.
Use the availability filter to see what’s available vs checked out. Especially if you’re ready to rent and want it now. I find having a mix of back in stock notifications set and using the available now filter gives me the best shot of being able to find something.
