In our luxury obsessed culture, everyone wants a designer bag; make it the ‘IT’ bag of the moment and that’s even better. However, just because you want something, it doesn’t necessarily mean you can afford it, especially with rent prices skyrocketing in Toronto. For most of us, designer bags aren’t easily accessible, but a company called KukaMelon wants to change that. This new Toronto startup rents designer handbags for an extremely affordable price of $39.00!
If you’re wondering how this is even possible, KukaMelon is a subscription based service that allows you to rent one designer handbag per month. Along with the $39.00/month bag subscription, they also rent designer sunglasses for $29.00/month. Once you’re finished using the item (or the month is up), simply ship it back with the provided prepaid return label and voila – a new bag or pair of sunglasses will be sent to you again.
According to co-founder, Raya Al-khudairi, the idea here is to make designer fashion way more accessible for people like you and me. Raya admits to previously spending hundreds of dollars on purses and sunglasses, only to be worn for a month or little more. It’s this concept of there always being something new and better that is the foundation of KukaMelon.
Having an urge to try out the service, I signed up for both the bag and sunglass subscription. Using several keys markers (ease of service, selection, timeliness, and cleanliness), here’s what I thought about KukaMelon!
Ease of Service
The service is incredibly easy to sign up for online. Simply go to the products page where you can sign up for the handbag or sunglasses subscriptions, or both. The items I received (Michael Kors tote bag and Rayban sunglasses) came in pretty packaging that could be reused for return purposes. KukaMelon includes the prepaid return label inside; simply bring the package to your local post office with the return label when it’s time to ship it back.
Selection
As of now, KukaMelon has an okay selection with current brands being: Rayban, Burberry, Tory Burch, Police, Coach, Ralph Lauren, Armani Exchange, Oakley, Michael Kors and Tom Ford as sunglass options, and Kate Spade, Long Champ, Coach, Michael Kors, Tory Burch, Marc Jacobs, Vince Camuto, Fossil, and Cole Haan for bags. However, Raya states KukaMelon has plans to target other big name designers like Chanel, Gucci, Dior, and Louis Vuitton in the future. In addition to that, there is potential for them to expand into luxury winter wear brands as well.
Timeliness
In terms of timeliness and how long it took to receive the items, I had no issues here. Both the bag and the sunglasses were shipped and arrived at my place in under a week. However, the items were shipped from Mississauga to Toronto, so I’m not sure if different cities will have different standard delivery times.
Cleanliness
The Michael Kors Tote and Rayban sunglasses were both in stellar condition. I checked each item for any marks or debris (especially in the bag compartments) and everything was spotless. Despite being a rental service, both items also were showing essentially no wear so I’m under the impression that KukaMelon treats and cares for their items very well.
Overall, KukaMelon is a great service if designer bags or sunglasses are outside of your budget, or you’re looking to switch it up and rock something new every month. The only qualm I had with the service as a whole is that the preference section where you indicate what you want is not very extensive. It only asks what style of bag and what colours you want. For the purpose of this article I selected all options just to see what would turn up, but personally I would prefer to be able to be given a few bag and sunglass options each month and choose out of those.
If you’re interested in receiving new designer bags and/or sunglasses every month, I would definitely suggest giving KukaMelon a try! Head over to their Instagram to get a sneak peek of some of the available bags and sunglasses.
Featured Image: Instagram/@Kuka_Melon
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