Looking good has its price. And when it comes to high fashion, that price is often marked up about 300%. Average consumers have historically gone to extreme measures to capture the couture look, while working with a McDonald’s budget. Some venture to Canal St. to purchase the best knockoff handbags $30 can buy. Others take a gamble on Ebay and pray that the  Rolex they just bid $400 on is legit.

Now, there’s a way for the semi-affluent to get their hands on things only the fully affluent can usually afford. InstantLuxe, a new luxury site that recently launched in the UK, is the first and only online buyer-seller platform for authentic pre-owned designer luxury goods. That means authentic Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Cartier, Rolex, Yves Saint-Laurent, Chanel and numerous other luxury brands – at prices in the hundreds versus thousands. And each item is backed with a certificate of authenticity so you know it’s the real deal.

As sites like InstantLuxe, Gilt Group and others continue to make luxury goods, services and experiences accessible to a more aspiring audience, how will this effect the purchasing habits for the actual affluent consumer?

Probably not much at all. In our research at Mascola Group, we’ve discovered that labels often carry more value in the world of aspirational consumers, than those in the higher end of the affluent category (ultra-affluent consumers couldn’t give a gilded goat about labels).

If you’re a luxury marketer, it might be time to think about a more tiered marketing program – one that offers one type of product for the aspiring affluent, one for the ultra-affluent, and one that falls in between.

And if you’re just a jealous onlooker, don’t be so quick to judge a handbag by its label – that Louis Vuitton may be full of receipts from Applebee’s.