My Louis Vuitton "Habit"

I had to go to the sporting goods store today to get my husband some new ear plugs for his swim workout.  As long as I was there, I might as well pop into the Goodwill thrift store nearby!  I found a Martha Stewart book for 99 cents and was checking out, when I noticed three mint looking Louis Vuitton bags behind the counter.  I asked to see them, and while I was convinced that they were the genuine article, I passed them by.

Why, you ask? Well, for one thing, my pet peeve recently has been that thrift stores in general are getting awfully proud of thier merchandise.  Yes, I realize it's for charity and a good cause, but recent pricing is bordering on retail levels.  For crying out loud, all the items were FREE!  Hellooooooooooo???

The bags were $39.99, $79.99 and $99.99 respectively.  For a split second, I toyed with the idea of buying one of them and putting it up on eBay, but what if it's a big flop?  The cheapest bag was in the best shape, but I was somewhat amazed at how cheaply made they all seemed to me. I just did not want to take the chance that I would have wasted the money. So I left the bags at the store.

You might say, if they looked cheap, surely it was a knock off? I'm convinced they were not, because all the purses had the LV logo on all of the hardware and "Louis Vuitton, made in France" leather label inside.  One of them even had a serial number on it.  My theory is that if it was a knock off, the manufacturer would not go through all that trouble.  It just is not worth the investment for them to do all that if they were just trying to make a quick buck.

Back in the day, when I was much, much younger, I desperately wanted one (or two or more) of these bags.  But even in my insane youth, I was not crazy enough to spend a king's ransom for one lousy bag.  So I never got one, until I purchased the three in the photo.  This is the extent of my Louis Vuitton "habit."

The largest one was purchased at a garage sale for a whopping $3.00.  Compared to the ones I saw today at Goodwill, this one was made when Louis Vuitton was synonymous with quality.  The leather handles have a rich patina from use by the previous owner, and I get a big kick every time I use it, which is not often.  But, I know I have the satisfaction of other people noticing that I own one, and the secret satisfaction of knowing how much it actually cost.  Hey, it cost less than coffee from Starbucks!

The white one was purchased about 3 years ago at Goodwill for around $3.00.  Funny thing is, it was in the "valuable goods" case at the store, but the price was not so valuable.  I purchased it not to use, but to eventually gift it to one of my husband's nieces when they are old enough.  Same for the other brown bag wich was about $1.50, no kidding! I purchased it last year at my local Goodwill.  I have not yet decided if I will gift it, but I'm probably going to use it as a make up bag when my current one falls apart, because it is just the right size for that.

Now, I have no clue how much these things retail for.  I thought, at most, $100?  I have a high school friend in Japan who has the Louis Vuitton account for a market research firm in Tokyo.  When I posted a photo of the two smaller bags on my Facebook account and wondered how much they were if new, she told me quite a bit.  She mentioned that an iPod case was going for over $300!  Insanity, I tell you!  I'm sure glad my "habit" cost less than lunch at McDonalds!

Do you have a "habit"?