My latest Thrift Store Find

How much would you pay for a Vera Bradley bag? $25 dollars, $50 dollars, Who is Vera Bradley and why are her bags so expensive??? Well, that last comment would have been my answer a few weeks ago.

I was recently browsing a local thrift store on my lunch break and a bag behind the glass counter caught my eye. I asked the clerk to look at it closer and she handed it to me. It was a large bag with 6 pockets on the inside and one on the outside, it was brown and peach with a floral motiff. And, it was 100% vegan (in other words, no part of it is made out of leather or other animal derived materials).It was perfect for me! Except for one thing...... It was $29 dollars! $29 dollars for a bag? At a thrift store no less? You must be kidding? I questioned the clerk on the price. She said it was priced that high because it was a Vera Bradley bag. Ugh! Labels...... I hate when they get in the way of a really good deal. So, I gave it back to the clerk. Nope, I was not going to pay extra because Vera Bradley made it. Even if it was the only bag/purse I had found in almost a year that I loved. It didn't matter that I could fit everything, including my 3 coupon wallets, in it. It didn't matter that it was the first product I had found in a long time that said "Made in the USA". Nope I wan't going to buy it.
So, I left, empty handed. I thought about it the rest of the day, that night, and the next morning. Then, I had a thought "My birthday is coming up..." and "I really wanted Wicked tickets but decided not to spend that much money when we are working so hard to become debt free and build our savings back up". " I could just spend $29 dollars for a birthday treat". So, I am now the proud owner of a Vera Bradley Bag. I did go to her website and discovered that bags that size were retailing for $70+. I guess I did get a deal in that sense. And, I'll be carrying that bag for a long, long time.

You never know what you might run across in a thrift store!