Uncovering the Story

One of my favorite things to do after a successful trip at the thrift store is to Google the crap out of the stuff I bought to try and find some kind of retail value for my finds. This can be tricky as most of the stuff you find at a thrift store is outdated and several seasons old, so finding these items outside of Ebay can be a task. In fact, I rarely even find the exact item, but it sometimes helps to get an idea of the brand and quality to judge whether or not you got a good deal.

In yesterday's post, I mentioned a fantastic deal I got on a purse at Wears Like New Consignment in Hershey, PA over the weekend. I was perusing the racks and saw this brown and tan La Tour Eiffel messenger bag laying in the clearance basket marked down to $2.00. I had been searching for another cross body bag to add to my collection, and there was something that drew me to this bag's simple color and design.

I had never heard of this brand before, but at two bucks who cares if it came from Walmart? 

I did some quick searching on phone on the way to the next shopping stop, and judging by my initial search, it seemed that this is actually a pretty high-end brand. Although I couldn't find the exact model of this bag, I was finding similar leather bags selling for between $75.00 to as high as $250.00. WOAH!

I did a little more research when I got home and I couldn't believe what I saw. Even though I wasn't able to find the exact same bag, I found some that were pretty similar...

However, I also saw this:

Which brings me to my next question: is the bag leather or vinyl? I think it smells like leather and feels like leather, but I am no expert on the subject. 

I also thought of the possibility of the bag being a fake, but after a little digging I wasn't able to find anything on this particular brand being known for counterfeits. While they seem to draw inspiration from Louis Vuitton and other high-end designers, this isn't a brand that is big in the black market for fakes. The bag itself is very sturdy, the stitches are all in place, and overall it just looks legit. At the end of the day, whether it's worth $14.00 or $140.00, I paid $2.00. Which is brag-worthy by itself.

Does anyone else like to research their thrift store finds when they get home? If so, what are some of your techniques? Are there any websites out there specifically dedicated to this? 

Also, tell me about the greatest deal you have ever found in thrift/consignment shop!

**You might noticed I changed the format of my comments. I finally figured out how to respond to comments in the post (I know, Blogging 101) and got rid of the spam filter because I noticed that some of my comments from beloved readers were being marked as spam. So fire away!