Over the years i’ e had two arguments with my wife that won’t go away. Both over handbags. First one was when we were dating. We saw a very delicate limited edition from a local brand that was around $500. Cherry blossom pink (?) and gold plated parts. Most delicate but not worth the money IMO. Considering what the spend on my hobbies i was a miserable rat refusing her the purse. Shame on me.
The next one was our first trip to Paris. Had to drag her to Galleries Laffayette. She bitched all the way to the door and then fell in love with a Valentino bag that was the first thing she saw once inside, no kidding. Two steps in and the got striken by lightning.
That little shit costed €1250 and was diminute and tubular. Possibly hand tailored to fit a can of Coke and nothing else. No room for a phone.

It was the first shop we saw, i tell you. She got too upset to enjoy the rest of the visit. We bought some stuff, presents mostly.

But that shitty (useless) bag still haunts me to this day and has become a recurring argument.

Next time i promise i’ll let her have what she wants.

0-0

Mrs. Lee wanted to go to the Galleries Lafayette too, as the LV store on the Champs Elysee had ridiculous lines. But they had the bag she wanted and they gave her the VAT refund paperwork too, so she got that back at the airport. If you're into that kind of stuff, it's usually cheaper to buy in Europe even with their high VAT, but then you get most of that back upon leaving at the airport.

^^^^^ Wife is definitely NOT into that kind of goods. That is why i stepped on it refusing her.

Also it is not advisable tor us Argies to reclaim tax refunds abroad as local government gets wind of it (maybe the use of CC?) and they come after us chickens with over 100% taxes, administrative fees and fantasy whatnots. Mum’s the word, wesuck on it hem VAT. Wife’s a CPA and kearns from her clients mistakes. And boy are they dumb.


0-0

Oh, all this stuff is well over the personal duty free exemption for Americans, but all those luxury brands in tourist areas advertise the VAT refund and their refund locations are pretty conspicuous in the airports too. I would think it'd be easy pickens for US Customs to police this stuff more if they wanted to. I have Global Entry and have never been asked anything upon return home since I got it.

Are high priced items worth it, not really because most of the time there is something cheaper that will function as well or better. I like to watch Youtube videos on how a lot of luxury items are made. If you look at the attention to detail, design, material and HOURS! spent making them you can understand why the prices are high to begin with. Then you add the desire and rarity and brand hype to it and also lots of excess currency chasing exclusive items and you end up where we are today. Although watch prices have been declining lately.

Mrs. Lee was given the opportunity to buy a Hermes bag at the Frankfurt airport last summer. When we walked in, the sales lady told us nothing was in stock, absolutely nothing. She was wearing a very well-patina'ed Rolex Pepsi GMT, which I asked her about. She said it was 1971. I asked her if she'd consider selling it to me. She said hell no. I showed her my modern Pepsi GMT I was wearing and then she said, "Please wait here for just a few minutes." She came back with a bag Mrs. Lee wanted and she was able to buy it. True story.

For many guys here, "buy once, cry once" is a way of life. For women, handbags and shoes, it's "buy 100, don't cry at all!"

quote:

“Hermès recently raised the cost of a basic Birkin 25-centimeter handbag in its U.S. stores by 10% to $11,400 before sales tax…

That’s the cheap one.
$499,500 Hermes Birkin purse, that’s right half a million dollars.

And yes, you have to establish a “relationship” with a salesperson and then maybe you’ll be invited to buy a Birkin.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: trapper189,

I am glad my wife is not materialistic, for the most part, when it comes to items like this. I bought her a nice purse/wallet combo years ago from one of the outlet stores, Coach and she appreciated it but said not to do it again.

Handbags? LMAO, no different than diamond engagement rings. 100 years ago diamonds weren’t worth a drop of piss. It’s a worthless stone only made expensive because of marketing, same as these handbags. I don’t buy anything where marketing dictates the price, and it’s a false price, an exclusivity price, etc.

I purchased a Coach leather wallet just before the turn of the century at an outlet store. It finally got to the point I needed to replace it last year - lasted ~25 years. Not bad. Replaced it with a Hanks leather wallet. We'll see how that goes....

Interesting set of responses. Fortunately, my late wife was a practical woman who appreciated quality not overpriced brands. Once I started visiting online dating sites, a woman friend shared an insight: if a woman's profile prominently featured a handbag with initials, move on--in all likelihood, she was only interested in a man's wallet and what he was willing to buy her (talk about sublime messages!).

I’ve bought a Coach bag for my partner before, and honestly, it was a pretty smooth experience compared to the frenzy surrounding brands like Hermès. I got it at a discounted price from an outlet store, and she loved it. The quality was solid, the leather felt premium, and it’s held up well over the years. It’s not cheap, of course, but it didn’t come with the whole “spend a fortune first to even get in line” situation some people described here with Hermès.

The retail price of handbags outweighs the retail price of the guns in my safe, two to one. Yes, there is a lot of money in handbags and accessories in my gun safe.

See, it’s not just the cost of the handbag itself, then it needs a matching wallet, and a matching makeup bag. So you’re out say, $3000 for the purse, and another $1500 for the wallet and $1000 for the makeup bag. No, you keep the wallet and makeup bag with each purse, and swap out the goods, because this accessory and that accessory don’t fit right in a different bag, or don’t looks right, etc. This seems crazy to me, I’d rather swap out the little bag and wallet and save the time of moving everything over, but I think it’s the ritual of playing with her toys.

Some of these may have appreciated in value since she bought them. Most probably have not.

My job changed when I left Washington State, and I don’t have a disposable income like that anymore.

At the end of the day, each bag has a memory (pretty good ones actually), and buying your best friend something that brings them that much joy, (even if you think it’s a bullshit waste of money you never let them know that) is a pretty awesome feeling. Couple that with it made a good memory we both won’t forget, usually to include a lunch or dinner, and a day of walking around and just enjoying each other’s company.

Not really any different than when she would take me to buy a watch, or sit with me when I changed out my car.

What’s the principled difference between a fur coat and an alligator bag?

quote:

Originally posted by stoic-one:
I mean, to a point.

The Chivas Regal Theory, the higher the price of a product, the higher its perceived quality.

And beyond that, there is a theorized category of goods, called Veblen goods, for which a price increase raises demand, in contrast to all normal economic thinking. It is, in essence, the "snob effect." If it is more expensive, I want it more. It is hard to show these goods actually exist, but Birkins would be one if any exist.

(Oh, and Chivas isn't even all that good. It is good, but just kind of "regular" good.)

My dad drank Chivas back in the 70's when I was a kid.....

I've bought a few LV's for the wife, recently on a trip to Denver she picked up 2 bags at the Louis Vutton store that were not available here in FL.

quote:

Originally posted by patw:
I am glad my wife is not materialistic, for the most part, when it comes to items like this. I bought her a nice purse/wallet combo years ago from one of the outlet stores, Coach and she appreciated it but said not to do it again.

My wife was the same way. On one of our big anniversaries, I told my wife I'd take her to LV and get her a purse. She didn't want to as they are pricey. I did it anyway. When we got back to the car, she cried. I asked her why she was crying, and it was tears of joy, she couldn't believe I did that for her, she was so happy. That made me feel so damn good the price was immaterial at that point, worth every penny and more.

And like Beancooker, every purse now has a story and memory attached to it. For me now it's not "Is it worth the money?", it's "SHE is worth it!"

quote:

Originally posted by darthfuster:
What’s the principled difference between a fur coat and an alligator bag?

Alligators aren’t cute and cuddly?

Or maybe the activists haven’t gotten around to throwing paint on people with alligator bags?

Spent lots of $$$ on Coach and Dooney and Burke for my Ex. She is an insurance agent and claimed the bags helped her to look successful and boosted her business.
I went with that explanation, but it cost me!