Story #1 – Canal Street

Once upon a time Miss Carolyn was shopping the Canal Street scene in NEW YORK CITY with her friend, Miss Amy. As any NYC tourist knows, Canal Street is home to knock-off/fake bags. Miss Amy was dy.ing for a red purse, and sure enough, she found THE PERFECT RED PURSE! (Meaning it was to.die.4 CUTE!)

BUT remember, she was with Miss Carolyn who is the queen of bargain shopping. She likes to bargain, and she’s good at it; consequently, she tutored her friend about how to get a good price on the great purse.

1. Take time to shop other vendors to see what they are charging for similar merchandise.
2. Decide how much you REALLY want that purse.
3. Once you know the average “going” price, add in the “desirability quotient” to determine the HIGHEST price you will pay.
4. Be prepared to walk away from the red purse if the vendor WILL NOT meet YOUR pre-determined price limit.
5. Return to the original vendor and offer a much lower price than what you are WILLING to pay.
6. Barter until you pay what you want OR walk away!

Got that? Well, Miss Carolyn AND Miss Amy followed those steps, and Miss Amy purchased her GORGEOUS dream bag for $35. (Whether or not that was a bargain, I don’t know because I’ve NEVER shopped Canal Street, AND I am terrible at bartering. I have S.U.C.K.E.R. written all over me. BUT I LOVE the purse and would have paid more for it, I’m sure!)

Now, Miss Carolyn loved the purse, too, and found a slightly smaller version in dark plum. Hmmm! But she didn’t want to be a CopyCat, and so she suffered purse envy in silence.

Upon their return to Utah, Miss Carolyn’s Mama admired the red purse, and then turned to her daughter and asked, “Why didn’t YOU buy one?” Miss C. confessed that she wanted to but thought it would be tacky to own one so similar to her friend’s.

Miss Amy couldn’t believe it as she is NOT the type that has to own one-of-a-kind creations. NO WAY! And so, the faithful friend searched for someone who was visiting New York City – a “drafted” personal shopper of sorts, and asked HIM to hit Canal Street in search of the famous purple purse.

The kind purse-runner found the handbag, purchased it for $30, and surrendered it to Miss Amy to give to Miss Carolyn! And EVERYONE – the friends, the purses, and the runner lived HAPPILY EVER AFTER.

Except Renae, and THAT’S story #2!

Story #2 – The Department Store

Once upon a time there was an older woman who thought that she had outgrown youthful vices like coveting, envy, jealousy. That kind of thing.

But then she met up with THE purse.

Happy for the owner of said bag, she exclaimed, praised, and admired the dark plum creation. The woman was even more delighted over the amazing accessory when she heard the legend behind the purple pocketbook – the purchase place, the bargaining, AND the gift. She not only wanted a purse; she wanted the experience.

And so the woman headed for … Kohl’s. Yes, Kohl’s. She searched the shelves, priced a red Vera Lang, a purple Relic, and a silver Chaps – NOT the  BIG brands, but not knock-offs. All were ON SALE for 40% off the original prices. She was thrilled, but MAYBE she could drive down the price even more!

Finally, the woman spotted the Elle Delano Satchel in golden olive – there was only one. How badly did she want it? The original price was $65; much too expensive. The discounted price, however, was $39.00. Not bad. BUT she had … A COUPON!

Confidently, she marched to the checkout line and plopped her purchase onto the counter, and the sales associate started to ring up the $39 price, but she whipped out the 15% off coupon before the transaction was completed. Now she deducted 55% to equal $29.25.

While the department store excursion was a “knock-off” experience when compared to shopping on Canal Street, and the purchase wasn’t as jazzy as the New York City find, the golden olive satchel with ruched details and tumbled faux leather did tame the green-eyed monster and laid the purse envy to rest.

… and they ALL lived happily ever after – again!

The End