Shopping for CHANEL

For several years I've lusted after this bag. I've always wanted it in black with gold hardware. But the prices kept rising like 20% every year! So I took a chance and bought it on eBay. I bought a vintage CHANEL medium/large classic double flap in black lambskin with gold harware. The vintage bags are gold plated.

This bag is so classic and will never go out of style. It's so practical as well, it can be used as a clutch, cross body or shoulder bag. Can be dressed up or down. So I feel this justifies the investment.

Personally I feel that a designer bag can make an outfit. It can make a cheap outfit look more expensive. I usually buy bags that are classic, ones that will not go out of style because you'll get more use out of the bag considering the amount of money spent on each one. Also if I want a bag, I must be thinking about buying it for months, I can't do impulse purchases. My bags are bought with my own money....months and months of savings. I feel that I will appreciate it more because I can see my hard work.

Before this bag I did lots of research. It's extremely important to do research. There are so many fakes out on eBay. Don't let the prices fool you! Some fakes get sold for hundreds of dollars by dishonest sellers and uninformed buyers. Here's what I did before I took the plunge:

• googled how to authenticate CHANEL bags, this was to get a rough idea for what I should look out for
• searched eBay and made sure the seller posted plenty of photos, if you are unconvinced it's authentic ask the seller for more photos, a genuine seller should be more than happy to provide more photos
• ask PLENTY of questions
• read seller feed back, check what else they were selling, check how many years the seller has been on eBay, AVOID low feedback sellers, check refund policy
• get a second opinion, I used the Purse Forum which is a free service and is authenticated by ladies with plenty of years experience, there are other authenticators out there but some do charge a small fee
• set limits: how much to spend, what to expect from bag, quality vs. price
• pay by PayPal, PayPal offers buyer protection of up to $20,000. It is also illegal to sell fakes
• as an added backup I paid by Credit Card, the bank will also offer some sort of buyer protection, do not use a debit card

Feel free to ask me anything, by no means am I an expert. But I'm always obsessing over bags and have a keen eye ^_^