Buying Cheap Leather Handbags - 5 Handy Hints For Finding the Best Possible Deal

If you are wanting to buy a cheap leather handbag then I would love to share a few handy tips that could end up saving you a lot of money.

It could also make the difference between you buying exactly what you want (and being wonderfully happy with your new bag), or being desperately unhappy with the whole experience.

Tip #1: USE AN AUCTION SITE.

I have put this first, and in capital letters, because it is the most important tip I can share with you.

Without doubt it really is the only way that you are going to get exactly what you want, in the price range that you are wanting to pay.

And, when it comes to selecting an auction site you are not going to find any better than eBay. You will never find as large a range of items, at incredibly low prices anywhere else ... fact !!

eBay is quite possibly the most "price sensitive" marketplace in the world, for just about anything imaginable. They also have better consumer protections in place than most other auction sites, which is important consideration for the online shopper.

Tip #2: Know EXACTLY how much you are prepared to pay.

Picture this scene. You see a bag you just have to have. You place a bid. 2 seconds later you get outbid. You go a little higher. You get outbid again. You go a little higher. You get outbid again. Can you see the dangerous pattern here ?

Do not get involved in a bidding war. Make sure you know exactly when to stop, or you will end up winning the item but not at the discount price you were hoping for.

The great thing you can always count on eBay for, is that there will ALWAYS be another item exactly like the one you really want.

Tip #3: Check on the Seller.

eBay provides you with quite a bit of information about the seller, that the seller has no control over.

Try and deal with a seller who -

already has a number of completed deals
has been an eBay member for a while
has a very high positive feedback rating (better than 98%).

Email the seller with any/all questions that you may have BEFORE you bid on any item. Remember that under eBay's terms and conditions that your bid is a binding contract to buy.

Once you start using eBay you will get "hooked" and will buy again for sure. So, do not start off your eBay account by getting negative feedback for yourself from a disgruntled seller.

Tip #4: BE SENSIBLE.

This is also extremely important. eBay is just like anywhere else in the world, where there are plenty of fraudsters waiting to take your money. I am sure you will have heard plenty of horror stories.

Don't let this stop you though. Basic common sense is all that you need to apply.

It is exceedingly difficult for fraudsters to maintain a high positive feedback over a number of deals (they will quickly get negative feedback from their buyers), which is why it is important to check those seller details that eBay provides for you.

If you are looking to buy authentic designer leather handbags then be sure to communicate in detail with the seller (by email , or even by telephone if they list a telephone number on their auction) beforehand, and ask them to provide the proof of authenticity.

You will find a lot of "knock-offs" and replicas ... so don't get caught.

Never pay using any method where you cannot get your money back on a fraudulent deal. This includes Moneybookers, direct bank drafts and transfers. Stick to the well tried and trusted methods like Paypal, where you have some recourse if everything goes bad.

Tip #5: Use a specialist directory site for your search.

More and more specialist eBay directory sites are coming online every day.

Why use them ? Because they automatically collect the exact live eBay auctions that you are looking for, and display them in one easy to navigate place. They save you the time and effort of searching through the whole of eBay yourself.

They are just information sites though. They are in no way involved with any deal that you may make. Your deal is always still just between yourself and the eBay seller.

Check the authors bio box below here for just such a directory that lists cheap leather handbags for sale on eBay.

I hope that you have found this article interesting, and that you can now shop more confidently online to buy that perfect bag you have always wanted.

Thank you for reading.

Designer Handbags -- Is Renting Better Than Buying?

Well, potentially, yes.

But it does depend on what you want out of your designer handbags.

Are you the type of handbag lover who enjoys collecting? Do you gain a huge boost each day when you go to your closet and try to work out which bag you'll carry today, a huge rush of satisfaction warming your insides as you survey your collection of shapes, sizes and colors?

Or do you use a handbag to finish off your outfit for the day? Each bag has a specific function or role to be used for, beyond which it rarely sees the light of day?

If you are the first type of handbag lover, one who delights in collecting and owning handbags, then I suspect renting them is not for you in the main. Maybe as a quickie solution to solving a particularly knotty "What would go with this outfit" problem as you buy a one off outfit for a wedding or dinner.

But if you are the latter type of handbag lover, one who's not so worried about possession but is keen to have a huge selection available and to be able to "duck and dive" in your choice of handbag, renting would be almost ideal for you.

Although the principles of renting have been around since Ugg rented some space on the side of his friend Urg's Brontosaurus, to advertise his new fangled idea of round stone wheels, the idea of renting handbags is relatively new.

Currently there are three major Handbag Rental sites available online, with more sure to appear before long.

So -- how does it work?

Well, to begin with, you have to become a member of the site in order to be able to rent their bags.

The level of membership you join under dictates which bags you are allowed to rent. The more you pay in membership fees each month, the more you get back -- so to speak. Sort of like life really!

So, if you join at the basic membership level (around about $19.99 per month on average) then you'll have a selection -- depending on which rental site you joined -- of about 100 low name designers. (Bear in mind that although there may be some similarity here and there, what one rental company classes as low name designer, another may not and vice versa. It's worth looking around before you take membership of one particular site to see what bags they list at each level.)

Designer labels we've seen at the basic level across the different rental sites have been ones such as Balenciaga, Brighton, Vittadini, Spader, Aitken and one even had Coach bags listed at this level!!

Now, I think in all sensibility you need to be fairly realistic when it comes to those high quality and expensive designer names that you expect to be ale to rent from sites such as these.

If you're expecting to find Hermes, Versace, Louis Vuitton and high end Chanel on them -- you might just have to think that one through again. (Especially the Hermes!!)

But this isn't to say that you can't find good, solid names on there. Dior, Gucci, Chanel, Fendi, Juicy Couture are all available on one rental site or another.

So -- you've set your membership level and started drooling over the bags. What happens next?

Once you've chosen a bag that you'd like to rent, you put in a request for a bag rental online at the site. The staff there check and make sure that the bag you want is available and, if it is -- bingo. Two to three days later, a UPS man arrives at your door, bearing gifts! (Didn't you ever listen to your mommy tell you never accept gifts from strange men! Tch!)

Once you have the bag you can keep it for as long as you like -- there is no minimum and no maximum period that you have to return the bag within.

Once you do decide that you've had enough of that particular one, simply search again, choose another bag that you like. Send back the one you currently have and they'll send out the next one by return. (Certain levels of membership on the different sites let you hire / rent two bags at the same time)

But -- shock horror gasp -- you've fallen in love with your new Hyanuki Shoulder Sling Bum bag and want to keep it. You can't give it up. Spots form in front of your eyes and you feel faint, slightly sick and deranged at the mere thought! Is skipping the country the only way you can keep hold of it?

Thankfully for you -- and the bounty hunters -- you CAN keep a bag that you grow attached to. Simply let the rental company know that you'd like a quote to buy and they'll make you an offer price, based on age, condition and popularity of the bag. If you can come to some agreement -- it's yours!

What about damage? Has little Tommy just emptied the contents of your Revlon No8 Blush Red nail varnish into the rented bag?? (Oops -- Tommy's about to get to see a lot of his room for the next few weeks!)

No worries -- just send the bag back to the rental company with a short, explanatory note and they get a quote on the cleaning cost. If you disagree with the price then you have an option to buy it 'as is', otherwise they go ahead and get it cleaned and you pay. Simple really.

(P.S. Is Tommy allowed out of his room yet? No? Oh, okay!)

So, is renting a designer handbag a good idea?

Well, let me put it this way. Is the Pope Catholic?

There you go then!