WARNING!! The following blog post contains information some of you might find down right offensive. I'm not kidding. I'm about to step on some serious sacred cows.
Ok, if you're brave enough to read on, here we go........
Christmas gifts should be new, right? Nothing says Christmas morning or 'I love you' like a crinkly, crackly, plastic wrapped goodie, fresh from the store. To stoop so low as to buy something like, say, a USED item for a Christmas present? Dear God. What's wrong with you?
Well, I'm not advocating dumpster diving as a means of Christmas shopping. I'll bet some out there do.
My precious daughter is about the easiest going teenage girl you'll ever meet. This child was raised on frequent trips to the thrift store, and she's worn her share of resale clothing, so she's managed to grow up a reasonably balanced individual. She knows she can find the good stuff second hand, and doesn't have to shell out big bucks at the mall if she doesn't want to.
So proud.
The thing is, if you are a reasonably balanced individual, as you grow up, you begin to develop certain tastes. You begin to know your body well, and dress it accordingly. You know what works and what doesn't. Often, that means buying certain brands that fit you better than others. Sometimes you are lucky enough to find those items at a thrift store. Sometimes you must save up money to buy them brand new.
And sometimes, you find them on Ebay.
Such was the case with Claire's Ugg boots.
Now, before you turn up your nose, hear me out. Claire has a few brands she likes. Tom's shoes. Victoria's Secret Pink yoga pants (they wear like iron). She has happily worn knock off Uggs boots for years. This year, she happened to try on a friend's REAL Uggs, and it was like Cinderella found her slipper. She loved those things.........they were like walking on a cloud.
So, I started the search for a pair of her own for Christmas. Starting with the Ugg website, I found the black, short, classic style she preferred retailed for the fabulous (!) price of $155. Yeah, I don't buy MYSELF shoes that expensive.
That didn't deter me one bit. I know I could find a pair of Uggs on Ebay.
Have you used Ebay? You must be careful, as you can get into big trouble. I went through a phase where I bought way too much on Ebay, to the extent that the UPS man knew my first name. Yeah, that was a long time ago.
Go to the website, type what you want in the search bar, and prepare to be amazed at the various entries for exactly what you want. Once you hone in on the entry with the price point you desire, check out the seller's feedback and rating. Since I wanted to make sure Claire got the boots of her dreams, the seller I chose had a 100% positive feedback rating. I bid on the boots, and won.......$85, and that included shipping, for gorgeous black Uggs that had been worn ONCE. I saved so much, I bought Claire an Uggs care kit off the brand's website, so she could keep her boots clean and protected from the weather.
On Christmas morning, I couldn't have put a price tag on the reaction Claire had when she opened her boots. She was thrilled and absolutely shocked. Never in a million years did she believe she'd get a pair of Uggs......at least not before she had a job and bought them herself. Did it matter to her whether I'd paid $85 or $155? No, because the boots looked brand new, and no one else will be the wiser unless she tells them.
Or, unless they read my blog :D
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