On any given day, there are probably several hundred thousand handbags and purses listed for sale on eBay. For anyone (like me) who is hunting for the “perfect purse” it’s safer to stay away from eBay altogether. Just taking a little peek to see if there’s a purse or two that looks interesting will almost certainly guarantee at least one purchase. Trust me, I speak from too much experience!

Today I’m searching for a mid-to-large pink leather purse, something that will hold a lot but look fashionable as well. As usual, there are hundreds of purses in all shades of pink to choose from. Making the right selection will take time and careful comparison of various listings.

One particular “lambskin” purse stands out from the rest because I have seen about ten listings for the same purse, using the same photograph, by different sellers. The prices are ranging from a low of $14.95 to a high of $49.95 with shipping charges about $10 on most. Obviously, if this purse is the one I decide to buy, I won’t pay more than $14.95.

Perhaps not all eBay shoppers will keep on looking once they find that “perfect” purse but that could be a mistake. To be a smart shopper, finding “it” takes time and requires reading the complete ad for every potential buy.

I want real leather and most of the listings I’ve viewed have implied they were real leather. Only by reading the entire listing do I see ”and I think this is real leather” or “leather-like” or some other wording that lets me know this is not a real leather handbag.

“Authentic designer” bags are probably not although there are a few high end sellers who probably do have “authentic” bags for sale. Authentic bags are not going to be selling at 10 percent of their retail price unless it’s a private sale by someone cleaning their closet and even then the low price isn’t apt to stay low for long. 

Most “authentic designer” handbags are “mirrors” — handbags made to exactly mirror the original all the way down to the hang tags. They’re counterfeit and eBay is full of them.

Honest sellers will use the term “designer-inspired” when selling mirror handbags. The term lets the potential buyer know that they are buying a designer look-alike without the high price. Unfortunately, they’re still counterfeit and they still infringe upon the rights of the original designer.

So how do I buy a handbag on eBay?

1. I use a search term that will narrow down the results. For example: “pink leather” brings up thousands of items in several different categories. I click to view the listings in ”Women’s Accessories, Handbags” and then click “Watch This Item” on every listing that is a potential buy.

2. Once I’ve gone through the regular listings (starting with those ending soonest), I look at the Buy Now listings in the eBay Stores.

3. After I’ve sifted through the hundreds of listings, I return to “My eBay” and look over the items I’m watching. At this point I’ll probably delete several because I’ve found others that I’d rather have or duplicates. Once that’s done it’s time to compare the purses I’ve found and remove the ones that are no longer in the running.

4. With my choices hopefully down to three or four it’s time to do one more search. This time I take wording from within the descriptions and see if there are other purses listed with the same name or description. Sometimes this turns up several more of the same purse, one or two at a lower price than the one I originally found. Sometimes a listing is detailed enough that I find the purse is, indeed, “leather-like” even if the original listing claimed otherwise.

5. Occasionally I’ll search through Overstock.com’s purses or those for sale on Ecost.com. Sometimes the same purse or purses that I’m watching on eBay are selling for a few dollars less on Overstock or Ecost and it’s obvious, by comparing the descriptions and photos at these sites with the ones the eBay sellers are using, that they’re buying low at these sites and selling a little higher on eBay. 

6. Once I’ve decided on a purse, if it’s a Buy It Now, it’s time to make my purchase. Otherwise, if it’s a regular auction with several more days to go, I’ll watch it or put in a minimum bid just so I don’t forget about it. If it’s a popular auction with a lot of bidders I might stay out of the bidding altogether. Or, I might try sniping in the last minute of the auction. Sniping is a little dangerous because if someone else is also keeping a close watch we could end up in spirited bidding during the last few seconds and one of us may end up paying more than we planned.

7. There are two things that will keep me from buying from a specific seller:

• Negative feedback. Feedback is important and a seller who has several negatives about the quality of items they’ve sold or their lack of response or slow shipping is someone I don’t want to deal with.
• Sellers refusing to accept Paypal. For me, Paypal is a safety net in case a seller ends up not meeting his or her end of the bargain. I’ve been scammed but Paypal has proved its worth each time.

The negative of buying a purse on eBay is that it doesn’t allow the buyer a chance to handle the bag before buying. There’s a lot to be said for actually putting a bag over the shoulder or feeling the quality of the leather and seeing the construction details. On the other hand, with the price of gasoline these days, shopping online makes a lot of sense.

And, my outcome in the search for the “perfect pink purse”? I’ve decided that, for now, I can “make do” with one of the other purses in my closet even though it’s not pink. That’s another thing about shopping online. Sometimes the thrill of the chase is the best part of the experience and buying isn’t necessary.