The Budget Girl's Dilemma

I love finding deals on all things fashion - it's what I do. Now I'm realizing that I may be taking deal hunting too far.

Betsey Johnson is one of my favorite designers, and I especially love her jewelry. Well, about a month ago I found this really versatile evil eye stretch bracelet.

I immediately fell in love with the bracelet! At the time, it was everywhere and for varying prices. So, naturally, I decided to wait on it since it was so available. As time went by, it slowly began to sell out. Then there came a point where I could only find it on Karma Loop for about $30. I waited longer because I thought it might go on sale.

Boy, was I wrong. Now that I'm finally ready to buy it, it's sold out on Karma Loop and the only place I can find it is on eBay for more than twice the KL price ($80). The upside is that the seller is taking the highest offer on the bracelet, so I don't exactly have to pay $80 if I don't want to. However, at this point, I know I'll be paying more than $30 - I can just feel it.

This brings me to probably the biggest dilemma facing the budget fashionista.

We are forever the deal hunters, and most times don't want to pay full price tag for something we know will be cheaper later. It's exactly what had me waiting so long to buy the bracelet, but now I'm stuck and bracelet-less.

To overcome this dilemma, you just have to know when to pull the trigger and that point is different for everyone. I knew I should have bought the bracelet two weeks ago, at least, but I foolishly waited...and waited. As a bargain hunter, you just have to know an item's price floor. You don't have to wait for it to be a crazy deal (like 80% off), but you do have to know when you're getting the best one. It's especially important to know the price floor for a hot item like this one which sold out fairly quickly.

Lesson learned: Do NOT wait to buy something you know you want when you find it for a great price in only one place.