Buying Makeup On eBay

The other day at Ulta, I spied a small tube of a product I've wanted to try for a while. Smashbox's Photo Finish, which retails for $36!!! (Yes, I know Karley, my face is probably going to fall off from using this stuff right???) The small tube was $16.

I have no idea what possessed me to shell out $16 for a very small tube of makeup primer. Those who know me would NEVER expect this out of me. But I did and I really liked it....

By the time I got home I realized I should have checked on eBay.

I've actually sold a lot of makeup on eBay. (It's a long story) The makeup was new and sealed and sold for a lot less than it's retail price. This is especially true for high end brands.

For example, when I looked, the $36 dollar of makeup primer could be had for $20 with free shipping. You don't even need to leave the house and you can save $16. How easy is that. When I finish this little tube, that is exactly what I'm doing!

Here are a few things to consider when buying makeup on eBay.

1) Always check the seller's rating and feedback.

2) Make sure you are buying new, sealed makeup. Ask the seller a question if you can't tell for sure.

3) Make sure they have a return/refund policy. For things like personal care products you want to be especially careful with stuff like this.

4) Ask for the expiration date if the product has one. Sometimes they don't.

5) If you DO get a bad product nicely email the seller and explain the problem. With something a small as makeup they should give you a full refund. I'm not saying they always will but for myself, since I could not open the makeup to make sure it was ok. I had to rely on the fact that it was sealed. As with anything else, there is always the chance an unopened product could be faulty. I just trusted the customer and refunded whenever this came up. I think I refunded maybe 3 people's money.

Homemade Granola

This morning I made Homemade Granola.

A favorite breakfast around here consists of whole milk plain yogurt, fruit of some kind and granola.

This is so easy to make. I won't post my recipe because I didn't use one. I Googled one when I started making my own and now just throw together what I have since I know the process.

Today's creation consists or Rolled Oats (of course), almonds, pumpkin seeds, flax seeds, sesame seeds, some cinnamon, a pinch of salt, honey & some butter. Baked in a 350 degree oven for about 20 min, with some stirring. I don't generally use dried fruit because it's not my favorite and I eat it with fresh fruit. I also tend to use a greater concentration of seeds/nuts to oats which makes it nicer than store bought granola.

This is so much cheaper to make from scratch than to buy. I buy all of the nuts/seeds in the bulk section at the grocery store and usually only get what I need for the recipe. I may try one with cocoa powder and coconut, trying to duplicate the Kashi, Cocoa Beach that I would spend $4.50 for 14 oz!

I love wire bale jars to store things in. I bought a bunch at an auction cheap and they make homemade goods look so cosy! They are also environmentally friendly!

The pumpkin is the very beginning of my fall decorating & the chestnut I picked up on my morning walk-It was so shiny and pretty!

Look At Your Utility Bills

I read a lot about saving money. Books, magazines, blogs. It's a subject I find interesting and of course, useful.

Ok, I'm going to admit something kind of embarrassing right now. I hardly ever, Ok, I never, look at all of the pages of the Gas & Electric Bill. I generally bitch inwardly about the large cost of it (especially in winter) and try and conserve where I can/when I can. This is hit and miss though. For instance, I have an energy and water efficient dishwasher-I still only run it when it's full. I'm sure that saves me money, I've just never figured out how much.

One tip I come across quite often is to run large appliances during "Off Peak" hours to take advantage of lower rates. I've never looked into this and have always assumed that the savings was minimal. Turns out, the savings is NOTHING AT ALL. (at least for my area-YMMV and I would strongly advise you to look at your bill)

While I was able to determine from their website, that there are "peak" and "off peak" hours (7:00 am-11:00Pm is peak) there is no difference in the price that I am charged for using energy depending on the time I am using it.

I also noted that electricity accounts for 30% of the bill, while natural gas accounts for 70%. So, while I've been walking around crabbing about all the lights being on and weighing the pros and cons of switching to florescent lights in all the lights now or when they actually burn out, I've been ignoring ways to save gas.

We currently have a (old) gas dryer, (new) stove, (old) hot water heater, and of course, we heat with natural gas. Almost anyone I know can tell you our house is chilly in the winter so I'm doing what I can with that one. (although more weatherproofing for next season would probably be a good start) My dryer use will go down drastically in the summer while I line dry our clothes) and I should probably focus on hot water and stove/oven use. We grill a lot in Summer. (Of course you need to buy propane for that.) but often, like this evening, my husband grilled the main dish along with the side dish. I've actually not given that much thought to cooking and hot water usage.

I can tell this is a whole new project for me! I'll share my findings as I go!

I get by with a little help from my friends.....

I'm fortunate that I get a lot of good stuff free! (or for a very low cost.) Personally I think it's because people know I like and will take free stuff. I'm not squeamish about secondhand. I go to garage sales and happily purchase things for my use. This is not embarrassing to me at all.

(on a Small side note, a friend was once very embarrassed to offer me some of her clothes she didn't want. (some with tags still on them) she was giving ME the clothes and SHE was embarrassed! I wasn't and still happily wear her jeans!) I would rather spend nothing, create no waste, and put someone else's money to good use any day of the week!

I also hope it's because I try and relocate my things to good homes as well, when appropriate.

Ok you can probably tell by the picture what my freedbie is.

This is THE BEST FREEBIE I have ever received. Our friend Michael called with the offer from one of his friends. SOMEONE I DON'T EVEN KNOW. Apparently they offered it to to Michael but he already has one. He knew we didn't and thought of us. Saturday I took my girl to grandma's house and when I got home this wonderful thing was in my yard.... Seriously wonderful! My brother, Michael and their friend Chris had moved it and set it up for my girl. I cannot thank them enough!

It felt like Christmas around here. For her and for me! My girl didn't see it until Sunday and she has been on it ever since!

-New slide to replace cracked one. $69
-Trapeze to swing on. $34
-Friends and Family who go out of their way for you and your little girl: Priceless!

If Sotheby's Can Buy Secondhand So Can You

I'm a reader. I read everyday. I have a lot of books in the house. Some are mine, many belong to the local library. I rarely feel the need to own a book any more. When I do buy a book, it's usually from the independent seller section of Amazon. Sometimes they are new, but most often, gently used. Mostly what I buy would be garden books, cookbooks, or some other technical tome that I would need to keep referring to. My daughter has many many books, many from garage sales, gifts and library sales. Why do these things need to be new? Why create more books when there are people who don't want the one you are looking for? Why not support the little guy?

I also occasionally sell books on Amazon. Usually my own books that I don't want/need anymore or some that I pick up at the library for $1. I'm not getting rich off it, but I am paying for my daughter's pre-school & dance tuition this way!

Anyway, today, I actually shipped a book that I sold to Sotheby's Art Department!!! Seriously! This was not a rare or expensive book. It's currently in stock at Amazon and can be bought for under $20. My copy was in excellent like new condition and sold for $6. I was so tickled that Sotheby's was saving money this way I needed to share it. If it's good enough for them, it ought to be good enough for you!

I have A LOT of Dishtowels!

Yesterday my mom gave me a bunch of her dishtowels/kitchen towels as she thinks she has too many! I took about 20 and added them to my even-larger-than-hers stash!

This may sound excessive. The truth is I go through A LOT of dishtowels.
I almost never buy paper towels. I use a clean one for each meal prep (usually 2 for the dinner prep/cleanup.) We also use almost all cloth napkins. Before you faint I'll tell you those napkins are clean and folded-They are not (nor will they ever be, ironed.)

That isn't to say I NEVER buy paper products. I usually do buy paper products for guests as our napkins are less than perfect at this point. I find when I do buy paper products we tend to go through them rather quickly and I feel like I'm throwing money in the garbage.

My dishtowels are less than perfect too but they are not meant to be a decoration. I pretty much use a dishtowel until it looks REALLY bad and then I use it to clean the bathroom or something before I toss it. I really and truly have a few that I KNOW I got right before I got married 11 years ago! Now that's frugal!

Another reason we use them is to avoid the waste/pollution created in the manufacturing process and the waste created in the disposal of such items. Not to mention remembering to stock up on said items when we run out.

We are only 3 people so all of these dishtowels/napkins only generate one load of laundry per week. I imagine if you were buying paper products for a lot of people it would still be cheaper to do say, 2 loads.

You can come by these almost for free-Ask you mom or your grandma-They probably have tons in a closet somewhere. Cut up old towels. DON'T go and buy 20 new rags! This past summer I got a bunch of napkins that looked brand new at a garage sale for $0.10 each. I recently knitted a few dishcloths for my mom from cotton yarn that I already had. There are about 100,000 of these patterns free online although at this point I have no need to make anymore for my mom or myself for a long time to come!

Don't worry if you visit, I still DO buy flushable toilet paper!

Repurposing Cranberry Sauce

I admit it. I love leftovers. I love eating them. And I love planning meals that assure leftovers and I love eating something great twice and only having to cook it once. So for me, Thanksgiving is like Christmas as far as leftovers are concerned.

I love seeing how people use leftovers in creative ways-I've made sweet potato turkey hash! And this past Sat I had a brunch and made home fries from leftover sweet potatoes!

But what to do with cranberry sauce. I make my own and don't like it to go to waste. (This year it was cinnamon orange flavored!) I've seen muffins with this dolloped on top before baking. That sounds good. But I made something I 've never seen anywhere.

My daughter loves popsicles, even at this time of year. Our popsicles are usually made from plain yogurt with fruit mixed in. This week I got creative and made cranberry sauce popsicles! She loved the sauce at the table, what's not to love mixed with a little yogurt! And since there is a good deal of sugar in the Cranberry sauce, I just used a little. It was really yummy, a pretty pink and made a surprisingly Thanksgiving like popsicle!

Battening Down The Hatches!

Winter is quickly approaching here and my 76 year old house, while full of charm and high ceilings, is also quite drafty and cold! In an effort to conserve energy and cash I am looking at ways to make things a little more toasty without having to turn up the thermostat!

We have these cute little windows in our closets?!?!? They serve no purpose (although do let in nice light to see with during the day) and they have absolutely NO insulation or storms. Our closets are typically markedly COLDER than the rest of the house. Last night I installed window insulation over them and I can see a difference already! I am also going to do this in the 2 windows in my 3rd floor office. (one of which is very pretty and decorative from the outside but gets ICE on it during the winter!) I probably would not do this on normal windows that everyone sees but if you did, I can imagine it would really make your house warmer. The kit (which I already had from my old house) costs $20 for 9 windows! (Big windows I might add, I was able to cut the plastic in half) And using the blow dryer to help seal the plastic gives a satisfaction that is akin to popping the bubbles on bubble wrap, it's fun!

I'll also be making bean snakes for the doors out of material that I already have. The doors are original to the house but some seem to have been planed to accommodate the seventies shag carpet which once covered my lovely wood floors.

I've added outlet and switch plate insulation to some of the outlets and switch plates on outside facing walls since when I put my hand near them I could feel an actual DRAFT. A package of 8 is under $2. I am planning to finish off the ones I didn't get to last year.

My kitchen is rather new but I noticed there is a gap between 2 cabinets that you can't see but also lets a draft in. I'm thinking of filling it with that expandable foam, Good Stuff, but I may just stuff it with foam packing material to avoid the mess and cost.

I'm also thinking of replacing the weather stripping on the doors but I haven't decided if I'm that motivated yet. I do need paint for the dining room so I guess I'll be checking out weatherstripping supplies while I'm there.

Crab Apple Time!

On the property where we have our yearly vacation is a large gorgeous Crab Apple tree. What is a gal to do with (free) crab apples you ask!

Last year I made Crab Apple jelly and Crab Apple liqueur. They were both yummy. The favorite among my friends was the liqueur. (Although I do think Deanna used the jelly over a ham which I thought was quite nice!) I made an experimental batch last year that weconsumed rather quickly at a dinner party. I also sent guests home with little bottles. Bridget made Crab Apple martinis. I like it served over ice with some sparkling water.

It's outrageously easy!

4 quarts crab apples
4 cups sugar
3 cups vodka (you can use a cheap kind!)

Procedure:
Take a 4 quart mason jar, and fill it with crab apples that have been washed and quartered.
Add 4 cups of sugar and three cups of vodka. Store the jar on its side, turning once every day for 30 days to get the sugar to dissolve.
After 30 days, filter out the fruit bits and bottle. This recipe can be done on nearly any scale from 1 qt. to 4qt.



It's all I'm making this year! I have 3 large jars started and will have more tomorrow after I purchase more vodka. Hoping that I have enough for myself this year as well as some to give as gifts this Christmas!

Wake Up Your Garden!

After a short break due to out-of-town guests, I'm back!

I found myself in a Starbucks a few weeks ago (Don't worry, I used a gift card ;-) Did you know that Starbuck's gives away their used coffee grounds for use in your garden just for the asking! Sometimes they have them already packaged in a bin somewhere. That day they had just been cleaned out by an old gentleman with a big veggie garden. I asked at the counter.

I was rewarded with a HUGE bag of grounds! I was busy that week getting ready for my guests so I didn't do anything fancy with them, I just added them to my compost pile.

You don't need a compost pile to make good use of coffee grounds. They are great for your garden too. They can be used as mulch for plants or worked into the soil to help amend it. You can top off your potted plants inside and outside with the grounds. You can even sprinkle them onto the lawn or around some bushes. There is no need for your grounds to ever reach a landfill or go down your disposal! (If you don't have a big garden you may not want to ask for a huge bag at Starbucks.)

You can even water acid loving plants with leftover coffee, not that we ever have any around here!

It Doesn't Hurt To Ask

On the way home from vacation, we stopped at a Hawthorn Suites Hotel in Ohio so that I could visit a wholesaler. When I called to make the reservation, the rooms were $124 a night.

With our AAA discount, the rooms were $111.

I've read a lot of frugality books and they always say to just ask for a cheaper rate. I figure when they tell me a rate, that is pretty much the rate. I went out on a limb with the $111 room though and said,
"Can you give me that room any cheaper?"
She said "I can give you the funeral rate for $94."
"Ok."
I didn't question the funeral rate. I didn't say anything about a funeral. Who even knew there was such a thing as a funeral rate??? Whatever. She wants to lower the rate, be my guest!

Then I asked if she knew where the wholesaler was in regard to Hotel. "Oh yes, are you visiting them? If you are then I can give you the room for $69!"

In a very short amount of time I saved $55 on the room. I actually saved $110 because my nephew was traveling with us and they gave us both rooms for the $69 rate. I had no idea about the wholesaler discount of course but I still would have saved $30 per room between AAA and the funeral (???) rate.

I guess it really doesn't hurt to ask!

Croc Update

Apparently everyone's children are wearing Crocs. Here are 3 email responses I received in addition to the comments in the original croc post:

"I can't believe I can actually add to this. So Kobe has some of these shoes. He's had them for a year and they look good. He wears them all the time too. I guess the tread at the bottom is worn somewhat smooth, but not so bad that I would consider replacing them. I think it's more surprising that he hasn't grown out of them."

"Let me start off by saying.... I LOVE CROCS! Not the fake ones, the real ones. Yes, they are a little more expensive (and NO, they are not made of the same material.... more on that later) I bought a pair for myself, my son, and my daughter about 1.5 years ago. My son wears them occasionally, I wear mine only in the house (bought for house shoes) and my daughter wears hers EVERYDAY! She loves them! She loves to decorate them with the Jibbitz (talk about expensive, but worth it if she likes to wear the same shoes everyday!) The tread on the bottom is only starting to wear (slightly, after 1.5 YEARS!!!! I'll take that anyday!) She is now just growing out of them (they are meant to be a little big, that is why the size is 6/7, 8/9, not just a 6 or a 7!) I just went on CROCS.com and bought her 4 new pairs (you spend over $100 and shipping is free). I bought her 3 different colors (to coordinate with outfits) and a Dora pair. She LOVES them all and wears them EVERYDAY! I figure if I spend only $100 in a whole year on shoes for 1 child, that is more than a bargain!

Now, about the material..... Crocs uses a patented material that does not mold, mildew, stain, or smell. It is wonderful, and the BEST part (which, Chrissy, you will love) is that when you outgrow the Crocs, you can send them back, and they will RECYCLE THE MATERIAL!!!! Isn't that great! Talk about 'Going Green'! And, Crocs also sells Crocs that are already made of recycled material! These are the best things going, in my opinion! And, my kids love them!!!!"

"Julia has a pair of real crocks. Doesn't wear them everyday but I'd say 3-4 days out of a week. She's had them since spring and they seem to be holding up pretty well."

Ok friends, thanks for the input! When I was at Wegman's this evening I looked at a pair (yes, my grocery store sells Crocs!) and the bottoms do seem to be a bit harder than the ones we have. I also really like the Soles united program that Jacquie was referring to as well.

So maybe Crocs are not a Crock!

Its a Croc

Or maybe not!

I went to buy my girl a real pair of Crocs ($24.99) in the beginning of the summer. She was between sizes and none of them really fit her. In the mean time my mom got her a cheap pair for $7.99 at CVS.

I love these shoes. I think they look really cute, she can get them on and off by herself, a real help and I wash them almost every night in the sink and they look great the next day.

However, she's only had them about 8 weeks and the tread on the bottom is wearing thin. Granted, she does wear them almost every day. Soon she's going to need new ones because she'll have no traction. 8 Weeks per pair of shoes does not strike me as a good bargain (at any price). I'm left wondering however, if this would have been true of the real Crocs. They seem to be made of the exact same material. They are 3X as much. I have no issue spending more for the next pair if they last longer than these ones.

My own Crocs lasted me a summer and into the fall but they were the sandal type and I didn't wear them all of the time.

So, does anyone whose children have Crocs have any advice on this one. Usually I think I have the frugal answer. Today I don't.

Seaside Gourmet

One of the happiest afternoons I've ever spent was sitting in beach chairs with Jen in the waves in Long Island Sound eating cherries and throwing the pits into the sea. We talked about everything that day. We had no schedule. We only had cherries to eat. They were the best cherries I've ever had. I even used that afternoon as my happy place visualization during childbirth (It did not work BTW...)

We have a park at the beach about 1 mile from my home. It's kind of hard to find, so as a result is usually quite empty. I took my girl there 3 times last week. We played in the sand and splashed in the water. When she was tired we sat with our toes in the water and drank watered down juice and Annie's Cheddar Bunnies. We talked. She asked me if I was tired. I said no, I just liked sitting with her. She said she liked sitting with me and that I was the "Best Mommy she ever had." They were the best cheddar bunnies I ever had.

It cost nothing. It was worth everything. It reminded me of why I'm frugal and what I'm doing here home with her. Sometimes I long for the days of 2 incomes. It was all so easy then. I liked having a job. I liked the money. I liked the people. I liked getting fancy coffee and eating out for lunch. I liked buying new furniture. I liked feeling important and smart.

I Love my girl.

Happy doesn't have to cost a dime.

I Love Redbox

Ok I think I may have a problem.

I just discovered rebox at Wegman's. It has been there for a while but I never really paid attention to it until this past Sunday. I had an evening with not a lot planned and decided to get myself a movie. $1 a night How could I go wrong.

Well it's been 3 nights of redbox movies! Yippee! I've spent 3 whole dollars this week! I don't know what has possessed me to sit around watching movies all week long.I think it's the price and the lure of current movies! (I usually get movies from the library that are like 3 years old). I've seen 27 Dresses, Juno, and Wild Hogs (I feel so current!)

The best thing is, my friend Salli pointed me in the direction of the FREE redbox code. If you enter your cell phone# at the Redbox site they will send you a text message with a code for a free movie every Monday. A FREE movie. Now that I can get into! (and now I have to learn how to receive a text message on my phone!) But, now that my movie marathon is coming to an end I'm going to look forward to my new weekly Monday Movie Night!

I'm very self sacrificing

Recently, on the blog of an old friend of mine, he had the following to say about his wife's hair products:

She uses bumble and bumble, but don't tell Chris, She'll be like, "That stuffs way too expensive! Here, let me make you something out of jello and honey! See the jello is only 59 cents and the honey is free cause I get it from the bee hive in my backyard. I almost died last year because I found out I was allergic to bees, but hey, for free honey, whats a week of swollen face and limbs?"

I thought that was kind if hysterical until this morning.

See I made homemade yogurt for the first time yesterday. It seemed a little off. At least it didn't set up like yogurt from the grocery store. My husband told me it was NOTHING like the yogurt his prior girlfriend's Indian mother used to make.

This morning he called:

"I steered clear of your yogurt this morning, it looked a little runny"

"Oh that's ok, I had some it was good."

"You had some?"

"Yeah, I didn't want to give it to our girl until I made sure it was ok so I ate some. I think I'll make some Popsicles with it or stick it in a smoothie if it turns out that it's ok"

"You mean if you don't get sick??"

"Yeah, I'm fine though so I think it's ok"

"You're actually testing the yogurt on yourself??"

I guess I was. Is this frugality's ugly side? Have I gone too far to save a buck and not waste food? Seriously, I had no reason to believe it was bad (I followed the directions) but I guess when you are dealing with a food product that relies on bacteria to do it's job maybe you should be a little careful. I saw no reason to waste my precious cream top milk from here.

Anyway, aside from the runny-ness it was delicious. Less tart that store bought (which is what I actually don't like about yogurt in general) and very creamy. I'll try again and make something out of the ones I still have. For organic yogurt it is a deal (even using the more expensive better quality milk.)

And for the record, I don't have a bee hive.

Yet.....

Print Your Own Postage

With the cost of postage going up yet again this week, I thought I would share a money saving tip that I discovered today.

Due to my eBay business, I do a lot of mailing. Sometimes I print the postage online and sometimes I drive to the post office.

I discovered today, that with the new postage rate hike, the post office has a new thing they are doing for postage printed online. All priority postage printed online is $.25 cheaper than it is to mail it at the post office. Some days I print up to 10 labels. That $.25 will add up pretty quick for me. (and in addition, I save gas not driving to the post office.)

You can print your priority mail postage online at the United States Postal Website. It's really easy. You don't need a postage meter. Just a scale and a regular computer printer. I don't even use adhesive labels as I found it was cheaper to just use packing tape to secure the postage printed on regular paper (actually recycled 7th grade social studies handouts that my husband brings home from work as scrap paper.) to the box. I bought a new postage scale for $25 on eBay and I would suggest that if you plan on doing any volume of mailing you get one too. However I used an accurate kitchen food scale prior to that with no problems at all.

Banana Ice Cream

I feel silly even posting this because it's so darn easy!

On a vegan website I saw a recipe for a fast banana ice cream. (well faux ice cream that is!)

-Take as many ripe (or half price overripe bananas on clearance at the store in my case!) bananas as you have. Peel, mash and freeze! Scoop into dish like ice cream.

This was really good-Kind of like banana ice.

My daughter loved this I gave it to her as a "special" dessert tonight! (it may help that she's hardly ever had ice cream!) but it was really good. I plan to make this with banana and blueberries at some point or even add cinnamon.

I got 4 bananas for $0.47 at my local mom and pop grocery store. She probably ate 1/5 of the ice cream that this made. $0.09 for a healthy treat! I don't think I can beat that!

****Updated to add that today at Wegman's the bakery lady gave my girl 2 cookies. She ate one and brought the other one home. This evening we let her choose which one she wanted-Banana ice or cookie. She choose the Banana Ice!!!!

What Do You Call Two Republicans In A Car?

A Carpool!!!!

I'm happy to report that starting tomorrow morning, my husband and his friend Doug, possibly the only Republican teachers around, will be carpooling to work!

I told him how impressed I was and how funny I thought it was that the 2 republicans were the ones to decide to carpool.

He was a little exasperated with me when he answered:

"We're not all Alex P Keaton ya know."

I told him he's a crunchy conservative.

My $145 Shoes

Yes, unbelievably, I am the owner of a pair of $145 shoes.

Mind you, I didn't buy them for $145. While on vacation my MIL took me to an upscale clothing store and there they were in the back of the store in a clearance pile. It was a really fancy store so the clearance pile was in a dark recessed corner. I think most of the women shopping in the store probably didn't even venture to that part of the store lest someone think THEY were perusing the clearance stuff. But I'm not proud. I found the shoes. They were $20!

The woman at the cash register reminded me of what a great deal I was getting even though the original price was on the bottom of the shoe (and at the same time, judging me, I imagine for my very poor choice.)

Anyway these are really cute shoes. I did not have occasion to wear them until last night at a dinner party we hosted in our home. I never wore them outside. I have hardwood floors. I didn't run or dance in them. During a game of Apples to Apples, the heel broke! I was sitting down. I was leaning on it a little with my foot. It was a skinny heel. BUT IT BROKE THE FIRST TIME I WORE IT.

Having never before owned a pair of $145 shoes I must say I expected a little more life out of them (Ok, perhaps that is why they were on clearance!) But can you even imagine what kind of PO'd I would be had I spent that much (or even half of that!) Heck, if a pair of $20 shoes from Target break I would take them back.

Anyway, I suspect these are some more cheap crap shoes made in a foreign country with questionable labor practices. Some joker just found out a way to charge even more for them than the cheap shoes you expect at Payless or Target. People in upscale shops are paying more than I spend on groceries for something the same quality of the shoes all of the rest of us wear.

And now I am even more convinced that labels and prices tell us very little about the quality of our clothing and exist more to make you feel good about the exorbitant price you are being charged.