Post-holiday vintage boot round-up

These Biondini black leather thigh-high boots look stunning until you see the condition of the heels.  These size 7 boots sold for $39 and included their original box.

These nicely-modeled vintage black leather thigh boots sold for $76.00.  These size 7.5 boots were labeled by the seller as "Pretty Woman" boots.  Although the seller didn't state a brand, the model code on the bottom would indicate that these are "Wild Pair" boots that originally sold for $139.00.

Speaking of "Wild Pair," these vintage black leather chap boots made a rare appearance and sold for a deserving $151.27 (with pricey $18 shipping).

Although the seller indicated they were "old and worn" with "lots of defects," someone got a real deal on these vintage Dolce & Gabbana over-the-knee black suede boots.  These size 36.5 boots sold for $26!

One of my favorite eBay leather sellers returns after a long absence

After a long absence, eBay seller "leather_doll" is back!

Although this vintage 1980s leather skirt only sold for $9.99, I like her modeling, especially pairing the skirt with spiky black leather knee-high boots and long black leather gloves!

Hopefully we'll see more auctions from "leather_doll" in the future!

Stunning vintage black leather opera gloves from Saks Fifth Avenue sell for $127.50!

These stunning vintage Italian black leather opera gloves by Saks Fifth Avenue sold for a deserving $127.50.  These 23" long gloves came with the original $125 Saks price tag still attached.

If these are vintage, I would not guess they're older than the 1990s as the tag looks fairly recent.

The seller also stated that they came with their original box.  If someone bought these for a Christmas gift, they definitely made a nice presentation!

The seller estimated that these were a size 7 and if they had been my size, I definitely would have put in a high bid as these are the best-looking vintage gloves I've seen on eBay in quite awhile!

Stuart Weitzman "Hilo" over-the-knee boots continue to sell well years after their original release

I was hoping to snag these Stuart Weitzman "Hilo" boots in a rare size 9 for their starting bid of $250.  What's interesting is that the seller originally listed these without a "Buy It Now" option.  However, it appears that someone contacted the seller and they negotiated at "Buy It Now" price of $350 and the seller relisted them with that option.  This was more than I wanted to spend, but I was prepared to put in a bid at the original starting price of $250, especially considering they appear to be in pristine condition.


Even more interesting is that the seller stated they purchased these about two weeks ago for $450 and that they were only worn once.  These had to have been purchased on the secondary market (consignment?) as they haven't been available outside of eBay for several years now.

Regardless, I'm still glad to see these boots fetch a good price!  Also, not bad for the seller's first sale considering their feedback rating was "0" and they just joined eBay last week!

When is an eBay sale not a sale?

While I try to use this blog to feature leather fashions and accessories from eBay, occasionally I have such a negative experience involving such an item that I feel the need to share it here.

I was very excited to win an auction for a pair of designer black leather stiletto boots recently.  I've intentionally not mentioned the brand of the boots to protect the identity of the seller, and me, the buyer. However, here is another online photo of these gorgeous boots, which have an original retail of $795 and are hard to find online.  This style was also worn by a character on the tv show, "Gossip Girl."  And that show featured some incredible boots!

The bidding started at $20 with no reserve (important to note this!) and I won the auction for $62 plus shipping, or so I thought.  I had already paid when the seller sent me an e-mail saying that she was going to have to ask me for $75 more to complete the sale or she was going to have to refund my money.  Wow, in all of my years of buying on eBay, I have never had this happen to me.  There have been sales of my own where I was disappointed with the outcome, but I never thought about asking the buyer for more money.

I looked at the seller's feedback and she's had fewer than 20 ratings and has been an eBay member for less than six months.  I chalk it up to lack of experience and apparently not knowing how to set a reserve price or that an eBay auction is legally binding, or so I thought.  Just out of curiosity, I checked out the options for reporting the item and came to this:

Exactly what information in the listing exempts the seller from completing a transaction for any reason?  It sounds to me like eBay has given sellers a major loophole if they want to get out of completing a transaction.  Interesting that I'm just now finding out about this.

I responded to the seller that while I was prepared to spend up to $100 plus shipping for the boots, I could not agree to her price of $150 and suggested that she should have set a reserve.  She came back with a counteroffer of $135 including shipping, and it was tempting.  However, I decided to refuse the offer on principle, and hopefully provide a learning experience.  I couldn't stop thinking that I had won the boots for $62 and the seller wanted more than double that to actually complete the sale!

Although the seller refunded my money the day after I refused her counter-offer, I left neutral feedback when I probably should have left negative.  I'm sorry, but you shouldn't be able to change the terms of the auction after the auction is over!

Fortunately, I have these designer boots saved as a "favorite search" on eBay and hope they'll come up again for sale in my size, but from a different seller!

Be sure to post if you've had a similar eBay horror story or if you think I should have handled this differently!

Stuart Weitzman "Hilo" boots sell for an impressive $380

These gorgeous Stuart Weitzman "Hilo" black leather over-the-knee boots in a popular size 9.5 sold for an impressive $380.  I'm sure it helped that the seller stated that these were "like new" and worn only 2-3 times.  The nice photos confirm their great condition.

The bidding started at $150 and there was some serious last-minute bidding going on as these were still at a reasonable $202.50 with 30 seconds left.  I was prepared to bid up to $250 for these, given the size and condition, but some lucky bidder wanted them more than I did.

It's nice to know that even a few years after their release, these beautiful boots still hold their value!

Rare cowl style North Beach Leather dress sells very well

eBay leather seller "leatherfashions" sold this very rare-style North Beach Leather dress for an impressive $305.  This size medium dress features a rare "cowl style" neck which zips all the way up the left sleeve to the side of the neck.  As the seller indicated that this would also fit a large as well, I really wanted to bid on it, but the $250 starting bid was more than I wanted to spend.

I might add that it looks stunning paired with the Versace bondage belt, which the seller indicated was not included.  The belt is a work of art by itself and would make a great addition to a "Catwoman" costume.

As for the dress, I'd pair it with a beret, tall black leather boots, and some sleek black leather gloves.