Well, this is wierd

This past Christmas I received a generous gift but one that's not exactly my "style". I use quotation marks because I wouldn't say I have exactly have a style but I do tend to know what I like and what I don't like. I was therefore perplexed when I received a Louis Vuitton wallet. You know it, it's the brown one with the "LV" stamped all over it. I'm not much of a label person but I was pretty sure it was more expensive than any wallet I've ever purchased for myself. So what did I do with it? I just sort of freaked and tossed it in with the rest of my purses and thought if I'm ever in Beverly Hills again maybe I'll take it in to the store. I don't want money for it, that seems rude. Although, it did come with a gift receipt so I think I was supposed to at least trade it in for something else if it wasn't to my liking. I've just never been a fan of that infernal LF logo. And then there is that awful commercial they sometimes show before movies in theaters. Ugh! I'm not exactly loving the idea of promoting LF by carrying it every day.

On the other hand, I must admit, it's a very nice wallet that would probably last me the rest of my life with a little care. If only those evil LFs weren't all over it.

This evening I finally got around to looking at the LF website to see if there might be something else I could exchange it for. Guess how much that brown wallet is? Just guess... I learned that it sells for $645. Can you imagine?! I poked around the site and found a slightly less LF'd wallet that I could trade up to for an additional $25. Still, do I seriously want to carry around a $700 wallet during a recession, or any time for that matter? Wouldn't I just walk out of the LF store at Hollywood and Highland and get mugged? Who needs that kind of paranoia? I also found $400 key chains and $4,000 watches on the site. Who buys that stuff?!

I did discover a nice Louis Vuitton fun fact. Becuase LF is the most knocked off brand in the world it is estimated that only 1% of the LF product out there is legitimate. That's gotta suck for the LF's corporate.

So, while I'm thankful to the kind gift giver who gave me the wallet, I'm still not sure what to do with it. I mean, I'm actually thinking of buying a car these days. That wallet is worth the equivalent of a navigation/satellite radio/BlueTooth/iPod ready system for the car I might drive for the next 10 years. It seems sort of silly to carry such a thing with me when I've been a miser for so long.

Maybe I'll just put it away and let somebody find a like-new "vintage" Louis Vuitton wallet in a drawer somewhere when I kick off. (Seriously, I just saw my old strawberry shaped Avon lip gloss circa 1979 on eBay for $45. Imagine what this wallet will be worth in 25 years.)

I know better people would sell it for half price on eBay and donate the proceeds to some food bank but I just don't see myself doing that. I know. I suck. I do give to charities monthly but... well I don't know. What would you do?