Today's conundrum

When you look in the shops and find an item that seems a bargain, the chances are that it's from China. We have a Chinese "multi-precio" in our local town and the prices there are always reasonable.  So here is today's conundrum: bearing all the above in mind, how come I was charged nearly 25 euros by Spanish customs for a parcel that recently arrived from Hong Kong? It's not as if I had paid a huge amount of money for my new clutch bag either! The chances are that if I had looked for a handbag at Multi-precio Panda, I would have found one for about that price, so I was stunned to be charged so much money when I collected my package.

The parcel that I picked up at the local Correos (Post Office) was a purchase from the Boticca website, which is a recent discovery of mine via another blog, 40+ style. I had browsed the website admiring the jewellery before having a quick look at clutch bags, as my options for evenings out are a bit limited. The bags that I use in the day-time are a bit too bulky, and the couple of evening bags that I possess are very pretty but not big enough to contain my purse, mobile phone, house keys, tissues, lipstick etc. That quick look proved fatal, I was lured into temptation and bought the bag below.  Purely in the interests of research for my readers, of course!

I must admit that I was tempted by the following bag too, as the mix of bright colours means it would go with many different outfits and it would make a perfect bag for holidays. However I am still in my sensible neutrals phase, so I settled on the black one. I was pleased to discover, after my previous post, that these bags are also vegetarian-friendly, being made of 70% recycled plastic bags plus man-made "leather".

When I got home and looked at the customs declaration, I saw that it stated two bags. That was odd, as I had only ordered one. "It must be a mistake", I thought.  You can imagine how thrilled I was when I opened my parcel and saw that there were two bags inside, with a lovely note from Laila of "Mary and Marie" saying that the second bag was a gift. To make it even better, the gift that she had sent me was the brightly coloured clutch that I had been tempted by. Suddenly I had forgotten all about the unfair customs charge: you can't beat a two-for-the-price-of-one bargain, can you? Do take a look at the website Mary and Marie to see their full range of bags. However don't forget to check your local customs regulations before you place your order!