Such is the life on the woman with a love for designer handbags. Fate always seems to intervene in these matters and place us as far as is humanly possible from all of our favorite designer outlets. This is why I firmly believe that Fate has got to be a man. Surely he’s protecting the feelings (and bank balances) of our men?!

Writing this article, with the notion that buying cheap Prada bags will always beat buying very expensive ones (i.e. purses that are bought at face value, sans coupons and clearance sales), made me do a mental check as to how close me or my girlfriends are to a designer store. Answer – not close enough!

I’ve been to the Prada outlet in Italy, I’m lucky enough to live within a reasonable distance of a Coach outlet (these are easier to find and are dotted all around the US) and have even managed to visit a Louis Vuitton outlet before now but, in my opinion, I’m not nearly close enough.

This is why it’s a bit difficult trying to hit the mark when it comes to a Prada sale. The same with good old LV. They’re on another continent for one thing, so the likes of you and me are relegated to using the internet to access low-priced designer handbags and accessories.

Is that fair? Absolutely not! My husband sees things quite a bit differently but not being female, he’ll never understand the need to own pretty things, to compare (and boast just a little) about your new Coach tote when out having lunch with your girlfriends.

Anyway – if you’re looking to buy something in the sales, the internet is (pretty much) your only way forward. Make sure that you’re using a genuine, accredited outlet first, then browse around and see what’s going on. Also, join the mailing list as this is a great way to find out when there are clearance sales on the horizon. Getting in first is never a bad thing as there’s plenty of women like me that will get there before you given half a chance!

I found an awesome deal some time ago, a combination of luck, timing and being up front enough to ask for some money off in the Prada outlet that I was in at the time. I’d seen a purse that I wanted, which was already in an end of season sale. It was a gorgeous little shoulder bag, designed for every day use and I knew it would get plenty of outings hanging off my shoulder.

However, on closer inspection I noticed a small flaw in the design and as I was willing to live with it (you had to have an eagle eye to spot it) I figured I’d find a sales assistant, point out the flaw and ask for a further reduction. These designer handbag outlets pride themselves on their reputation so you know … it wasn’t hard to ask.

She came back after a couple of minutes and said I could have a further 15% of the purchase price which, together with the 35% discount it already had meant that I got  a beautiful designer tote for an awful lot less that I could have paid for it. The result meant that I’d got an amazingly cheap Prada bag for very little effort, and of course my husband could only offer a small grumble, as opposed to his usual drama that occurs every time I spend (vast!) amounts of money on anything.

This is the way that you do it, the way to grab yourself a really cool bargain handbag that still possesses the all important designer label, less the designer price tag. Remember:

• Plan ahead
• Check press releases
• Time visits with clearance sales
• Be brave … ask for further money off, you never know!
• Look around for coupons, both online and in magazines

Trust me, it’s not hard, it’s a lot of fun and you feel hugely satisfied when you’ve got a delicious purse in your hands for a hundred dollars instead of say two hundred. Give it a go, and good luck!