In high school, my very chic friend Jocelyn had a leopard Betsey Johnson tote bag. I deeply coveted it, but in my class of 24 girls, it would have been pretty obvious that I was stealing her steez if I had shown up to homeroom with one thrown casually over my shoulder. Plus, I didn't think its cloth straps would be able to support my massive Biology and Calculus text-books... Flash-forward to over a decade later, and I've got no textbooks to schlep around, and eBay was invented. My relationship to eBay has evolved into one wherein I use it to find things I wanted in 1995 (like X-Girl T-shirts, vintage LL Bean backpacks), and of course, that Betsey Johnson tote, preferably in classic leopard, i.e. tan.

A few weeks ago, while doing my usual eBay-troll, I found it in a dark green. It wasn't my ideal, but I was not going to take any chances, and bought it. When it arrived, the color was OK, not great, but moreover it just way too big and unweildy. Not an everyday tote, but more a weekend bag. My wallet, book, makeup bag and keys just flopped around in there. Then, last week, I couldn't believe it -- I found the holy grail: The tan leopard tote. I immediately "bought it now," and eagerly awaited its arrival. But when it came, and I opened the Fed-Ex envelope, my heart sunk: The tote was teeny-tiny! The strap didn't even fit over my shoulder. It would have been fine for a 1995-era Bat Mitzvah, but really does not cut it as any sort of everyday bag. I was so frustrated!

This whole process has left me feeling like Goldilocks (these bags are the equivalent of her porridge -- one was too big, the other too small), and also a little bit crazy. Do any of you guys have similar eBay obsessions? And more importantly, a classic leopard Betsey Johnson tote I can buy from you?