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[T828]The Worlds Most Expensive House

by Terry, Ter

Last year, Louis Vuitton's Tribute Patchwork Bag made headlines as the world's costliest handbag. The numbered, limited edition bag was priced at over $45,000, and featured swaths from earlier purse designs. Many companies have cashed in on nostalgia by reissuing replica copies of classic handbags, which fetch consistently high prices at auction.

Experts trace the rise of the 'it' bag to a 1960s Life Magazine cover, which featured Princess Grace sporting a 'Kelly' purse. With fashion elites clamoring for this and subsequent must-have handbags, cheap knockoff purses and replica designer handbags found a loyal following among less extravagant shoppers.

In the 1980s, the HermÃƒÂ¨s Birkin bag-inspired by British starlet Jane Birkin-was the choice of the day, setting fashion-conscious shoppers back thousands of dollars. Fast forward to 2005, when a Birkin in black crocodile sold at auction for over $64,800.

These days, in fact, it's not uncommon for luxury brands like Fendi, Hermes, and Yves Saint Laurent come with five-digit price tags. And at these astronomical prices, it's not surprising that the demand for low-cost fake designer purses has also reached soaring heights. In addition, the increased ease and security of online shopping in recent years has further fueled the market in replica handbags.

As the long tradition of fake designer purses testifies, early 'it' bags were hardly affordable for the average consumer. However, the early 21st century saw a significant increase in prices-along with a corresponding rise in the replica handbags market.

This shift came with the popularization of what financial analysts call 'signature items'. For the price of a car or even a small home, a luxury fashion item came to be seen as an investment and a worthwhile collector's item. With consumers willing to pay more to won a piece of fashion history, prices have been increasing accordingly.

Meanwhile, the replica market offers designer handbags for hundreds, instead of tens of thousands, of dollars. Designer replica handbags can be purchased on the street or online, and often feature the same quality and design as costly 'it' bags.

If someone told you that they would lend you $500 today if you repaid them with $5000 a year from now, would you take it? What if the repayment amount were only $2500? Would that strike you as a good deal? This may sound like an insane amount to repay on a small loan, but that, in effect, is what thousands of consumers do every day when they take out a payday loan.

Payday loans, also known as cash advance or quick cash loans, are short term loans that typically last about two weeks. In exchange for borrowing relatively small sums ranging from $100-500, the borrower pays a fee that can range from $10-40 per $100 borrowed for the two-week loan. The borrower writes a postdated check for the borrowed sum plus the fee, which the lender may cash two weeks later.

These fees may seem relatively small, but when viewed as an annual percentage rate, they actually amount to anywhere between 250-1000% per year. That's an astronomical amount of interest in a world where a credit card loan at 25% is considered to be high. And yet, the payday loan business is thriving and there are now some 23,000 stores in America that offer some form of these cash advance loans.

Why do people take out such loans? The primary reasons are convenience and a lack of better alternatives. These stores are now so common that there are often several of them on a single block. They don't do credit checks and they will lend money to pretty much anyone with a steady job. And the borrowers tend to be people who do not have access to other borrowing options, such as credit cards, friends with money or a local credit union that offers short term loans.

Defenders of these financial products say that they are simply offering a product that the public wants. That may very well be true, as these businesses are doing very well. What remains to be answered is whether the public really wants to borrow money at 500% per year. In all likelihood, they are doing so only because they cannot find a less expensive option. Anyone who needs a short term loan is more than welcome to go to a payday loan store to get one. But any potential borrowers should realize that they making use of one of the world's most expensive forms of lending.

Article Source : Brand Handbags

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Both Terry & Charles Essmeier are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Terry has sinced written about articles on various topics from Handbags, Internet Marketing and The Internet. For the best selection of designer replica handbags online, visit The site offers great prices on high-quality replica purses, feat. Terry's top article generates over 2900 views. to your Favourites.

Charles Essmeier has sinced written about articles on various topics from Free Credit Report Score, Mortgage and Cars. . Charles Essmeier's top article generates over 49500 views. to your Favourites.