eBay Guides - RAFE HANDBAG WARNING AND BUYING GUIDE

BEWARE! Designer Rafe Totengco (Rafe New York) did a handbag line for Target. Yes, you read that correctly. Target, the store with the red bull's-eye.

I love Target, I shop there all the time...but usually for cat food and Diet Coke, not handbags. And I have a sneaking suspicion that many people looking for a Rafe handbag on Ebay have no idea that the bag could be from Target. This guide is to better inform those people and to keep them from spending more for the bag than it is worth.

Since most people have no idea that there is a line of Rafe bags being made for Target, they see a Rafe Handbag on Ebay and they assume that these bags are from the luxury line by Rafe that you find at his boutique on Bleeker Street in New York or Neiman Marcus or Nordstrom and similar stores. These are not the same bags nor are they the same quality & craftsmanship. They are nice bags, not a thing wrong with them and are actually quite nice for a discount type store.

The last Rafe for Target (Spring 2007) handbags are actually quite attractive, some with brightly colored fabric. The initial fall line was made of PVC and looked "plastic-y" in my opinion (photos below). The linings & hardware is not the same quality as you will find with the original Rafe line. They look more like a bag you would find at, well, Target. Nice quality for the price but they are not the same as the $400 - $700 Rafe handbags you may be used to seeing. I just don't want anyone thinking they are getting the same type bag for $50! But more than that, I'm trying to keep people from spending way more than the Target bag might be worth.

I do not mean to come across as snooty in my comments about these bags, I'm just trying to help people who are on Ebay trying to find a great deal on what they think is a handbag that may have retailed for hundreds of dollars.

I saw a $49.99 Rafe for Target bag sell for $149.99 on Ebay so I decided it is time to start warning people (the seller obviously left out the FOR TARGET part). There isn't a thing wrong if you want one of these bags but I would recommend getting them from a Target store or Target online if they are still available and save yourself a fortune. But if you prefer your Rafe bags to be the real deal (and from a store more on the order of Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom), you might want to check out the Target website first to make sure your bag is not found there or look at the photos below. Or be sure to ask the seller for the retail value of the bag and where it was purchased before bidding. I would also ask for a close up photo of the retail price on the tag.

For the item to be accurately described and not misrepresented, the brand should be Rafe for Target, as that is the official design name for the Target line. Leaving out the Target part is misleading. So is calling it leather as these bags are not made of leather.

The Rafe bags at the bottom of this page were made for Target in Fall 2006 and they sold for $19.99 to $49.99. They come in Navy, Black, Vanilla & Brown and are synthetic material (PVC or polyester, non-leather) and are being called patent leather sometimes in the description. I have seen sellers go as far as to call it Italian Leather. Please be aware these bags are not leather at all, let alone Italian Leather.

The photos at the bottom of this guide are what Target had listed online in Fall 2006. Since this was a brand new line for Target, I don't think there are any previous styles to be worried about but I would be aware of any bag in ANY color in the following styles. I do not have photos of the Spring 2007 bag but you could search the internet for them. Again, be sure to ask for the retail value of the bag before bidding to ensure you are not drastically overpaying for what you think is a luxury designer handbag.

If you are considering purchasing a Rafe handbag on Ebay or have already purchased a Rafe handbag on Ebay and found this information to be helpful, please register your vote below the handbag photos below. Thanks for taking the time to read my guide.

Christi