Ideally, a thrift store is a place for an industrious shopper to land a designer handbag for a fraction of its retail price. What it definitely shouldn't be is a place where the business tries to bamboozle a customer into paying a sky-high price for a cheap representation of the real thing.

Unfortunately, these examples do exist, like in the case of a handbag shared on the r/ThriftGrift subreddit.

The community was outraged at the bag's price tag of $749.99, which was quickly identified as a fugazi.

"Like it's not even a half decent fake," a user assessed. "It's a really bad fake."

"Such a bad fake nobody is even stealing it," a commenter joked.

Thrift stores typically do provide a valuable service in keeping still-good items from planet-heating landfills. However, an astronomically priced item might end up getting tossed anyway after going unsold for months.

A user asked: "What are they thinking with these prices when they sit on the shelves, then get sent to the bins?"

What is driving this greed is definitely a worthwhile question, as other examples of this phenomenon include fast fashion sold at high prices, and damaged home goods taking on a clearly out-of-whack price. 

Operators looking to turn a quick buck off shoppers are rare, but they can come with a host of negative ripple effects. Viral examples can turn off potential shoppers from thrift stores, and curtail some of thrifting's benefits.

After all, many lucky shoppers do indeed land legit designer handbags for crazy-low prices and score valuable everyday items for a bargain. That is a positive for keeping things out of the trash, and slowing the demand for resource-intensive production and shipping of brand-new items. 

Would you buy your wedding dress from a thrift store? Absolutely 💯 I did 👰 Only if I found one I loved 😍 Nope 🙅 Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

The $750 handbag was a very egregious overreach, as sneakier thrift stores have inflated prices a little more subtly around genuine items like a Coach handbag. Putting a knock-off item at a price representing a pristine, high-end luxury good is undoubtedly worse, and Redditors voiced their disapproval.

"Lovely, it's even peeling," a user observed. Another Redditor added that they spotted a stain.

"Ummm maybe 0.79 cents for a fake and peeling, scuffed, dirty, bag," a disillusioned viewer suggested as a fairer price.

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