Gold putti bowl:  $4.99 @ Value Village

This is interesting...it looks expensive, doesn't it?  Even close up...but it turns out it's made out of plastic and ceramic!  I would never have guessed that...they don't normally use chrome paint on ceramic! 

That's fine with me.  What wasn't fine was, the last price was written on the bottom - and it was only $1!!  The fact that they were charging 5 times more than the last store just irked me.

When I looked closer, I saw why.  The figure had broken off the stand and had been glued back!  It wasn't a clean break either.  There are some chips, but luckily it's mostly at the back.

I think it was probably sold at Penny Pincher before...they have prices that low, and they also mark things with an initial like this one has.

Despite that, I still think it looks good, which is why I bought it anyway.  I lost my nerve to haggle, since I didn't feel like arguing, and I thought they'd tell me it'd be double the price if it were in perfect condition.

It's a dupe of these kind of dishes, normally made from bronze and crystal (or glass):

Ironically, those ones don't go for much either!  I've seen them sell for around $15-$20 (of course sellers price them wayyy higher on buy it now).  3-4 times the price this one was, even though the quality is much more than that.  I wonder if mine ever came with a lid like that one did.

I haven't seen any like mine on the internet...possibly because nobody cares, considering how little the real ones go for!

I'm still happy about it though.  I haven't found anything like this before, and this was in my price range.  I don't even know if I would have paid $20 for one of the good ones...they are pretty heavy and breakable!

I'm sure they wouldn't have been as low either.  The similar items I have seen were priced at $50+!  

The face is also pretty nice on this one.  Way better than some of the brass ones I've seen!  A win-win all around!

Brass gold cherub lamp:  $7.99 @ Value Village (RSP:  $40 - $200+)

I never thought I'd find something like this for so cheap, especially at Value village of all places!

I've only seen something like this once at the Salvation Army..and they wanted $20-$30 for theirs.  Plus, they weren't that nice so I didn't buy them.

Well,  this one was gorgeous, and the price was a steal!  I don't really have room for lamps, which sis one of the reasons I wasn't very tempted before...but this one was a must have.

 The marble base was made in Italy!  And everything still works, I tested it before I bought it.

I was really in awe of the quality.  You rarely see stuff like that today, not in any mass produced stores anyway.

I noticed that one of the four hanging posts was broken off when I got home, but I would have bought it anyway.

Now I just have to figure something out for the lampshade!

There were two other lamps I was considering, that were obviously made by the same company and had the same owner.

They were the same one...this one:

It was nice, but not as intricate as the one I bought.  Plus, I didn't think the sculpting was as nice.  They were the same price:

If they're still there tomorrow though, I might end up buying them anyway!

I just didn't want to push my luck.  I initially noticed two of the lamps in a basket near the checkout counter.  I asked the cashier if they were someone's and she said she didn't know.  

She said she was going to just put them back, so I ended up testing both of them, and buying the bigger one.

When I was at the front near the entrace, I saw the other lamp!  It was in a basket too.  I really didn't want to feel like I was taking someone else's stuff, even though they all looked pretty abandoned (behind and in front of the check out).

Ugh, looking at that picture, I kind of wish I bought them!  I hope they're still there tomorrow!

Even if they're not as nice, and they all need lamp shades, there's no way I could get them cheaper elsewhere.  I've seen similar lamps sell for $40-$200!  Shipping alone would be more than what I paid!

I found this auction that's basically the lamp I have, except in different colours.  That would work out to around $100 each.  They're in better condition than mine though, mine is missing one of the handles and has no beadwork...but I doubt that would count for the $90 difference!

This is one of the ones from the Salvation army:

I'm really glad I didn't get the first one.  It was a cheap quality repro.  It had nothing on the real thing!  Even the less intricate one above is a million times better than this one...

The second ones were good, but the price was too much.  I think the one I got was a lot nicer anyway!

Lesson learned:  will always check the lamp section from now on!  Maybe there were even more of them!