It was a Sunday morning. While ShopGuy worked upstairs, I surreptitiously connected to the Internet. After what seemed like a lifetime, I logged on to Netflix, but I didn’t really care what was in my queue.

It was a ruse, much like you call up Google when your boss walks by to cover up your instant messenger window.

I was up to no good. And I didn’t want my husband to know.

See, I was sneaking around on the side with eBay. On that morning, a pink suede Coach bag was leading me astray. No matter that it had seen better days. Or that it didn’t match a thing I owned. Or that my bag collection is a little excessive. It was the real deal. For $21.99. And the auction was about to end.

I entered my maximum bid. In an instant it was trounced. I scurried to type in another higher bid, but I was beaten again. As I cursed my dial-up connection, I was seized by something frightening: the need to win. Suddenly, I found myself fighting for something that, in retrospect, was both ugly and impractical.

As it turns out, I won by losing.

I’m not an eBayer by nature. I don’t know the ins and outs, the tricks to winning and the best search methods. Up until two weeks ago, the only thing I ever won on eBay was a Pabst Blue Ribbon trucker hat that I gave to ShopGuy as a gag gift. It set me back $5.

This time, the stakes were higher. My editor asked me to do a ShopGirl column about eBay. Thing is, I couldn’t find anything I wanted to buy. A Pottery Barn magazine rack caught my eye, but with shipping, it cost more than it did in-store. I also found a bunch of skirts from Anthropologie, in my size, no less, but they cost $89.99 with a day left on the auction.

There are bargains to be found on eBay, but you have to know what you’re doing. And I didn’t. So I sought out a colleague who did. His advice: Only buy what you like, and only buy that when it’s a bargain. Since that sounded like my usual M.O., I figured it would be easy.

It wasn’t, as the raspberry-pink Coach fiasco proved.

That Monday, I returned to work with a resolve to start slowly and cheaply. So I bid on a book. Not just any book, mind you. But Sophie Kinsella’s “Shopaholic Takes Manhattan.” I figured if I was going to do this right, I needed a little inspiration. I won the auction with a whopping bid of $2.25. After shipping, it cost $5.75. Still less than new, right? Well, if I had just popped into one of our local used bookstores, I probably could’ve bought it for less. And it wouldn’t have taken two weeks to arrive.

My eBay affair was not off to an auspicious start.

Three days later, at lunchtime (a GREAT time to bid, by the way, because everyone’s away from their desk), I found a new camel suede minibag by Coach. The auction would end in two hours. I placed a high bid of $35. The asking price at the time was $25.99. After obsessively refreshing my screen for two hours, I emerged victorious.

Then the doubts started. I mean, who buys Coach on eBay? Doesn’t the idea of getting a $128 bag for $26.99 seem too good to be true? Sure, it said “authentic,” but how would I know it was real until it was too late? I’m a whiz at spotting a fake at close range, but online? Forget it.

So I went back and read every word of the Coach seller’s feedback. It was 100 percent positive. Then I searched for the style on Google so I’d know what identifying characteristics to look for. Then I waited.

Within an hour, the seller sent an e-mail, thanking me for buying the bag. An hour later, I received another e-mail stating that the postal service had been notified to expect my package for shipping. While checking my PayPal account, I noticed the seller had also included insurance in the shipping price.

The romance was rekindled.

Three days later, my Coach bag arrived, stunningly wrapped and even more sumptuous than anticipated. It was buttery soft, the lining perfectly stitched. The Coach Outlet tag was still attached, the dust bag and paperwork were enclosed and the creed (the stamp on the inside of the bag) bore the trademark outlet bull’s-eye.

It was, in a word, perfect.

On Friday, I admitted my affair to ShopGuy. There was no jealous rage. No fit of passion. Just a joke about my bag lady habits. I reminded him that I recently donated five handbags to the local thrift shop, and everything was just fine. And it will be, until I have to explain the charges to “JILLG613” and “MRGRMPBEAR” on my MasterCard bill.

ShopNotes

. ShoeGazer in Ellsworth has moved to the corner of State and Main streets, near Pyramid Studios. To celebrate the grand reopening, everything in the store is on sale through Feb. 28. For more information, call 667-5453.

. Readers have enthusiastically responded to last week’s thrift shopping article. Among reader favorites I missed are Heavenly Threads Resale Boutique on Elm Street in Camden, which carries high-end name brands, none of which are in “rough shape.” Another favorite is St. Augustine’s Thrift Store at 1213 Dexter Road, Dover-Foxcroft. After 20 years in business and service, St. Augustine’s has moved to a new location and will hold a grand opening from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 4. Twice Is Nice on Route 3 in Belmont (5 miles from Belfast center) rounds out the list, with a selection of clothing for women of all sizes, maternity clothes, vintage, jewelry and books, among other items. Open by chance or appointment January through March.

. We have a winner! Mona Theriault of Caribou soon will receive the Luella bag from Target packed with cosmetics and other goodies. Congratulations, Mona, and thanks to the 200-plus entrants.