You do realize the percentages are applied to
the total sale price of the bags, right? 15% of $699.99 is approximately $105 dollars that they will be keeping from you. 15% of $379 is approximately $57. And yes, most sellers will keep that amount (and even more!) if you don't go through with the transaction. I personally have never heard of a seller who only keeps 15% of
the initial deposit (which is what, like $12 if your deposit is $79.99, which would be 1.7% of your total bag price). If I'm understanding your post correctly...LT gave back $55 out of the $79.99 you paid, so you've only lost $24.99 right? I honestly don't see anything wrong with that
Sure, it'd be nice if they applied that $25 to $379 bag you bought, but just because they didn't, I don't think it warrants some of the things said in this thread. Think about it...if reserving a $700 bag and then changing your mind only costed you around $10-20, so many more people would be doing that and wasting a seller's time.
It seems to me that most of the people who are quick to call these sellers greedy theives don't really understand the concept of layaway and how to calculate the deposit and fees. It's really important to be clear of how much money (in dollars, not percentages!) you could lose BEFORE you even agree to do a layaway