Mine started the same way, obiwan!
Well, let me back up...
I never carried a purse until I was "forced" to (basically for the obvious reason of keeping all of your items together LOL) around age 20 - I wasn't really an "accessories" girl growing up. So I bought whatever looked ok, was neutral, and cheap - bags from JCPenney's or Target - for the longest time.
When I was about 29, I was "generously" given 2 fake Signature totes - thought they were real (I remember telling my sister about it and saying "they have a creed and serial number & everything!"), but then I did some research to make sure... Oh boy, did that turn my stomach! So I vowed to learn as much as I can about authenticating, and after searching for some time, I found my first *real* Coach on the bay, from a reputable seller - a good first bag (and fell in love with the 65th Anniversary Legacy line in the process!). Fast forward 1 month... just one month...
I started making monthly trips to the outlet (and sometimes weekly), and buying/selling on ebay... then moved on to collecting posters, display items, catalogs, and yes - the fobs, scarves, and all the other pretty, sparkly, beautiful, rare or limited edition things... Like someone here has as their signature, paraphrased - I think of it as ART!
Then along came that first trip to the FP store - aaaahhh, hello Love.
So now, I really have NO clue how many purses, wallets, etc I've bought and sold over the past 5 years, I've never done a running total, and I'm not sure I'd want to know TBH! However, my own collection seems to stay at a fairly level, reasonable number - at least, compared to what "could be"! If I buy something new, I try to find something I haven't carried in awhile (or ever) to get rid of, so there's some turnover. Then, of course, there's the ones I hope to never sell... On the flip side, there are quite a few I've regretted selling over the years, of course. And I am still on the constant search for Legacy Anniversary items, 6ish years later~ but all in all, happy with slowly but surely getting a nice wish list put together and tackled.
Finally, like others here on tPF, I have spread my addiction... friends, family, even the BF. (None of them are immune to my Powers of Coach Persuasion muahaha!:devil
Well - once they understood the quality, customer service, deals at the outlets, PCEs, all that good stuff- I think Coach kind of sold itself to them - I just pushed them in the right direction.