LONDON -- When it comes to acquiring random bits of merchandise from around the world, the Internet is a powerful tool.
But what do you do if you see something in another country that you really want, but it isn't available online?
This was the quandry one U.S. Reddit user faced after his girlfriend expressed a desire for a pink flamingo handbag that was only available from a branch of Topshop in London. After posting a "long shot" plea on Reddit's London thread, however, he was surprised when a stranger decided to help him -- and even went one brilliant step further.
Here's a photo of the elusive bag.
#EXCLUSIVE! Hit up our Oxford Circus @topshop concession and Topshop.com for our cute new Flamingo bag! How we wish there was a #flamingo emoji! #skinnydiplondon #topshop #newin #novelty #cute #bag #online #shopping A photo posted by Skinnydip London (@skinnydiplondon) on Oct 12, 2015 at 10:00am PDT
"My girlfriend is absolutely obsessed with a little handbag that is not available online, but only available in store, in London," Reddit user kenziespeights wrote alongside a link to the bag. "I've contacted everyone from said store but no one can help get it shipped to me (I'm in the U.S.).
"My girlfriend has been in a really tough place lately and being able to surprise her with something she thinks is absolutely impossible to get would put the biggest smile on her face."
At this point our hero, atlbeer, stepped in.
"Yeah... Send me the details," he wrote. "I also will be in NYC this weekend and if it fits in a carry on, happy to save you some money on shipping by bringing it with me."
Atlbeer was good to his word. Later that evening, he posted the following photo of the freshly purchased bag.
"Operation Flamingo Transport has begun," he wrote.
But it ended up being so much more than just a straightforward operation.
Before the flight to NYC, atlbeer decided to take the flamingo sightseeing.
To return the favour, the flamingo helped him clean up around the house.
[img src="" caption="" credit="" alt=""]
Then, following a busy day, it was time to get packed and head to the airport.
After a quick bite at Heathrow, it was time to board the plane...
...And head to the Big Apple for some more sightseeing.
Including some necessary sampling of the local cuisine, of course.
[img src="http://admin.mashable.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/NY_cuisine2.jpg" caption="'If you go to NYC you must do a bagel at least once," wrote altbeer when sharing this image." credit="" alt="NY_cuisine2"]
Finally, it was time for a heartfelt goodbye.
[img src="http://admin.mashable.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Saying_goodbye.jpg" caption=""Farewell my pink friend," wrote atlbeer. "FedEx will be taking you on your final leg."" credit="" alt="Saying_goodbye"]
"You are phenomenal," wrote the original flamingo-requester, kenziespeights. "I never thought this flamingo would end up being so well travelled.
"This gift has gone from just a handbag to something she'll never forget."
Nice work, atlbeer.