... I had a pair of deerskin gloves that I wore for many, many years that were absolutely the best. Soft, durable, very comfortable. Then they wore holes through the fingers & sorta fell apart and I could not remember where I purchased them. 80 bucks for great gloves is money well spent - best just consider that a happy riding experience investment purchase is my attitude.
I did the same - spent about $70 on good deerskin gloves, and they did last a long time. When those went (same as yours, holes through the fingers), I didn't feel like springing that much again, so I took up wearing deerskin work gloves - $12 on sale from the local big box home center. 3 years on the current pair. You have to rinse them out good a few times to keep the cheap dye from bleeding on your hands, but then, I had to on the expensive ones, too.
bc