It just won’t quit: Each week, another economist writes the obituary of the American consumer. The reasoning they use is essentially the same – the mountainous debt load, higher energy costs, rising interest rates, and deceleration of the torrid increases in home prices.

A trader at the New York Board of Trade, Jeannette Schwarz Young, the editor of the Option Queen Letter, echoed the worry that the consumer is about to turn into a financial deadbeat. “I can’t help but be scared by soaring costs of merchandise in an economy where wages remain punk,” she says.

It means Valentine’s Day sales, like those of the Christmas season, will be something of a downer and illustrate again that the consumer is in financial difficulty, she believes. “Just look at your utility bill, your real estate taxes, and the rising commodity prices,” she told me. “The problem is we’re in trouble here in River City.”

She may be right, but as far as Valentine’s Day shopping goes, Cupid is doing just fine, thank you, in New York City.

Unfortunately, though, for the city’s merchants, the biggest chunk of Valentine’s Day volume, in some cases 5% to 8%, is realized in the final two days before the holiday. Given yesterday’s blizzard, much of this business could be lost.

Refuting the view that the consumer is tapped out, shoppers, at least in the Big Apple, are digging more deeply into their wallets this Valentine’s Day than many economists had expected. A number of merchants say they’re experiencing lively sales on a wide variety of richly priced gift items.

The tempo of these sales tends to suggest that the much-heralded death of the consumer has been greatly exaggerated.

The Vermont Teddy Bear Company of Shelburne, Vt., one of the nation’s largest teddy bear manufacturers and retailers, is one example of success. New Yorkers seem to be gung-ho on teddy bears as Valentine’s Day gifts. They are being ordered in record numbers for the holiday, a spokeswoman, Sarah Badger, said.

The handmade bears range from $49.95 to $199.95 and are priced at $299.95 if you want one custom made. Some other high-priced items that merchants said are packing a lot of Valentine’s Day sales punch:

* At Chanel, canvas tote hobo-style handbags with Valentine print motifs, priced at $695 to $775. “They’re selling very fast,” a spokeswoman said. “I think we’re nearly sold out.”

* At Hermes, printed scarves – $320 silk, $800 cashmere.

* At Victoria’s Secret, black. transparent nightgowns with spaghetti straps and a matching transparent robe, $206. “They’re very popular with the male buyers,” a Victoria’s Secret saleswoman said, noting that one Wall Street customer bought four sets – one each for his three girl friends and one for his wife.

* At Cartier, stainless steel tank watches, $1,800.

* At Tiffany & Company, an 18-karat gold chain with half-karat diamond set in platinum, $4,670 (1.14 karat, $14,400).

* At Godiva Chocolatier, chocolates priced at $23 to $120 a box. Strong sales are reported in the city’s 15 stores. A spur is said to be a jewelry giveaway promotion in conjunction with H. Stern. All told, 81 boxes of Valentine’s Day chocolates will contain gift certificates. The grand prize: $80,000 worth of jewelry, which the winner can pick out from Stern. For the 800 runners-up: $800 worth of free jewelry from Stern, plus eight boxes of Godiva chocolate.

* At Michael C. Fina, a sterling cable bracelet with heart charm, $110, and a Baccarat red crystal “glamour heart” pendant on a silk cord, $210.

Vermont Teddy Bear, which started up in 1981 by selling teddy bears off a pushcart and generated $66.6 million of sales in fiscal year 2005, sold a record 117,000 Valentine’s Day bears last year between February 1 and February 14. Figure the company’s average price per bear of $79, and that adds up to sales of $924,300. This year’s unit sales for the holiday are pegged at 132,000, equivalent to a volume of just more than $1 million.

Among the top Valentine’s Day sellers at the company – which sold 400,000 bears in all of 2005 and derives 29% of its business from New Yorkers – are teddies designated Lover Boy with denim jeans and sunglasses ($79.95), Love Bandit ($69.95), Be My Valentine ($74.95), Red Hot Lover ($59.95), and Super Lover ($79.95)

Want to wow your Valentine with a spectacular gift? Saks Fifth Avenue has just the thing: a full-length shawl-collared Russian sable coat for $160,000. Don’t let the price scare you. Thanks to a 50% off sale, it’s available for just $80,000.

For the guys, a plasma package from Denmark’s Bang & Olufsen may do the trick – a 42-inch flat TV with loudspeaker and system controller. One remote control does everything. The price: $13,000. Add roughly another $900 for installation.