RANT... How can a bag be sold out nation-wide if it hasn't shipped yet?

C

cjj

O.G.
Mar 3, 2007
1,114
532
#1
I ask you; is that possible or is the SA not really interested in a sale?

I'm on the list for the SOHO tote in red. Priced at $2650. ONLY NM will receive it in red. I contact the Chanel boutique and speak w/the SA (who is a manager) and she says they are taking names and placing them on the reserve list for the bag. No tax, no shipping. If you don't like it, send the bag to the boutique, no cost to the customer. Ok. So, I receive a call saying that the bag is sold out all over the entire US. Can't get it, it's gone. And yet......
when I contact the NM ad office for Chanel, they inform me that the bag has not shipped yet and won't until the 15th, most likely the 30th of April. Yes, we can get the bag. Which one would you like? No problem.

The bag comes from the same vender whether it's NM or the Chanel boutique. Supposedly, the boutiques get first dibs. Knowing all this, what on earth is going on? Between the price increase fiasco and this, I wonder what the new head honcho at Chanel is up to. :wondering Or, perhaps, I'm just being pissy. :blah:
 
#3
I had the same problem calling around for my timeless clutch! The boutiques all told me that it didn't come in lambskin in this country. But other TPFers got it no problem.
 
#5
I think there is a lack of communication, or at least someone who may not even know what they are talking about. I talked to one of the SA's at NM yesterday who said that they are still waiting on some inventory to come in on the 15th from the spring collection. Maybe you just need to talk to another SA. If you need one let me know.
 
#7
One possiblity would be that since the stores haven't received them yet, inventory comes up as zero on the computer. So they think that it is "sold out". This happened when I was searching for a particular LV spring line sneaker for my BF. We eventually got a call from our usual SA when she received the shoes at her store. They're actually in all the boutiques now, but a few months ago I was being told that they were "sold out".
 
#9
Ok.

There's a difference between the bags sent to Chanel Boutiques, to the ones send to NM, to the ones to Saks. The difference is the number. The bags are sent DIRECTLY from Chanel in France to the respective warehouses. As such, the number sent to these differs. As such, it is possible that all bags are sold out in Chanel Boutiques and not NM or Saks
 
#10
I think that many SA's won't even offer to put your name down on a list if the list is a mile long and they are only getting a few pieces. My SA recently said that the manager now requires an imprint of the cc to hold the bag if I am on a waitlist. They charge me for the bag when it comes in and if I don't like it, they refund my cc. This happened to me recently at the spring trunk show. There are also many SA's that don't know anything. I had one SA ask me what the classic flap bag was. :wtf:
 
#11
Thank you, ladies, for your thoughts on this. I went back to the very beginning on my search and called the CHANEL toll free # and spoke w/the woman who heads up the dept. for ad sales. Apparently, when you see an ad in a magazine for a CHANEL bag, no matter what store it is, you call the phone number and you get a live person who can get you that exact bag featured in the ad. There is a Saks person, a NM person, a Bergdorf person, etc. And they KNOW their stuff. I told her about my conversation w/the Chanel boutique manager and she confirmed that the bags have NOT been shipped yet; they are about to be and stores should see them bit by bit in the next few days. Now, this person works for CHANEL corporate, so I would think she knows what is what. And, anyone on the list that these individuals have get the bags first; so, guess who is getting her red SOHO!!!!!!! :yahoo: Now, the boutiques are not getting it in red, but they DO have the ability to get it from Chanel directly; that is what the manager was going to do for me. Also, she has access to the same info as my ad person; but did she access it or did she do a search via the boutiques as someone else suggested. Don't know, but it seems she could have found out the bags have not been shipped if she had done a bit more research.

In any event, it has been a great learning experience. From this point on, if I see an ad in a magazine for a bag I MUST have, I'm calling the # and putting my name down on the list. Amazing how there are so many ways to get Chanel bags; esp. limited editions.

Thank you all again for allowing my hissy-fit; I appreciate being able to do it. :P
 
#13
clk55girl said:
I think that many SA's won't even offer to put your name down on a list if the list is a mile long and they are only getting a few pieces. My SA recently said that the manager now requires an imprint of the cc to hold the bag if I am on a waitlist. They charge me for the bag when it comes in and if I don't like it, they refund my cc. This happened to me recently at the spring trunk show. There are also many SA's that don't know anything. I had one SA ask me what the classic flap bag was. :wtf:
Click to expand...

which store requires the cc imprint? I think the bountiques actually stop asking for cc info from customer waiting on the waitlist (as my SA at SCP told me one time) since they don't want to be liable in case the customer's cc number is stolen.
 
#14
cjj said:
Now, the boutiques are not getting it in red, but they DO have the ability to get it from Chanel directly; that is what the manager was going to do for me.
Click to expand...

so the 1800 manager can place a special order for you to get a bag that no boutique is supposed to be getting?? Mmm....I did ask a similar question on another bag with chanel 1800 and I was told that if no boutique in the country is getting a particular color, I will just have to try calling the dept stores as they cannot just order one bag in that color from France for me...
 
#15
Regarding getting the bag via the boutique:

The SOHO line has 4 colors in it: red, black, white and beige. At the trunk shows all dept. stores had the red one to show, but only NM ordered it in red. Mistake for everyone else as NM's ad campaign (featuring the red tote) has generated a FLOOD of calls/demand for the red one. Anyway, the boutiques will have the black and beige. So, I asked can they get it, I mean, they are the CHANEL BOUTIQUE, why wouldn't they carry or have access to all CHANEL items? I don't get this at all; the boutique SHOULD have the ability to get something while the dept. stores should have the limited range. Does that make sense? Anyway, she said she would call corporate and find out about getting a red bag. She calls me back and says that the red one is already sold out nation-wide.

I wondered about that (which is why I posted this question). The NM rep at Chanel was able to get the bag for me; when it ships (starting this week).

So, I imagine, based on this experience, that the boutiques DO have the ability to get something, if they have a customer who knows about it and requests it. A dept. store, can not, however, do this (trust me, I tried to get it via Saks, Nordstrom and Bergdorf- NO WAY) it seems. But you know something? I think it REALLY comes down to how hard the SA wants to work on helping you. :yes:
 
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