My letter to Kooba regarding my faulty slate gray Gretchen bag

[ejbfelton]

The first photo is what a Slate Gretchen can look like

The second photo is what a good Slate Gretchen looks like

http://forum.purseblog.com/attachmen...1&d=1239416850

[AudreyE]

Whoa, remind me not to buy anything in Slate...

Honestly, I'm just buying my Koobas used so I can get ones that have a proven track record of quality.

[ejbfelton]

Well, as stated in other posts I conditioned my Slate Gretchen when I purchased it and so far after about 2 years it is still gorgeous. However, due to what can happen I'm scared to carry it outside so it's spent most of it's life in a dark closet.

The leather on the Gretchen is wonderful, very, very soft yet sturdy, the bag has lots of firmness to keep it comfortable on your shoulder, and it is one of the few Koobas I have that will actually stay on my shoulder.

I hope buyers with the discoloration issues get some help from Kooba and if not perhaps through the retailer they purchased from.

[Lululapell]

Originally Posted by ejbfelton

Lululapell, I do hope you will continue to pursue this matter with Neiman's and Kooba. It's a shame that eBay doesn't keep completed auctions available longer. I have seen Lena's, Sloane's and of course Gretchen's all in Slate, and all turning or already turned that horrible ugly brownish color. There was a Gretchen listed just the other day which should still be available to pull up as completed. The listing had a photo showing the two colors very well What a shame about Kooba's Customer Service (or lack of) I do not believe for a minute that this is the first Kooba has heard of this problem with the Slate colors. The same thing is happening with Jaylins and Jacindas in the lighter colors. There will be a rash of complaints about those very soon, especially due to the recent sales on Rue la la which in turn result in loads of listings on eBay. I still check my Gretchen every few weeks to make sure it's color is holding up. It is in the darker sleeper and stored in a completely dark closet. I love it, I'm afraid to carry it. The funny thing is I purchased a new pair of Chanel light gray athletic inspired shoes to match the bag and have yet to wear them. There they sit, in their sleepers, in their box waiting for me to carry the Gretchen. What a joke, that's over lK in gorgeous gray colors that haven't seen the light of day. I do have several other Koobas I am totally happy with. I think the company may have grown beyond what their business sense ( and definitely their Customer Service) can handle.

I have this bag in forest green suede and love it! This is what makes me so mad! I LOVE this bag! So hopefully all it will take is a redye and we will be good to go.
I'll update Monday on whether I get a response, and if so, what it is.

[Lululapell]

Originally Posted by ejbfelton

Lululapell, I do hope you will continue to pursue this matter with Neiman's and Kooba. It's a shame that eBay doesn't keep completed auctions available longer. I have seen Lena's, Sloane's and of course Gretchen's all in Slate, and all turning or already turned that horrible ugly brownish color. There was a Gretchen listed just the other day which should still be available to pull up as completed. The listing had a photo showing the two colors very well What a shame about Kooba's Customer Service (or lack of) I do not believe for a minute that this is the first Kooba has heard of this problem with the Slate colors. The same thing is happening with Jaylins and Jacindas in the lighter colors. There will be a rash of complaints about those very soon, especially due to the recent sales on Rue la la which in turn result in loads of listings on eBay. I still check my Gretchen every few weeks to make sure it's color is holding up. It is in the darker sleeper and stored in a completely dark closet. I love it, I'm afraid to carry it. The funny thing is I purchased a new pair of Chanel light gray athletic inspired shoes to match the bag and have yet to wear them. There they sit, in their sleepers, in their box waiting for me to carry the Gretchen. What a joke, that's over lK in gorgeous gray colors that haven't seen the light of day. I do have several other Koobas I am totally happy with. I think the company may have grown beyond what their business sense ( and definitely their Customer Service) can handle.

Here are two recent auctions. I hope the gal doesn't mind me posting her pics here. I didn't want them to be taken off of Ebay in 30 days and then not have people be able to see what we are talking about.


This one is exactly what mine looks like now.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Authentic-KOOBA-...3A1%7C294%3A50

Notice how the handle is just starting to brown on this one.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Kooba-Gretchen-S...1%7C240%3A1318

[Lululapell]

Originally Posted by ejbfelton

The first photo is what a Slate Gretchen can look like The second photo is what a good Slate Gretchen looks like http://forum.purseblog.com/attachmen...1&d=1239416850

That new one is so GORGEOUS! I had forgotten that mine looked like that! Grrrr!

[ejbfelton]

I have to add a funny thought here, there was a listing on eBay months ago for a Gretchen that had turned and really looked horrible, the seller described it as a Kooba in Taupe.

[Lululapell]

Originally Posted by ejbfelton

I have to add a funny thought here, there was a listing on eBay months ago for a Gretchen that had turned and really looked horrible, the seller described it as a Kooba in Taupe.

Man, I'm laughing and seething at the same time!

[ejbfelton]

Well, this is too much-I spent this morning examining all the Kooba bags I have (have sold a few in the past month) and pulled my Gretchen from it's sleeper-and guess what? It's turning, yes indeedy folks, my Slate is about two shades off.

I ran around my huge almost all glass room, chasing the light to make sure I wasn't imagining things, running here and there, chasing the sunlight. No mistake, the nice soft gray has tones of you guessed it-TAUPE!

The upside is that I can now sell the Chanel shoes purchased to go with this Kooba. Other than that I guess I will contact Lovin my Bags to see if they can offer any solution. Maybe dye it?

On another note, there is a new Lena listed on eBay, gorgeous Slate, priced high for eBay. I think I can resist, how about you?

[Lululapell]

I received a response from Kooba! I will be mailing my bag in to her tomorrow morning. I'll keep everybody updated!

We are sorry to hear about the experience with your Gretchen purse in Slate. Customer issues with our purses normally go through the specialty or department store of purchase. However, since Neiman Marcus was unable to assist you, please send your purse to the following address and attention to me so I can have an understanding of the problem and
we can work out a solution from there.

Kooba
Attn: Ada Ng
141 W 36th Street/ 6th Floor
New York, NY 10018

Best,
Ada
Customer Service


Sent: Thursday, April 09, 2009 10:10 AM
To: Ada Ng
Subject: Extremely dissatified with this transaction


Dear Ada,
A little background on my story. I bought my slate gray Gretchen from Neiman's about 2 plus years ago. I have seldom used it because I have many bags. Thus she has stayed in her bag 99.9% of the time and been lovingly cared for.

A couple of days ago I took her out again and noticed that my gorgeous gray bag is now a putrid brown color. I was not happy. I came onto the Purse forum to see if anyone else has had this problem and found out that yes, they had. What I didn't find out was what Kooba did about their faulty leather dye job.

I went online and found the only number available for Kooba. It is your online sales customer service. I called and I talked to a nice gal who said that all I needed to do was send an email to customerservice@shop.kooba.com and they would forward on my email for me and she was sure Kooba would do something about the bag.
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This is the email I sent to them after that conversation.

To whom it may concern:

Several days ago I took out my slate gray Gretchen bag to wear it. Once outside I noticed that the color was weird, almost a brown or tannish color - but not a good tan color. Upon closer investigating the bag, I noticed that the inside was still the gorgeous gray color, as well as under the tabs and buckles. The rest of the bag is gross and not something I would expect from a $500 plus dollar bag.

This bag was purchased, by me, from Neiman Marcus. The exact day I couldn't tell you but I do know that it was well over a year ago, but under 3 years. I can't believe that after only having this bag for a short period of time it would do this. I've had Louis Vuitton bags for years that still look brand new, except for a slight patina.

I am assuming that Kooba will live up to their good name and fix the bag so that I can continue wearing it. I see from the Purse Forum that this was a big issue with this bag. I'm not sure what you did to rectify the situation for those gals, since there is only the issues posted and not the outcome.


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This is the response I received today from Kooba.
Dear Kooba Online Customer,

Thanks for contacting us.

Unfortunately we cannot accept returns or repairs that
were not purchased directly from our website. We
recommend contacting the original store it was purchased
from and inquiring about their repair/exchange policy.

If you have any further questions or concerns, feel free to
contact us.

Kind Regards,

Customer Service
Kooba Online
customerservice@shop.kooba.com
323-325-9819 Phone
310-868-2938 Fax

http://www.kooba.com
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And here is my response to the above letter.

To whom it may concern:

When I contacted Kooba online yesterday I was told by one of your gals to email customerservice@shop.kooba.com and you would forward my email onto corporate.

As Neiman's was only the middleman and not the actual manufacture of this faulty bag, I was giving you, Kooba, the opportunity to fix this. After all, you made the bag, not Neimans and I am sure it is past its return/repair stage. I find it interesting that you wouldn't want to know more about what is happening with this bag and the dye job. If this were my company, I would be all over this, asking for pictures and trying to rectify the problem.

Since Kooba corporate is impossible to get to from the Kooba.com website, should I assume that I will not be getting any help from your company on this matter?

I would hate to think, and I'm sure every other Kooba purse owner and buyer would, that Kooba stops their customer service and dedication to your name once the purse goes out your warehouse door. Since I know this isn't the case, I would appreciate you forwarding this on to the appropriate person or emailing me back with a name and phone number so I can talk with someone who can and will help me with this.

[Lululapell]

Originally Posted by ejbfelton

Well, this is too much-I spent this morning examining all the Kooba bags I have (have sold a few in the past month) and pulled my Gretchen from it's sleeper-and guess what? It's turning, yes indeedy folks, my Slate is about two shades off. I ran around my huge almost all glass room, chasing the light to make sure I wasn't imagining things, running here and there, chasing the sunlight. No mistake, the nice soft gray has tones of you guessed it-TAUPE! The upside is that I can now sell the Chanel shoes purchased to go with this Kooba. Other than that I guess I will contact Lovin my Bags to see if they can offer any solution. Maybe dye it? On another note, there is a new Lena listed on eBay, gorgeous Slate, priced high for eBay. I think I can resist, how about you?

Oh no! Well, keep an eye on this thread and you can see what Kooba does for me.

As long as I was in a fighting mood, I went after My Twinn yesterday as well. They have had my 6 yr. old daughter's doll in their facility for over 4 months now (being "cleaned") and won't send her back. Correction: they have no phone number to call and they aren't answering their emails. So yesterday I filed with the BBB and attorney general in thier state.

[ejbfelton]

Lululapell,

I will keep track of this thread, hopefully Kooba will come through for you, either with a fix or a credit.

[juliel]

My moss Sienna did the same thing. I now have Tarrago dye and will be changing it to blue, after getting the same run around a couple of years ago.

it was gross, too - like the color of when you clean the inside of your car windows if you smoke in the car. Quite sad, really. That was the end of my loving Kooba.

The Gretchen is a great bag, too; I have it in tan and it's one of my gay bf's faves. The stitching is coming out so I need to do a little repair, but it's a classic.

[ejbfelton]

"My moss Sienna did the same thing. I now have Tarrago dye and will be changing it to blue, after getting the same run around a couple of years ago."

I purchased a new Moss Nisha in 2007 and found I didn't carry it much. I was going to list it on eBay and found that no matter what lighting I used for photos I could see an ugly brownish shade in various areas of the bag.

I have since seen a couple listed on eBay that are the ugly brownish color, however they still sell. I'm guessing buyer's are planning to have them dyed.I think if I were to list I would call that color moldy mushroom.

[KoobaMe]

lululapell: Somehow I missed your update yesterday. This is fantastic news so far. Ada is a doll to deal w/ - she kept me updated throughout the whole of my situation and I had a resolution quickly. I hope the same for you.

Keep us updated!