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Lululapell · Apr 8th, 2009, 05:32 PM

A little background on my story. I bought my slate gray Gretchen from Neiman's about 2 plus years ago. I have seldomly 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 thier online sales customer service. I called them. 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.

This is the email I sent to them.
"
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.

I can be reached at the number below.

Blessings,
Kxxxx xxxx
(xxx)xxx-xxxx

This is the response I received today.

"

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

Lululapell · Apr 8th, 2009, 05:44 PM

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.

Blessings,
XXXX XXXX "

Teresa1127 · Apr 8th, 2009, 06:05 PM

This is the number to try:

Kooba Handbags Inc
Address: 141 W 36th St, New York, NY 10018 Phone:(212) 777-5113

Hopefully you'll have better luck.

Teresa

KoobaMe · Apr 8th, 2009, 06:05 PM

Hi: The online sales is definitely not the place to get an answer but I'm pleased to see that they referred you to corporate - it's more than they've done in the past. I'll PM you the corporate number I used recently so you have something by which to follow up on your email. Also, if you don't get a response either way in a reasonable amount of time I would post your situation in the Come Talk to Kooba thread above as they will be checking it monthly. Hopefully you'll get some kind of response via one of these methods. Kooba really seems to be stepping up the CS lately so I imagine you'll hear something.

Keep us updated!

KoobaMe · Apr 8th, 2009, 06:07 PM

^^ Whoops! T beat me to it. LOL! Give them a call, lululapell.

Compass Rose · Apr 8th, 2009, 07:47 PM

You know, I don't want to add fuel to the fire, but in all honesty, I've never ever had a leather fade on me, no matter what the bag. I can't imagine your frustration. Hopefully, Kooba will come through for you, if they are now trying to step up to the plate.

Lexie2000 · Apr 8th, 2009, 09:27 PM

Surely Kooba knows this happened to like every Slate color bag they made. I know from previous years their standard line was they would do nothing if it wasn't purchased through them directly. I might be pessamistic but I bet they do nothing to rectify this. But I will remain pessamistic until I see more from Kooba as far as Customer service.

fabae · Apr 8th, 2009, 09:47 PM

Uh. Not good. Shame, Kooba! Fix the issue!

Lululapell · Apr 8th, 2009, 10:50 PM

Originally Posted by Teresa1127

This is the number to try:

Kooba Handbags Inc
Address: 141 W 36th St, New York, NY 10018 Phone:(212) 777-5113

Hopefully you'll have better luck.

Teresa

Thank you so much. I may just bite the bullet and mail the bag back UPS and tell them to fix it or replace it.

Lululapell · Apr 8th, 2009, 10:54 PM

Originally Posted by Compass Rose

You know, I don't want to add fuel to the fire, but in all honesty, I've never ever had a leather fade on me, no matter what the bag. I can't imagine your frustration. Hopefully, Kooba will come through for you, if they are now trying to step up to the plate.

Except for the patina on my LV bags, this would be a first for me as well. I kept changing angles and blinking because I just couldn't believe my eyes.

If it were a $25 or $100 bag I would just donate it, but it's not. I spent a small fortune on it and I want it to be useable for years to come. As the makers of this bag, they are held responsible for quality control. I can't imagine making something and then not standing behind it. And using the excuse that it was bought elsewhere and not online from them is ridiculous.

I'll remain hesitantly optomistic.

Lululapell · Apr 8th, 2009, 10:57 PM

Originally Posted by Lexie2000

Surely Kooba knows this happened to like every Slate color bag they made. I know from previous years their standard line was they would do nothing if it wasn't purchased through them directly. I might be pessamistic but I bet they do nothing to rectify this. But I will remain pessamistic until I see more from Kooba as far as Customer service.

I figure if they don't do something about this bag, they will have lost a customer for life. And not only will they have lost me, but I tend to have a big mouth when it comes to my dislikes and shoddy customer service so it won't just be me they lose.
Even though they are a larger company, every client = money. If you spend too much time with poor customer service, people tend to go elsewhere. Heck, I've bought 4 Rebecca Minkoff bags in the past month alone. I will definitely continue to look elsewhere from here on out if I don't get a positive outcome from this.

Grace123 · Apr 9th, 2009, 07:39 AM

Just curious: did you contact Neimans about it? Just wondered what they said to do if you did.

Lululapell · Apr 10th, 2009, 12:44 PM

Originally Posted by Grace123

Just curious: did you contact Neimans about it? Just wondered what they said to do if you did.

I now have someone from Nieman's working on it for me from her end. The bag is past the Neiman's return date since it is over a year old, but she thinks Kooba should do something about it. Something she said which was interesting.... when I asked her about Kooba's customer service, I was told that it stinks.

Lululapell · Apr 10th, 2009, 12:45 PM

This was sent to ada@kooba.com yesterday. No response yet.

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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.

I can be reached at the number below.

Blessings,
xxxxxxxx

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

Blessings,
xxxxxxxx"

ejbfelton · Apr 10th, 2009, 02:00 PM

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.

Apr 8th, 2009, 05:32 PM	#1
Lululapell OP Member Joined: Mar 2008 Location: Utopia Posts: 691	My letter to Kooba regarding my faulty slate gray Gretchen bag A little background on my story. I bought my slate gray Gretchen from Neiman's about 2 plus years ago. I have seldomly 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 thier online sales customer service. I called them. 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. This is the email I sent to them. " 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. I can be reached at the number below. Blessings, Kxxxx xxxx (xxx)xxx-xxxx This is the response I received today. " 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
	__________________ Currently Coveting: 06 Chanel Bleu Fonce Lambskin Bal Sapphire Day Bal Mandarin First

Apr 8th, 2009, 05:44 PM	#2
Lululapell OP Member Joined: Mar 2008 Location: Utopia Posts: 691	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. Blessings, XXXX XXXX "
	__________________ Currently Coveting: 06 Chanel Bleu Fonce Lambskin Bal Sapphire Day Bal Mandarin First

Apr 8th, 2009, 06:05 PM	#3
Teresa1127 Member Joined: Aug 2007 Posts: 152	This is the number to try: Kooba Handbags Inc Address: 141 W 36th St, New York, NY 10018 Phone:(212) 777-5113 Hopefully you'll have better luck. Teresa
Teresa1127 Member Joined: Aug 2007 Posts: 152

Apr 8th, 2009, 06:05 PM	#4
KoobaMe Hardware Junkie ♥ Joined: Apr 2007 Location: SoCal Posts: 1,566	Hi: The online sales is definitely not the place to get an answer but I'm pleased to see that they referred you to corporate - it's more than they've done in the past. I'll PM you the corporate number I used recently so you have something by which to follow up on your email. Also, if you don't get a response either way in a reasonable amount of time I would post your situation in the Come Talk to Kooba thread above as they will be checking it monthly. Hopefully you'll get some kind of response via one of these methods. Kooba really seems to be stepping up the CS lately so I imagine you'll hear something. Keep us updated!
	__________________ The Jonesin' For List: RM Black w/ Yellow Under Nikki - I Neeeed You Wine Nikki

Apr 8th, 2009, 06:07 PM	#5
KoobaMe Hardware Junkie ♥ Joined: Apr 2007 Location: SoCal Posts: 1,566	^^ Whoops! T beat me to it. LOL! Give them a call, lululapell.
	__________________ The Jonesin' For List: RM Black w/ Yellow Under Nikki - I Neeeed You Wine Nikki

Apr 8th, 2009, 07:47 PM	#6
Compass Rose Opie, My Schmopie!! Joined: Jul 2006 Location: Southwest Florida Posts: 8,617	You know, I don't want to add fuel to the fire, but in all honesty, I've never ever had a leather fade on me, no matter what the bag. I can't imagine your frustration. Hopefully, Kooba will come through for you, if they are now trying to step up to the plate.
	__________________ Teddie says......"They'll never find me in here"! My jewelry creations at: www.greenfeatherdesigns.com

Apr 8th, 2009, 09:27 PM	#7
Lexie2000 Member Joined: Jan 2006 Location: Wild Wonderful West Virginia Posts: 6,655	Surely Kooba knows this happened to like every Slate color bag they made. I know from previous years their standard line was they would do nothing if it wasn't purchased through them directly. I might be pessamistic but I bet they do nothing to rectify this. But I will remain pessamistic until I see more from Kooba as far as Customer service.
	__________________

Apr 8th, 2009, 09:47 PM	#8
fabae Member Joined: Jun 2006 Location: The South Posts: 1,635	Uh. Not good. Shame, Kooba! Fix the issue!

Apr 9th, 2009, 07:39 AM	#12
Grace123 Hopelessly Obsessed Joined: Nov 2006 Location: Iowa Posts: 5,201	Just curious: did you contact Neimans about it? Just wondered what they said to do if you did.
	__________________ Come visit me on Facebook! http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/home.php?ref=home

Apr 10th, 2009, 12:45 PM	#14
Lululapell OP Member Joined: Mar 2008 Location: Utopia Posts: 691	*This was sent to ada@kooba.com yesterday. No response yet.* 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. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. I can be reached at the number below. Blessings, xxxxxxxx ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. Blessings, xxxxxxxx"
	__________________ Currently Coveting: 06 Chanel Bleu Fonce Lambskin Bal Sapphire Day Bal Mandarin First

Apr 10th, 2009, 02:00 PM	#15
ejbfelton Member Joined: Apr 2007 Posts: 322	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.
ejbfelton Member Joined: Apr 2007 Posts: 322

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