Help with Balenciaga SNAD

[saira1214]

Hi Ladies,

I need some help. I purchased a Bal weekender earlier in the month and I believe I have grounds for a SNAD. I have tried to work it out with the seller, but we cannot come to an agreement.

I have been searching for my HG a black weekender with pewter hardware for a very long time. This is a very difficult bag to find since it was only produced in 2003/2004 seasons. You can imagine my excitement when this baby popped up. The description stated that the top stud on the bag had been replaced. In the photos, the top stud is the original Bal stock stud so I figured that it must have fallen out and re-inserted. I asked the seller where the work was done and she said Art Bag in New York. This is a very reputable repair shop so I was satisfied. I also asked if there were any other defects (such as the corners, rips, stains, etc.) and the seller stated that all 4 corners were re-touched by Art Bag and the bag was in excellent condition. I was satisfied with this and ended up winning the bag.

When I got the bag, I noticed immediately that it was not the top stud that had been replaced, but the second from the bottom (there are four vertical studs on the handles). In the photos it was a bit difficult for me to ascertain that particular stud had been replaced with a non-stock stud until I received the bag and saw it in person. Now that I know, I can tell clearly in photos. The bag also came with sweat-pant elastic drawstrings for tassels for the main compartment and the tassels on the front zipper had been cut drastically. This made me very upset because these issues were not disclosed at all in the listing and the bag came with no extra tassels. Lastly, the dustbag that the bag came in is for a smaller model (the City style), so the bag has to be stuffed in there for storage.

I am annoyed because the integrity of the bag has been compromised by these issues. Unfortunately, Balenciaga does not provide repair services unless you can provide a receipt proving you bought it from the item from the boutique. This complicates things significantly because I will have to buy new tassels from the second hand market and I will have to search and find by some miracle an original pewter stud.

I contacted the seller two days after I received the bag to see if she would be willing to do a partial refund. I told her the issues I had with the bag and she disclosed that she sold it for a friend and she understood my concerns and asked how much I wanted for a partial refund. I did a lot of research trying to determine what it would cost to fix these issues and determined that $350 would be fair compensation. The seller said that her friend is only willing to refund $150 or a full return including shipping charges. I really want to keep the bag because it is so difficult to find and I have been looking for it for a long time, but she will only agree to half of what I am asking for.

I am wondering how opening a case will help or hurt me? Since she agreed to the full refund, am I screwed for any type of partial refund? I really want to be able to use the funds received from the partial to try and address some of the issues with the bag. However, how am I going to prove the reasonableness of my request? Do I need a third party? If so, I am out of luck because Bal won't do the repairs or provide an estimate. Should I just return the bag and forget it? I'm confused about what I should do. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you!

 

[Love Of My Life]

Personally, I would return the bag for a full refund.... You are right that the integrity
of the bag has been compromised & even if you can replace the issues that concern
you, don't think you will be happy in the long run.

Your seller is only offering a fraction of what you are asking for... the replacement
will be approx $350 your seller is willing to offer $150. That's not an option that
would work for me... Perhaps if you can show how what the replacement tassels
cost, seller might be more receptive to giving you more than $150, but doesn't look so promising
as seller & friend have made their minds up.. But you can try if you really want the bag

I'd keep looking for the bag with all original components..you never know when it
will turn up again!!

 

[love4mom]

Hi Ladies,

I need some help. I purchased a Bal weekender earlier in the month and I believe I have grounds for a SNAD. I have tried to work it out with the seller, but we cannot come to an agreement.

I have been searching for my HG a black weekender with pewter hardware for a very long time. This is a very difficult bag to find since it was only produced in 2003/2004 seasons. You can imagine my excitement when this baby popped up. The description stated that the top stud on the bag had been replaced. In the photos, the top stud is the original Bal stock stud so I figured that it must have fallen out and re-inserted. I asked the seller where the work was done and she said Art Bag in New York. This is a very reputable repair shop so I was satisfied. I also asked if there were any other defects (such as the corners, rips, stains, etc.) and the seller stated that all 4 corners were re-touched by Art Bag and the bag was in excellent condition. I was satisfied with this and ended up winning the bag.

When I got the bag, I noticed immediately that it was not the top stud that had been replaced, but the second from the bottom (there are four vertical studs on the handles). In the photos it was a bit difficult for me to ascertain that particular stud had been replaced with a non-stock stud until I received the bag and saw it in person. Now that I know, I can tell clearly in photos. The bag also came with sweat-pant elastic drawstrings for tassels for the main compartment and the tassels on the front zipper had been cut drastically. This made me very upset because these issues were not disclosed at all in the listing and the bag came with no extra tassels. Lastly, the dustbag that the bag came in is for a smaller model (the City style), so the bag has to be stuffed in there for storage.

I am annoyed because the integrity of the bag has been compromised by these issues. Unfortunately, Balenciaga does not provide repair services unless you can provide a receipt proving you bought it from the item from the boutique. This complicates things significantly because I will have to buy new tassels from the second hand market and I will have to search and find by some miracle an original pewter stud.

I contacted the seller two days after I received the bag to see if she would be willing to do a partial refund. I told her the issues I had with the bag and she disclosed that she sold it for a friend and she understood my concerns and asked how much I wanted for a partial refund. I did a lot of research trying to determine what it would cost to fix these issues and determined that $350 would be fair compensation. The seller said that her friend is only willing to refund $150 or a full return including shipping charges. I really want to keep the bag because it is so difficult to find and I have been looking for it for a long time, but she will only agree to half of what I am asking for.

I am wondering how opening a case will help or hurt me? Since she agreed to the full refund, am I screwed for any type of partial refund? I really want to be able to use the funds received from the partial to try and address some of the issues with the bag. However, how am I going to prove the reasonableness of my request? Do I need a third party? If so, I am out of luck because Bal won't do the repairs or provide an estimate. Should I just return the bag and forget it? I'm confused about what I should do. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you!

I think if you open a case, Ebay will just tell you to return the bag, especially since the seller offered that option. You may ask for a partial in the case, but if the seller does not agree, ebay will most likely will tell you to return. Ebay does not like to get involved with partials. It will be too complicated for ebay to get involved in what is fair as far as the amount. Their case resolution "specialists" are trained to treat the cases as black and white as much as possible and they are also production oriented. Meaning they have to close X number of case within X number of hours/days. Their compensation is partly based on that. So, I would just return it for a full refund.

 

[vernis-lover]

Agree with previous posts. You may raise a claim requesting a partial but it looks likely that the seller will respond with "return for full refund" and that's what ebay will then request you do.

I've only ever seen partials agreed to when both parties agree on the amount to be refunded, not decided by ebay as "a fair amount" if that makes sense.

So your decision will need to be based on is 150 acceptable or return for a full refund? How long is it likely to take you to find the spare parts, as this may influence your decision?

 

[Bratty1919]

personally, i would return the bag for a full refund.... You are right that the integrity
of the bag has been compromised & even if you can replace the issues that concern
you, don't think you will be happy in the long run.

your seller is only offering a fraction of what you are asking for... The replacement
will be approx $350 your seller is willing to offer $150. That's not an option that
would work for me... Perhaps if you can show how what the replacement tassels
cost, seller might be more receptive to giving you more than $150, but doesn't look so promising
as seller & friend have made their minds up.. But you can try if you really want the bag

i'd keep looking for the bag with all original components..you never know when it
will turn up again!!

+1

 

[saira1214]

Personally, I would return the bag for a full refund.... You are right that the integrity
of the bag has been compromised & even if you can replace the issues that concern
you, don't think you will be happy in the long run.

Your seller is only offering a fraction of what you are asking for... the replacement
will be approx $350 your seller is willing to offer $150. That's not an option that
would work for me... Perhaps if you can show how what the replacement tassels
cost, seller might be more receptive to giving you more than $150, but doesn't look so promising
as seller & friend have made their minds up.. But you can try if you really want the bag

I'd keep looking for the bag with all original components..you never know when it
will turn up again!!

Thanks for your advice! I did email her with the explanation for the costs of replacement and she says that is the most her friend is willing to do. I think that this selling for a friend thing is a fib since the seller was really easy to work with until I brought up the possibility of a SNAD case. She then changed her tune and started to argue that there were no misrepresentations in the listing.

 

[saira1214]

I think if you open a case, Ebay will just tell you to return the bag, especially since the seller offered that option. You may ask for a partial in the case, but if the seller does not agree, ebay will most likely will tell you to return. Ebay does not like to get involved with partials. It will be too complicated for ebay to get involved in what is fair as far as the amount. Their case resolution "specialists" are trained to treat the cases as black and white as much as possible and they are also production oriented. Meaning they have to close X number of case within X number of hours/days. Their compensation is partly based on that. So, I would just return it for a full refund.

That's what I was afraid of. IT would get very tricky for them to try and assess what is fair, etc. However, I am thinking if I had a third party estimate, that would give me some footing. It's too bad that Balenciaga's customer service is lacking in that regard.

Agree with previous posts. You may raise a claim requesting a partial but it looks likely that the seller will respond with "return for full refund" and that's what ebay will then request you do.

I've only ever seen partials agreed to when both parties agree on the amount to be refunded, not decided by ebay as "a fair amount" if that makes sense.

So your decision will need to be based on is 150 acceptable or return for a full refund? How long is it likely to take you to find the spare parts, as this may influence your decision?

In terms of the tassels, I think those will be the easiest to find since the bag is black and not seasonal. The replacement stud is going to take a long time since I will have to either look for someone selling stock replacement studs on ebay (which never happens) or buy a very beat up pewter bag and use the stud from that which is more than likely more expensive then I'd like, to do. I am leaning towards returning the bag, but I am soooo sad about this whole ordeal. I really do love it.

 

[Love Of My Life]

At this point you have several things to contend with... the replacement of the studs
which is going to tedious to say the least.. There is the possibility of it not turning
up for a long time as well as the condition of the studs.

The seller is not being cooperative.. Even it you do get a third party estimate, there is no
telling that the seller is going to go along with this information/estimate..

Know that you are disappointed, but there are times when its better to cut
your losses while you are ahead of the game... IYKWIM

 

[Sssy]

This is hard one. You have found your HG but it isn't perfect. I believe that ebey will ask you to return the bag especially that seller agreed to this. Waiting for better one may take ages, but you have to be happy with your bag. If you are not it will bug you all the time

I found studs replacements but I have no idea if they are similar to original. Check here.

 

[vernis-lover]

That's what I was afraid of. IT would get very tricky for them to try and assess what is fair, etc. However, I am thinking if I had a third party estimate, that would give me some footing. It's too bad that Balenciaga's customer service is lacking in that regard.

I'm not convinced that having a 3rd party estimate would help. I don't think you get the opportunity to submit any third party costings for refurbishment etc. And if the seller says return for refund then I guess that's what you would be instructed to do.

 

[skyqueen]

This is hard one. You have found your HG but it isn't perfect. I believe that ebey will ask you to return the bag especially that seller agreed to this. Waiting for better one may take ages, but you have to be happy with your bag. If you are not it will bug you all the time

I found studs replacements but I have no idea if they are similar to original. Check here.

Wow!
Good for you...many different sizes/color.

 

[saira1214]

This is hard one. You have found your HG but it isn't perfect. I believe that ebey will ask you to return the bag especially that seller agreed to this. Waiting for better one may take ages, but you have to be happy with your bag. If you are not it will bug you all the time

I found studs replacements but I have no idea if they are similar to original. Check here.

Thank you so much for posting that link. Unfortunately those are not the same, and I think that is what she replaced them with. Thanks again for your help though.

 

[saira1214]

At this point you have several things to contend with... the replacement of the studs
which is going to tedious to say the least.. There is the possibility of it not turning
up for a long time as well as the condition of the studs.

The seller is not being cooperative.. Even it you do get a third party estimate, there is no
telling that the seller is going to go along with this information/estimate..

Know that you are disappointed, but there are times when its better to cut
your losses while you are ahead of the game... IYKWIM

I'm not convinced that having a 3rd party estimate would help. I don't think you get the opportunity to submit any third party costings for refurbishment etc. And if the seller says return for refund then I guess that's what you would be instructed to do.

Thanks for your thoughts, ladies.

 

[Love Of My Life]

Let us know how you make out....

 

[BeenBurned]

Thanks for your advice! I did email her with the explanation for the costs of replacement and she says that is the most her friend is willing to do. I think that this selling for a friend thing is a fib since the seller was really easy to work with until I brought up the possibility of a SNAD case. She then changed her tune and started to argue that there were no misrepresentations in the listing.

Whether she's telling the truth or not about selling for a friend is irrelevant. She offered the most she (or her friend) is willing to refund so you must choose between either the $150 or a full refund on return.

She's not required to agree to a partial so the fact that she is offering it is more than she's required to do. That IS working with you; it's just not what you were hoping for.