*sigh* ... new bag, or restoration

daphodill84

daphodill84

O.G.
Nov 20, 2007
2,663
2
#1
I think i've shared the story about my beat up old bbag that I got off ebay... long story short, the bag was photographed well (lots of flash!) and looked perfect in the photos. When shipped here, I found out that my white bag was actually well... kind of a lovely shade of MUD. Seller became "no longer registered", couldn't get a hold of her.

Well, I threw that bag into the back of my closet and I finally decided to send LMB an email about how much it would cost to get it restored. Aaand... the total cost (after shipping and taking into account exchange rates) is almost equal to what I would pay for a new wallet! (which i've been wanting).

SO.. should I spend the money and get my '05 white city restored, or buy a new wallet?
 
#2
I know it's not a funny situation, but your comment on the lovely shade of mud made me giggle...

Back to topic, I think you should consider the following things:

1) How much did you pay for it? If you got it for a good price, and you pay the amount to get it restored, would it still be a good deal?

2) How badly do you like the bag? If you dont want to go through the restoration process do you think you could recover your costs by re-selling as is?

I guess it really comes down to how much you like the bag and if you think it's worth getting it restored...

Not sure if my advice helped... but thats my 2 cents
 
#3
I have seen the restorations LMB did for PF'ers around here. She makes *old* bag looks NEW. I think it would be worth to spend the money & have a NEW old bag to use. Afterall if you don't restore you would have wasted the amount of money you already spent buying the muddy bag.
 
#4
LMB will do an amazing job, but it will cost so if you don't want to pay, i say put it up on ebay, be honest its an 05 so you will have lots of interest with people who love restoring challenges! you might be surprised by how much you get, then with that money put it towards a new one, woo hoo
 
#5
ITA that LMB does absolute wonders. But, you didn't say whether the restoration would include re-coloring the bag. That would be the deciding factor for me. If she needs to dye much of the leather, it will likely look lovely, but it does change the texture significantly. So I vote restore if it's mostly cleaning, buy the wallet, if the bag needs to be dyed. :wondering
 
#6
I would either put it up on ebay but be very honest and clear about the condition it is in with lots of pics.

Or, send it to LMB fro restoration.

Either way it's better than leaving it sitting in the back of your wardrobe, if you're not using it then it really is a waste of money.

I think if it were me i would go with option 1 because from experience, once a feeling for a bag is tainted by an unpleasant experience you never feel the same about it - i fell in love with a bag on eBay, i paid for it and asked the seller to mark it down on the customs form but she said no (which was bitterly disappointing but i respected her decision) when it arrived i had to pay $250 customs tax, i never felt the same about that bag thereafter, couldn't take it out without a sour taste in my mouth and eventually sold it.
 
#7
i don't know how much you paid for the bag but i think is better to give it a new life sending it to LMB, istead of letting her in your wardrobe. If you bought it, it means you was needing/wanting a bag similar to the auction pics.
I'd tot send it to LMB
 
#8
If you think you are going to use that bag after LMB, by all means I would send her in, as long as it would still be a good deal (not paying near or over retail in the end). Otherwise I'd put it on ebay and perhaps mention that it could be restored.
Good luck!
 
#9
Hmmm sorry your bag is mud-colored :sad: That's really horrible the seller signed off of ebay! What a scumbag! I don't know much about ebay, but have you tried contacting them. Maybe they save the data of former members for cases like this?

If you decide to keep the bag: A member on here threw her Bal in the washer :wtf:. Apparently it came out well, too!
Not sure if I'd have the guts to do it, but I just thought I'd mention it. I guess since you bag is white, it could be a last resort. Then again, it is an 05 bag and I'm not sure I'd risk ruining the precious smooshy leather (which you didn't say she has, but I'm assuming).
 
#10
I think everyone has brought up great points and I am going to agree with all of them. Personally, because it's an 05 and every wardrobe should have a nice white bag, I would evaluate how much the total cost would be, what was paid on ebay and the cost of restoration. If it comes out to less than retail for a city ($1195+tax, soon to be 1295+tax), then I'd go for the restoration just because LMB does do fabulous work. If it ends up costing more, I'd cut my losses and sell it. I will however say that because you would be honest in your ebay sale, you might not recoup all expenses, but it is better than nothing.
 
#11
i think the best way you need to do since the bag is 05 sell it back to ebay.although you will lose out a bit of money as to how much you have paid,in a way you can still get any certain amount then buy a new one.my advice never buy in ebay.most of the sellers there are scumbags.and since the seller is no longer register it only proves that you have been scam.Lastly every single item on ebay are fakes.there might be few that are authentic but they are all worn out,same as what you have bought.this should serve as a lesson to you...buy in the shop instead.although expensive but you the know the quality is great.:yes:
 
#12
Sorry to hear about your bag. I agree with what everyone has said here. If the cost of restoration is too high to justify, then I would try to turn around and sell it and hopefully recoup all or most of your costs.

Have you tried cleaning it yourself? I used the Apple Care Cleaner on on of my bags (although it wasn't that dirty to begin with) and it did clean it up a bit.


babak8ty said:
Lastly every single item on ebay are fakes.there might be few that are authentic but they are all worn out,same as what you have bought.this should serve as a lesson to you...buy in the shop instead.although expensive but you the know the quality is great.:yes:
Click to expand...

I just have to disagree with your comments. I've bought many authentic bags on Ebay that have been in great (near-new) condition and some brand new with tags. I agree with you that there are alot of fakes as well, and it's important to have the item authenticated here if you're unsure and also stick with sellers that are known to have authentic items and have excellent feedback rating. But it's definitely not true that all authentic bags on Ebay are worn out.
 
#13
babak8ty said:
i think the best way you need to do since the bag is 05 sell it back to ebay.although you will lose out a bit of money as to how much you have paid,in a way you can still get any certain amount then buy a new one.my advice never buy in ebay.most of the sellers there are scumbags.and since the seller is no longer register it only proves that you have been scam.Lastly every single item on ebay are fakes.there might be few that are authentic but they are all worn out,same as what you have bought.this should serve as a lesson to you...buy in the shop instead.although expensive but you the know the quality is great.:yes:
Click to expand...

:dftt::dftt::dftt:
 
#14
i would go for restoring. it's an 05 bag, and from what i've seen LMB does a GREAT job. like amiekbs8 said, as long as you're paying under retail you're ok AND you have got one of those most coveted 05 bags!!!
you might end up treasuring it even more because you went through such a hassel but in the end it turned out well! (hopefully!!)

and although babak8ty has a point, i wouldn't be thaaat drastic about ebay. there are a lot of tPF members selling on ebay as well. you just really need to be careful. but i guess we all know that by now!
 
#15
I agree with everyone else about restoring the bag vs. purchasing a new one. If you love it enough and the $$ is not to the point where it'll cost you a new one, then I would go ahead and have LMB do it. Honestly, if someone did that to me, I would feel as abowron does. If I have to put out extra $$ to have it repaired, when I never intended to in the first place, I would sell it & try to re-coup as much as I can and put it towards a new bag, one you know will be perfect. Good Luck and let us know what you decide.:smile:
 
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