I think the only thing I have ever been scared of and personally disappointed by is the stupid pre release color swatches - I get bummed when something I’m anticipating is a very random and very off color.
Otherwise, I personally haven’t had any quality problems and I buy across all categories. Sadly my caramel mini came in with some weird punctures in it but the SA caught it and got me a new one. This same caramel mini feels different than my other lamb skin items, and that was disappointing as it was quite bit dry. With use it’s softened, and I think the best thing you can do, if you are able of course, is scope items out in real life and evaluate if it’s a worthwhile purchase. It’s harder when remote shopping of course, but I think being selective is always a good thing, even if one has unlimited funds to enjoy all the beautiful things they like.
Also mirroring the above, I do feel YouTubers have every right to put out complaints but they tend to spin-off into a doom posting spree for a month. They often keep buying Chanel anyways, but scare us out of doing so. Not sure if this is to make it easier for them to secure hot items lol. It’s unfortunate but surely this is part of how they make money so I see why they do it and make more and more videos to get said ad revenue.
So if possible, I think it’s better to try and judge for yourself by seeing items irl. Many brands have rhetoric around quality issues over the years. I only began buying luxury in 2015 (not Chanel just yet, I began buying shoes and SLG in 2018) And haven’t seen any major quality flaws since then. But I like to be discerning in general no matter what level of brand I’m buying and I feel it helps a lot.
One thing that could be worth highlighting - old posts from
The early 2010s also note a lack of quality in Chanel products. I think for every piece that is really flawed, there could also be other posters who felt the holy grail item they bought didn’t meet their very high expectations. Often times these items are so built up in our mind that when it’s less supple or the dimensions are awkward I think it’s easy for us to be disappointed. Again - don’t want to diminish bad experiences, but I feel this could be a phenomenon worth evaluating as a part of the equation