Are we being unfair to Chanel re prices?

[Weknow]

Chanel started this madness.

 

[brooklyngyal]

I have a hard time justifying paying current Chanel prices for something that isn't what I consider an investment or long-term piece (and I don't judge either by just price), that is hit or miss in terms of quality, oversaturated in the secondary/pre-loved (even bootleg!) market, and often has tacky seasonal designs (good for a season or two). I remember loving the boy bag a few years ago but now am so glad I didn't pull the trigger. I don't feel that way about any of my other bags, even the more trendy designs from other houses. For me, Chanel has lost a bit of their vision or point of view when it comes to their handbags (what is that trash bag looking thing they have on their website?). They rely too much on their IT status. Another point of contention for me is there is very little distinction in terms of price between their small classic flap and the large size. Or at least I find it incremental ($8200 USD vs $9500 USD). I get that small bags are trending right now and I get how capitalism works but I think it just accentuates the point that their current pricing strategy is mainly driven by profit. After saying all this, I'm not saying I won't purchase another Chanel handbag for my collection, I'll just be selective about it.

 

[Grande Latte]

Very true. I learned this when I took marketing 101 in college. It's an actual marketing strategy. Where is a brand positioning itself in the market? Price is a huge determinant of that. Quite interesting really how people think and behave.

I'm in my 40s. Back then, I studied economics, I didn't take any marketing courses.
As you say, Chanel marketing strategy is working though, fashion houses are following and ppl are buying. But at what point does it stop working?

I got a WOC this January after 10 years of hiatus. Because I just cannot justify the price.

 

[demicouture]

I've been buying Chanel Timeless bags for 25+ yrs and still have my first classic black lambskin bag I paid 1200 Euros for.
The quality has definitely become worse, so much so I had to send one of my newest caviar leather ones back to the atelier for a big fault in production (I had never worn it may I add). Extreme leather pleating from too much leather uses in an inside pocket. It was so bad the employees were embarrassed .
They got back to me saying "Sorry" it is NOT fixable and offered me a credit. I took a refund of course.
I will add that I am a Fashion Marketing graduate and have worked in the luxury industry for 20+ yrs and certainly don't think we are being unfair to Chanel.
They have totally lost touch with real luxury. However, the general consensus is that the client now believes that Chanel and Hermes are somehow equal because of the price of the timeless bag and since they can get their hands on a Chanel much easier than on a Hermes, they feel Extra special.
I say that and I have just purchased another Timeless

But the Intrecciato from Bottega is far more luxurious ...

 

[Parisluxury]

For me, it is the quality decline that gets me. Fine...if you are going to charge more and more but at least maintain your standards.

My most recent purchase, vanity case with handle just broke in my hand. I didn't even take it out once and then of course, I had to wait another 6 weeks to repair, not to mention lining up in front of Chanel store to get in even though it was for a repair. It is the combination of lacklustre service, poor quality and exorbitant pricing.

So, now I have moved on to Dior...

 

[cerulean blue]

So again, I ask, are we being unfair by being so hard on Chanel?

Not going to have any sympathy towards the desperate behavior of a billion dollar fashion house. I think this 'unfairness' is just mainly because of the popularity of their bags.

They constant grievances of their perceived drop in quality is tiring after a while though. Every topic regarding Chanel I've seen even outside this forum seems to be hijacked by people complaining about Virginie or complaining about the quality. But Chanel doesn't care. They don't even like the client who buy solely bags and accessories, especially those who seldom buys.

 

[lani15]

People can buy whatever they value. The main ones complaining are not because Chanel is overpriced but because they can’t afford it.

 

[fairylady]

Personally I think the quality are the same across all luxury brands. If you look hard enough or nitpick enough you will find flaws in everything. When I see something with bad stitching or bad quality then I just simply don’t buy and made my sa aware of the reason why. Most of the sa I deal with are kind and understanding so yes I think we are being unfair to Chanel.

 

[lala_retro]

Maybe it's just because I don't venture out to other subform that much, but people don't seem to be as vehemently critical of Dior or LV for their price increases as they are of Chanel. I looked at an LV cappuccine MM at the beginning of 2021, when it was in the $5k range, then I looked at the same bag less than a year later, and was shocked to find that it's now in the $7k range. Dior book totes similarly went from ~$2k to ~3k in about 1 year, and it's not even a leather bag. Yet I don't really see a lot of people online complaining about these price increases, despite the fact that quality for either of these houses haven't improved w/ their escalating price points.

Also, I'm getting pretty tired of comments regarding Chanel's lack of sensitivity in raising prices in the middle of a pandemic. Chanel price increases, at least the one in January and June, are preplanned (the mid-nov one less so), so they were scheduled before the world went down the drain. While many people suffered financially during the pandemic, those were largely not the target clientele for Chanel, therefore their hardships don't really affect Chanel's revenue strategy. There was absolutely zero incentive or reason for Chanel to halt its scheduled price increases, the presence or absence of a pandemic is irrelevant in that discussion.

I think it's fair for people to gripe about the lack of opportunity to buy before the price increase because Chanel stores were closed during the lockdown, but unreasonable for them to call the price increase insensitive just because it occurred during a pandemic.

 

[lani15]

Chanel is still that girl

 

[daisygrl]

Unfair or not, I will still buy Chanel. What else is there to buy besides Hermes and Chanel? I cannot be bagless.

 

[peke<3cc]

People can buy whatever they value. The main ones complaining are not because Chanel is overpriced but because they can’t afford it.

And all the YouTubers that used to be soooo obsessed with Chanel turned against it, the brand that got their channels started. They all hop on the Chanel hatred train most likely for views and they really probably can’t afford more Chanel bags anymore because they got priced out, but instead of being honest about the reason, they hate on Chanel and love on Hermes. Everything about it looks desperate to me. They didn’t seem that wealthy to begin with because they always only bought and unboxed bags, slgs, and costume jewelry — never any RTW or fine jewelry.

 

[peke<3cc]

Maybe it's just because I don't venture out to other subform that much, but people don't seem to be as vehemently critical of Dior or LV for their price increases as they are of Chanel. I looked at an LV cappuccine MM at the beginning of 2021, when it was in the $5k range, then I looked at the same bag less than a year later, and was shocked to find that it's now in the $7k range. Dior book totes similarly went from ~$2k to ~3k in about 1 year, and it's not even a leather bag. Yet I don't really see a lot of people online complaining about these price increases, despite the fact that quality for either of these houses haven't improved w/ their escalating price points.

Also, I'm getting pretty tired of comments regarding Chanel's lack of sensitivity in raising prices in the middle of a pandemic. Chanel price increases, at least the one in January and June, are preplanned (the mid-nov one less so), so they were scheduled before the world went down the drain. While many people suffered financially during the pandemic, those were largely not the target clientele for Chanel, therefore their hardships don't really affect Chanel's revenue strategy. There was absolutely zero incentive or reason for Chanel to halt its scheduled price increases, the presence or absence of a pandemic is irrelevant in that discussion.

I think it's fair for people to gripe about the lack of opportunity to buy before the price increase because Chanel stores were closed during the lockdown, but unreasonable for them to call the price increase insensitive just because it occurred during a pandemic.

Totally agree with everything you said. Nobody is complaining about other brands as hard as they do about Chanel. They’re all pretty much the same price points, so why Chanel? When they complain so badly about price increases and call Chanel insensitive for deciding what they want to do with their business, then those people probably shouldn’t be buying Chanel bags in the first place. Luxury is not supposed to be “affordable”. It is meant for those where prices don’t affect their life or priorities. If a bag purchase affects their life that much, then they should be shifting their focus onto higher priorities and purchase from a less expensive brand.

 

[alxyoung]

I’ve seen some pretty pristine vintage classics on the secondary market that show a wrinkle or two, an excess thread, etc. If you were to post a similar bag here, you’d probably get a majority opinion to return the bag and demand a better quality one.

I can understand the debate around leather quality but otherwise, I don’t see how vintage classics can be called more superior than current ones, even with gold-plating. They still require the same amount of care to avoid excess wear.

 

[Lola24]

IMO, All these houses started raising prices because of Chanel...Chanel kept doing it, so they started doing it. Chanel's sales only got better, profits soared. So, why would other houses also not do it? They were the pace car, again IMO.

Hermes hasn't raised prices, as a percentage, anywhere near what Chanel or the above houses have. They even stated at one point, during COVID, that any price increases were for *real" factors, actual prices of materials, labor, tariffs, etc, not a way to position themselves in the marketplace. If only these increases came with better quality of materials or craftsmanship, maybe they would seem less opportunistic ...more substantiated.

Capitalism is capitalism. All are "guilty" of testing limits with what customers are willing to pay, completely incommensurate with actual costs of production.

100% however, somehow I don't feel Hermes is doing quite the same.....and then I looked up and read the rest of your post and you seem to agree, lol!