Are You Still Enthusiastic About Dooney?

[lavenderjunkie]

Welcome back to Dooney. I think their quality is excellent and for the price, better than a lot of more expensive handbags. Watching YT and hearing about all the quality issues of some of the designer label handbags that sell for well over $1000, makes me love my Dooneys even more.
Yes, any brand can run into issues, most of the lines are mass produced these days. But Dooney quality seems to be very high.

 

[sdkitty]

I have LV and Bal, etc but really - as I have grown older I am more into buying what I really like - I also resent paying thousands for crap quality like many brands these days

I don't know about dooney but a lot of the lines have declined in quality, moved manufacturing from NY or Italy to China, etc. - both premier and contemporary brands

 

[lavenderjunkie]

I don't know about dooney but a lot of the lines have declined in quality, moved manufacturing from NY or Italy to China, etc. - both premier and contemporary brands

Sad, but we can see it happening. And, sometimes when an item is produced in a 'status' country, the workers aren't craftsmen/women, trained by decades of experience and pride in their work, but rather workers brought in from distant parts of the world to fill the jobs. Sometimes the factories are even managed (or owned) by companies thousands of miles away. So, made in Italy or France, etc. doesn't always mean what we think it does, or want it to be.

I'm always excited to buy a Dooney with a Made in USA tag
But I wonder if any of the original crafts people are making the handbags or if the 'factory' is even staffed by Dooney employees. I have no info
on the subject, and I've never had an issue with a Dooney Made in USA handbag, but I think about those things and wonder.

 

[BadWolf10]

I'm a little late to the discussion. I havent been in much because, frankly, the topic title says it all. I am getting disappointed in Dooney lately. I have had several times I purchased a bag online only to have it deep discount within a week. So I return the original order but I'm not inclined to rebuy at the lower price. And ILD has frustrated me lately with returns. I emailed them once to try to cancel an order, they were able to cancel (which I guess isnt usually the case) and they got snippy in the email that I shouldn't order unless I want the bag. They also stated that I shouldn't order if i am just going to return it. Hmph. Seriously. Any bag I have ever returned is in unused condition in original wrapping and original box. That email along with the Dooney pay fiascos have seriously out me off of their customer service. So I have vowed to only shop at the outlet. But recently I went to the outlet to see if there was anything I wanted to put on my wishlist for Christmas. I left very disenchanted. The styles are all the same that they have been for the last few years, with little tweaks here and there. I still LOVE the bags I have, but I think I am going to stop shopping there for now. On the other hand, Coach had a few things I put on my wishlist. So maybe like another poster said, I am just in a different place handbag wise. I can say for certain I haven't bought a bag in a while and I'm pretty sure I'm just going to put them on Birthday and Christmas lists from here on out unless I see something AMAZING. And even then, I doubt it will be Dooney.

 

[lavenderjunkie]

BW: we all get tired of a brand after a while.... we know it, so it's no longer exciting. I'm still buying a lot of Dooneys. The sales get me to order the styles I like in other colors or to try new styles (like a Cooper in Florentine).

I've also recently purchased a Coach handbag. It's very nice.... but it doesn't compare to my Dooneys in terms of value and craftsmanship.
Some of the design details were nice, but some aren't as functional as I would have liked. The leather (called smooth leather) was like Florentine. And like Florentine there was some small degree of pebbling and a few wrinkles. Nothing major, a beautiful handbag.

 

[Lilybarb]

I'm a little late to the discussion. I havent been in much because, frankly, the topic title says it all. I am getting disappointed in Dooney lately. I have had several times I purchased a bag online only to have it deep discount within a week. So I return the original order but I'm not inclined to rebuy at the lower price. And ILD has frustrated me lately with returns. I emailed them once to try to cancel an order, they were able to cancel (which I guess isnt usually the case) and they got snippy in the email that I shouldn't order unless I want the bag. They also stated that I shouldn't order if i am just going to return it. Hmph. Seriously. Any bag I have ever returned is in unused condition in original wrapping and original box. That email along with the Dooney pay fiascos have seriously out me off of their customer service. So I have vowed to only shop at the outlet. But recently I went to the outlet to see if there was anything I wanted to put on my wishlist for Christmas. I left very disenchanted. The styles are all the same that they have been for the last few years, with little tweaks here and there. I still LOVE the bags I have, but I think I am going to stop shopping there for now. On the other hand, Coach had a few things I put on my wishlist. So maybe like another poster said, I am just in a different place handbag wise. I can say for certain I haven't bought a bag in a while and I'm pretty sure I'm just going to put them on Birthday and Christmas lists from here on out unless I see something AMAZING. And even then, I doubt it will be Dooney.

@BadWolf10, I hear ya. I have a Coach phone cb on my list & have not even kept up with the 12 Days of Dooney. In your case, on the positive side, you did at least receive a response to your email - the snippiness of it they could and should have left out. No new Dooneys here either.

 

[BadWolf10]

BW: we all get tired of a brand after a while.... we know it, so it's no longer exciting. I'm still buying a lot of Dooneys. The sales get me to order the styles I like in other colors or to try new styles (like a Cooper in Florentine).

I've also recently purchased a Coach handbag. It's very nice.... but it doesn't compare to my Dooneys in terms of value and craftsmanship.
Some of the design details were nice, but some aren't as functional as I would have liked. The leather (called smooth leather) was like Florentine. And like Florentine there was some small degree of pebbling and a few wrinkles. Nothing major, a beautiful handbag.

I am glad you are still loving the brand. Dooney definitely knows quality workmanship.

I'm so surprised by myself.... I would have never thought I would start feeling this way about Dooney. I love the bags I have, and I will continue to enjoy them, just not looking for anything new from now on.

 

[BadWolf10]

@BadWolf10, I hear ya. I have a Coach phone cb on my list & have not even kept up with the 12 Days of Dooney. In your case, on the positive side, you did at least receive a response to your email - the snippiness of it they could and should have left out. No new Dooneys here either.

I was shocked to get an email at all lol, so you are right. I haven't even peaked at the 12 days, I kinda forgot it was happening lol. I did get a phone wallet from Coachoutlet.com I thought was super cute and a good neutral shade. And it was 1/3 of the price of a Dooney phone wristlet.

 

[DaffodilDuck]

Back on the enthusiastic train thanks to old reliable I Love Dooney, which never gives me trouble like Dooney.com and which has had sensational sales since Black Friday this year.

I am getting into Alto, which is novel territory for me both in terms of price point and design, so that keeps me occupied and impressed.

I keep reading on social media about so-called luxury buyers being wary of buying a non-luxury brand like Dooney and I struggle to understand this. The prices are not sky high and the house isn't also a clothing fashion brand--okay, so it's not the industry definition of luxury.

But who that's felt/handled a Florentine Satchel for example could call it a non-luxurious experience? I think most of these people haven't done so.

Very occasionally I go into a Coach and ask to see their pricier "retail" bags and I look at other mid range brands like Minkoff, Burch, Spade and the materials and construction of the bag remain inferior to Dooney.

It's really odd to me that there's this single company in the American midrange handbag industry that's able to produce dramatically better quality than the others. That alone is weird; why doesn't Dooney drop to their level, as companies usually do to cut costs?

And it's even weirder that that's the brand people overlook even when they're willing to "stoop" from luxury fashion houses to a midrange handbag designer.

That's why I'm buying a lot now, in advance of the day Dooney figures out it doesn't have to keep producing good quality to compete with the lesser manufacturing standards of the other midrange brands!

 

[lavenderjunkie]

Back on the enthusiastic train thanks to old reliable I Love Dooney, which never gives me trouble like Dooney.com and which has had sensational sales since Black Friday this year.

I am getting into Alto, which is novel territory for me both in terms of price point and design, so that keeps me occupied and impressed.

I keep reading on social media about so-called luxury buyers being wary of buying a non-luxury brand like Dooney and I struggle to understand this. The prices are not sky high and the house isn't also a clothing fashion brand--okay, so it's not the industry definition of luxury.

But who that's felt/handled a Florentine Satchel for example could call it a non-luxurious experience? I think most of these people haven't done so.

Very occasionally I go into a Coach and ask to see their pricier "retail" bags and I look at other mid range brands like Minkoff, Burch, Spade and the materials and construction of the bag remain inferior to Dooney.

It's really odd to me that there's this single company in the American midrange handbag industry that's able to produce dramatically better quality than the others. That alone is weird; why doesn't Dooney drop to their level, as companies usually do to cut costs?

And it's even weirder that that's the brand people overlook even when they're willing to "stoop" from luxury fashion houses to a midrange handbag designer.

That's why I'm buying a lot now, in advance of the day Dooney figures out it doesn't have to keep producing good quality to compete with the lesser manufacturing standards of the other midrange brands!

DD: Well said.