I own both and see the beauty in both. I used to buy Chanel exclusively and lived and breathed the forum. Once quality began to diminish in 2008, I crossed over to Balenciaga (after having left bbags behind in 2004).
Although I use my bbags more, I do still love my Chanel bags lots. I will never purchase anything new from Chanel again due to the inflated prices and reduced quality (not to mention unflattering new styles) but do peruse the auction sites now and again for oldies.