Coach Rehab and Rescue Club

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#19,006
catthecurious said:
Question for you, ladies, who had experience with dunking Gramercy bags. I came across one of them on the Marketplace that looks badly misshapen (not sure if it has other issues as there's only one photo). I was wondering if this particular model has any kind of cardboard or other stiff base/carcass that would warp after drying up? I'm both tempted and scared...
Click to expand...

I have now dunked several of the Italian Coach bags, including a Gramercy, without any problems. When a bag is badly misshapen sometimes giving it a bath is the only way to get it back in shape. That's a beautiful bag and an unusual color so if you can get it at a reasonable price then I wouldn't hesitate to dunk it, but if it is high-priced I might pass and look for one in better condition. It's up to you.

BTW, I think that most of the Italian Gramercy bags had a somewhat unusual gold metal hangtag. It's not very clear in the picture but that appears to be a stitched leather tag so it may not be the original, but you could get a regular gold metal hangtag as a replacement. The Madison Italian bags had matching leather hangtags.

Leather Therapy Restorer is the product that I have used most successfully with the Italian Coach bags.
 
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#19,007
catthecurious said:
Question for you, ladies, who had experience with dunking Gramercy bags. I came across one of them on the Marketplace that looks badly misshapen (not sure if it has other issues as there's only one photo). I was wondering if this particular model has any kind of cardboard or other stiff base/carcass that would warp after drying up? I'm both tempted and scared...
Click to expand...

BTW, I may have the same bag - or at least a similar style. I bought the Gramercy Top Handle Satchel 7002 made in Italy in 1999 and had it authenticated here on TPF. I paid $50 for it and it is still neglected and waiting for attention in my rehab pile!

It's a lovely bag. I found a listing for it on the Wayback Machine in Black and Wheat but I haven't found anything for the dark red color.

GramercyTopHandleSatchel7002_Before_002.jpg


GramercyTopHandle.jpg
 
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#19,012
colorguardjames said:
It turned out that it wasn’t ink, rather some type of oil stain. I used a bath of Lexol and dawn and gently scrubbed the areas with a toothbrush. I was shocked that they dissipated!
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I'm very happy for you that the bag turned out to have so fewer problems than initially seemed! Considering you got it at such a huge discount, it'd always be a gem of your collection... And isn't it amazing the "ink" was actually something else - you'd never get rid of it if it was ink, especially of this size! You did a fantastic job rehabbing that Courier - can you imagine how much it'd cost in its present condition, especially having this rare color?!
 
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#19,013
catthecurious said:
Question for you, ladies, who had experience with dunking Gramercy bags. I came across one of them on the Marketplace that looks badly misshapen (not sure if it has other issues as there's only one photo). I was wondering if this particular model has any kind of cardboard or other stiff base/carcass that would warp after drying up? I'm both tempted and scared...
Click to expand...

Question for you, when you say that you saw it "on the Marketplace" is that the Facebook Marketplace? How does it work, is it like Craigslist where locals post items and you arrange to meet in public places to complete the purchase?
 
#19,014
colorguardjames said:
It turned out that it wasn’t ink, rather some type of oil stain. I used a bath of Lexol and dawn and gently scrubbed the areas with a toothbrush. I was shocked that they dissipated!
Click to expand...

It looks amazing! Wow!

Was the sage a slightly different color in some areas (like the front) when you received it? Or were the before photos off in color? I have a bag that looks brownish but the interior looks sage. I’ve only conditioned & hesitated washing it. I’ve been wondering if washing would help revive the exterior color.
 
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#19,015
katev said:
Question for you, when you say that you saw it "on the Marketplace" is that the Facebook Marketplace? How does it work, is it like Craigslist where locals post items and you arrange to meet in public places to complete the purchase?
Click to expand...

Yes, Kate, it works very similar to the Craigslist, and my personal opinion is the selection of pretty much anything is now better than anywhere else locally because Facebook invested heavily in it in order to kill competition (I must say they mostly succeeded). They have tons of annoying items they market on the side, but that's the price you pay for the variety. FB Marketplace has much better interface than Craigslist and allow you to see things at glance - that's an option of the phone user. But I also have to add as a warning they are heavily censored which can backfire against the user at any point. For example, many sellers don't mind dealing with you across the states if you pay via PayPal or Venmo - yes, not every buyer is willing to take the risk, but sometimes the deal is too sweet to pass and could be so thrilling. But if someone doesn't want to respond and instead of ignoring the message reports you to the MP watchdog team as a spammer, a couple of hits like that can get you blocked for a long time. The worst part is they don't contact you or send you a warning, and if you ask them questions, they respond in general terms, leaving it to your imagination. If you're a regular on FB, check them out and get your own opinion.
 
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#19,017
Hi, @Belicious!

I was looking back through older posts & found your photo of your sage bags. They look lovely!

If you washed them, how did that affect their color? I was just asking about this in my last post here because I’m wondering if it would be worth considering washing the one I have. I’m thinking my sage color may have changed too much over the years & washing may not bring it back.
 
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#19,020
theblissfullyobsessed said:
It looks amazing! Wow!

Was the sage a slightly different color in some areas (like the front) when you received it? Or were the before photos off in color? I have a bag that looks brownish but the interior looks sage. I’ve only conditioned & hesitated washing it. I’ve been wondering if washing would help revive the exterior color.
Click to expand...
The color could change drastically when the bag has been washed and then conditioned (vs. just the conditioning). The leather becomes more absorbent and soaks in much more moisturizer than dry leather. Dunking usually makes colors deeper and more vibrant, and if I'm dealing with a bag that hasn't been conditioned for a long time, even if it's in good shape, I normally start with washing it.
 
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