LOL, I have never actually *seen* a single one of the bags in my collection before I bought it
I just made a BLIND order today. 20 mins ago to be exactly. I HATE ordering bags that i've never seen in person...style and color! just hoping for the best. i took a lot of people's advice n ordered through BalNY. im so nervous, hopefully wont regret it. I ordered the cinnamon/brown in the city. I've been wanting a Bbag for like 2 years now! so finally i was like i HAVE to have it. lol. It's sad cuz there is absolutely no Bbag in my area. the closest store is a state away which is about 4 hrs. drive for me.
The only thing i don't understand is why BalNY do not do full refunds. They only give store credit. I think im taking a huge risk here. i will seriously have a heart attack if i ended up not like the Bbag at all....99% that won't happen.
I have ordered several bags over the phone, but only a couple from places that returning or exchanging would be hard or impossible or costly. I ordered one bag from Aloha Rag and I wasn't crazy about it because the seams were uneven but I held onto it too long so I had to sell it on Ebay. I think I bought two over the phone from BNY, one I loved and one I am ok with but not crazy about. I cancelled my last BNY order before it shipped since they refused to send a photo.
I buy from NM a lot because it is an easy return for me. But I am getting to the point where I want to see before I buy. I wasn't going to buy any more bags locally due to the high sales tax here but I saw a bag I loved at Shirisses the other day and I snapped it up. I am learning what type of leather I like but the problem with describing it to a SA is, they often say things like 'all the leather is the same' and at that point, I know it is pointless to try to even determine over the phone what kind of leather I will be getting.
I think physically seeing it would be preferable. But for me, it's not mandatory.
What is very tough is when you have a choice for the same bag. On one occasion, I was able to pick from several of the very same bag (same style, same color). The decision was almost paralyzing. I picked one only to go back a few days later to pick another.