I am embarrassed to say that I tried to take the inexpensive way out and I bought a
Fendi Magic Bag on ModaQueen. A friend recommended the site to me -- she bought a
Fendi on the site, said the customer service was excellent and that they assured her that the bag was real. So I went ahead with it -- and what a mistake I made. Within the first three weeks, the bag had already fallen apart. I took it to a very reputable shoemaker / leatherworker in the City (all of the high end boutiques send stuff here) and the owner told me that he doubted the authenticity of the bag. I had him fix the bag anyway (although it was ridiculously expensive to fix) and within another few weeks, the bag had fallen apart again.
I contacted ModaQueen and asked whether I could return the bag -- indicating that I highly doubted that a $1000
Fendi Bag would fall apart if it was real. Customer Service gave me the option of either sending my bag back to Fendi for it to be fixed or exchanging it for a different bag -- and was highly offended at my email for some reason even though I was extremely polite. I have been waiting for my exchange bag for weeks -- and every time I select a bag for my exchange, I get an e-mail from customer service a few days later that the bag I requested has been "sent back to the manufacturer because it has a scratch" or is no longer available, even though its available on the web site. I even called customer service once after I was told that yet another bag was unavailable to try and order the bag as if I was a new customer. Of course, then it was available.
I have been trying for weeks to get a new bag or to get my money back. Its now a matter of principal! As an attorney, I fully plan on taking this issue as far as I can -- but for the sheer fact that I am fed up with the service that they provide.
If anyone has tips on how to handle the situation, or similar stories, please let me know ---