LV maintenance service for exotic bags

[dailydoseofH]

Hello dears, I have a python Petite Boite Chapeau that I purchased a five years ago in Rome. The scales are starting to lift and I wanted to send the bag to LV to do some maintenance and conditioning work. They are refusing to take it in saying that the leather is too precious for them to work on. Im so confused that they won’t work on a bag they sold.

Im not sure if it’s due to the boutique not wanting to handle this (I’m in Germany) or LV doesn’t provide any after sales maintenance service for their bags (even at cost)? Would love to hear if anyone has any experience in this area. I’ve attached the pic of the bag they took in the store for the manager. The bag is well taken care of and in good condition.

 

[blushnbellinlvoe]

I am not familiar with how German/EU boutiques deal with after care service, but you can trying contacting online customer service to see if you can submit a request for repair. My in store SA usually sends my requests directly to Paris for evaluations. It could be your local store manager just doesn’t want to deal with it because I am pretty sure the ultimate assessment should be done by the experts in Paris.Good luck.

 

[coloradolvr]

I have a few different bags with python. I too was very worried about the scales lifting. At the time I was told that although they lift, they will not come off. They told me that in a training class CA's were directed to pull on the scales to demonstrate that they would not come off. Not something I was willing to do! I have not tried to have mine condititioned by the boutique, so I'm not sure what their response would be. I have used a leather conditioner that is formulated to work on exotic leathers and it works well. I know they would tell me not to do it, but if they won't work on it then I'm not sure what else to do. I'm in the US.

 

[dailydoseofH]

I have a few different bags with python. I too was very worried about the scales lifting. At the time I was told that although they lift, they will not come off. They told me that in a training class CA's were directed to pull on the scales to demonstrate that they would not come off. Not something I was willing to do! I have not tried to have mine condititioned by the boutique, so I'm not sure what their response would be. I have used a leather conditioner that is formulated to work on exotic leathers and it works well. I know they would tell me not to do it, but if they won't work on it then I'm not sure what else to do. I'm in the US.

Thank you @coloradolvr for the info! I'm sure it's of high quality but I wanted to avoid too many scales lifting. I'm not a fan of the overall appearance of lifted scales everywhere and was hoping that some maintenance would help retain it's condition.

I wanted to give a quick update in case anyone else is looking for more information.

I asked my local boutique further and their response is that their general policy is not to ship exotics to France. I am in Germany so it's not going too far but in any case they did not want the liability and they cannot service any exotics in-house.

I checked with HQ customer service using the LV app and they also refused to work on exotic bags. They told me that I need to check with my local boutique if they are willing to do this service.

Overall for higher price point bags, LV's customer service is very much lacking. I understand that I can probably maintain this at home (which is risky as I'm not at all handy) or that I can go to a specialist to do the conditioning work. But I would've preferred this to be serviced by the actual manufacturer and brand, and it really should be an option.

After all of this, the local CA is trying to sell my more exotic bags. It all feels quite silly and disappointing.

 

[bagsamplified]

@Emphosix you own some exotics, any ideas about this?

 

[bagsamplified]

Thank you @coloradolvr for the info! I'm sure it's of high quality but I wanted to avoid too many scales lifting. I'm not a fan of the overall appearance of lifted scales everywhere and was hoping that some maintenance would help retain it's condition.

I wanted to give a quick update in case anyone else is looking for more information.

I asked my local boutique further and their response is that their general policy is not to ship exotics to France. I am in Germany so it's not going too far but in any case they did not want the liability and they cannot service any exotics in-house.

I checked with HQ customer service using the LV app and they also refused to work on exotic bags. They told me that I need to check with my local boutique if they are willing to do this service.

Overall for higher price point bags, LV's customer service is very much lacking. I understand that I can probably maintain this at home (which is risky as I'm not at all handy) or that I can go to a specialist to do the conditioning work. But I would've preferred this to be serviced by the actual manufacturer and brand, and it really should be an option.

After all of this, the local CA is trying to sell my more exotic bags. It all feels quite silly and disappointing.

I'm sad to hear that the service is like this. I wonder if it's also anything to do with international shipping restrictions for exotics, though I don't know if there's that restriction when it's all within LVMH and within the EU zone. Hope something works out for you

 

[blushnbellinlvoe]

Thank you @coloradolvr for the info! I'm sure it's of high quality but I wanted to avoid too many scales lifting. I'm not a fan of the overall appearance of lifted scales everywhere and was hoping that some maintenance would help retain it's condition.

I wanted to give a quick update in case anyone else is looking for more information.

I asked my local boutique further and their response is that their general policy is not to ship exotics to France. I am in Germany so it's not going too far but in any case they did not want the liability and they cannot service any exotics in-house.

I checked with HQ customer service using the LV app and they also refused to work on exotic bags. They told me that I need to check with my local boutique if they are willing to do this service.

Overall for higher price point bags, LV's customer service is very much lacking. I understand that I can probably maintain this at home (which is risky as I'm not at all handy) or that I can go to a specialist to do the conditioning work. But I would've preferred this to be serviced by the actual manufacturer and brand, and it really should be an option.

After all of this, the local CA is trying to sell my more exotic bags. It all feels quite silly and disappointing.

Thank you for the update @dailydoseofH I am thoroughly disappointed to hear the response LV gave you regarding after care for their exotic bags. As @bagsamplified mentioned, it might have to do with the commercial transportation of exotic skins across borders as CITES (Convention on International Trade of Exotic Spevies) permits are required. The provenance of the bag would need to be confirmed and it requires paperwork/records verification as it needs to pass scrutinization of government bodies. As consumers, we shouldn’t really be bothered with kind of stuff, I certainly didn’t but I guess that is the world we live in. FYI there is a whole thread on the Hermes subforum dedicated to the discussion of CITES permits for exotic handbags. There was a lady on there who wanted a repair on a bag made with elephant skin (before it was illegal) and she had to personally write a note to Alex Dumas CEO for him to grant permission for a known, possibly only, NY Hermes specialist to service the bag. I am just illustrating a point that it can get complicated with exotics because of government regulations. I think luxury houses should bend over backwards to help their customer happy despite these hurdles given the high price point. At least be open and transparent about the potential hurdles of owning an exotic. That is also not something most sales associates are well trained on either in my opinion. Anyways, I digress…..

In general, especially if you are in the EU, there is a thing as a ‘personal exemption’ if it is for personal use and you are travelling with less than four items that are not part of a particular list (python is not one of them), then you can travel with your bag yourself (not needing a permit) and see if Paris HQ can help you in person. I would not be surprised if they required you to then have to pick it up in person after repair, if they choose to accept it. Or if you find a local leather specialist that would be willing to take that on. I know it is not an ideal situation but just offering some food for thought. Keep us posted on further developments….

 

[dailydoseofH]

Thank you for the update @dailydoseofH I am thoroughly disappointed to hear the response LV gave you regarding after care for their exotic bags. As @bagsamplified mentioned, it might have to do with the commercial transportation of exotic skins across borders as CITES (Convention on International Trade of Exotic Spevies) permits are required. The provenance of the bag would need to be confirmed and it requires paperwork/records verification as it needs to pass scrutinization of government bodies. As consumers, we shouldn’t really be bothered with kind of stuff, I certainly didn’t but I guess that is the world we live in. FYI there is a whole thread on the Hermes subforum dedicated to the discussion of CITES permits for exotic handbags. There was a lady on there who wanted a repair on a bag made with elephant skin (before it was illegal) and she had to personally write a note to Alex Dumas CEO for him to grant permission for a known, possibly only, NY Hermes specialist to service the bag. I am just illustrating a point that it can get complicated with exotics because of government regulations. I think luxury houses should bend over backwards to help their customer happy despite these hurdles given the high price point. At least be open and transparent about the potential hurdles of owning an exotic. That is also not something most sales associates are well trained on either in my opinion. Anyways, I digress…..

In general, especially if you are in the EU, there is a thing as a ‘personal exemption’ if it is for personal use and you are travelling with less than four items that are not part of a particular list (python is not one of them), then you can travel with your bag yourself (not needing a permit) and see if Paris HQ can help you in person. I would not be surprised if they required you to then have to pick it up in person after repair, if they choose to accept it. Or if you find a local leather specialist that would be willing to take that on. I know it is not an ideal situation but just offering some food for thought. Keep us posted on further developments….

Thank you for this information! I completely forgot about CITES for this bag because I didn't think it was required for python (like ostrich). With H, they automatically issued me a CITES certificate so I would remember that I would need the permit if I were to travel with it. With this particular python bag, I purchased it while on holidays in Rome and the CA was well aware that I was travelling to other countries on that trip. However CITES was not mentioned nor issued for the bag so I had assumed that it was treated like ostrich. I also don't know the species of the python as it is not stated on the receipt. I had even travelled with it by hand to and from Japan and the US (California) whoops!

The other thing I just remembered as well is that I had the python shoulder strap of the bag repaired just 4 years ago. I dropped the bag at the airport and the clasp broke. The strap was sent back to France for repair and there were no issues with doing so. Maybe policies have changed since then or they took it because it was only a hardware issue and shipping python across EU borders is no problem. It will remain a mystery.

In any case, I will need to do my due diligence and research more about CITES

 

[Kellybuzzbuzz]

I asked about exotics/repairing them recently at LV and they said if they can't receive it then they can't send it out. If the country or state doesn't allow the exotic leather than they can't legally ship it even with a CITES. You'd have to fly or drive to a place that accepts/sells that type of leather. It did make me less interested in buying certain types of exotics.

 

[Wentworth-Roth]

I am currently in a similar situation with a Zippy Coin Purse made of ostrich leather. I'd like to have the the zipper exchanged, as well as the glazing redone. Online Care Service closed my repair request, stating that exotics (repair requests) are handled in-store only. I will try my luck next time I am in a major city with a larger LV store (RTW and exotics).