I’ve recently ordered several Anthony bags and all three were terrible quality. Both of the new version with the leather strap (night sky blue and ebony) arrived with huge creases in the back and the oak two-tone version felt and looked so cheap. The leather was spongy and really badly creased all over. I’ve been a Mulberry customer for over 30 years and know that the quality is nothing like it used to be, but recently the quality of the products and quality-control seem to have become really poor. It doesn’t give me any pleasure to say that. I bought a men’s wallet a few weeks ago and had to keep returning them as they had faults. Am I alone with these problems buying Mulberry items recently?
Mulberry poor quality issues
- Thread starter angeldelight100
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Hello Angeldelight100 👋
The halcyon days of NVT and real suede linings seem light years away, don’t they. Sadly you’re not alone. Late to the party, I wanted a large Lana top handle in eggshell. All three I received arrived marked on the base at the corners. Two of them were fully factory wrapped! Which beggars the question of how that happens!? In the end I took some Collonil 1909 and a piece of raw sheepskin to it and polished them out myself. Not what I expect on a new bag at all.
I am rather obsessive about the condition of my bags/leather, but even so, we should not be receiving goods which aren’t pristine.
That said, I’ve had to return a Birkin because it had inking splashed across the handle…!
The halcyon days of NVT and real suede linings seem light years away, don’t they. Sadly you’re not alone. Late to the party, I wanted a large Lana top handle in eggshell. All three I received arrived marked on the base at the corners. Two of them were fully factory wrapped! Which beggars the question of how that happens!? In the end I took some Collonil 1909 and a piece of raw sheepskin to it and polished them out myself. Not what I expect on a new bag at all.
I am rather obsessive about the condition of my bags/leather, but even so, we should not be receiving goods which aren’t pristine.
That said, I’ve had to return a Birkin because it had inking splashed across the handle…!
They do seem light years away! Sadly I no longer own any of the older styles which were amazing quality. Sorry to hear about your experiences too. The three bags I received were all factory sealed too. It makes me wonder if it’s a quality-control issue or if they are cutting costs again and using inferior materials. I would much rather that they charged more and increased the quality. There has to be a point where we won’t accept being sold inferior bags.
We're the inferior quality bags produced in the UK, or by the partner factories in Türkiye or China? I've actually been meaning to ask if there was a noticeable difference depending on where the product was made.
Edit: I checked the website and for some Antonys it says "made by our partner factory in Türkiye" and some don't specify where the bag was made.
Edit: I checked the website and for some Antonys it says "made by our partner factory in Türkiye" and some don't specify where the bag was made.
The leather on the Lana is superb. Definitely a top quality product, the lining is also fabulous as it’s Nappa leather. The issue is more about design, as I believe it should have feet. There’s definitely a QC issue when factory wrapped bags repeatedly come out with the same problem.
I don’t think the issue is about where the products are made. Though we’d all love our Mulberrys to be made in the UK. This is about products being checked before being dispatched. Which doesn’t seem to be happening. 😖
To be fair, there are threads on TPF about current quality issues from all designers, even the really expensive ones.
As @Mooshooshoo confirms, quality control is the culprit and it does reflect poorly on a company to not invest adequately in that part of the process i.e. including purchase of the best quality leathers for all ranges and rigorous checking of the end product.
As @Mooshooshoo confirms, quality control is the culprit and it does reflect poorly on a company to not invest adequately in that part of the process i.e. including purchase of the best quality leathers for all ranges and rigorous checking of the end product.
I agree that although I’d love all my bags to be made in the UK, I’ve had some great ones that were made in Türkiye and my clipper was made in China, but is gorgeous. I think it is the lack of checking before they leave the factory. I have another Antony coming today, but the shine has gone now as I’m just expecting issues with that one based on the previous bags. If this arrives faulty I will give up for a while and maybe look at buying one later in the year. I should just use the ones I already have anyway!
Really hope you receive a fabulous bag. Look forward to seeing it. ❤️
Hi AD I think you were having issues with the Paul Smith Antony bag a while back? Maybe a Strong letter to Mulberry is required! I've gone back to buying a few preloved styles now as I've also not been happy with the newer items. Sadly the Mulberry Preloved bags are priced at a crazy amount, but there's usually a good choice on other sites.
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Hi gicha21, that was me! I’ve still not used the Paul Smith Antony yet! It’s in the wardrobe with its tag still attached. Oh really? I’m tempted to do that myself. My favourite bag was the Slim Brynmore in oak. I so regret selling that. I’ve seen the prices of the preloved bags on the Mulberry website! I get why they’re charging so much to protect their brand, but some are way overpriced! There’s a vintage wash bag on there currently for £525! Must surely be an error?!
I used to love Mulberry, but they lost me when they hiked prices and reduced leather quality. Who is the lead designer at Mulberry now? Do they have one anymore?
QC issues aren’t confined to Mulberry though. I just returned a Hermes scarf with raw edges showing at a corner. It was the last one and it’s back up on the website.
QC issues aren’t confined to Mulberry though. I just returned a Hermes scarf with raw edges showing at a corner. It was the last one and it’s back up on the website.
Just bought a family member a small Farringdon Messenger, and it's a very nice design and well made (it seems). Excellent leather and hardware. Clearly OK in terms of QC, time will tell on wear.
NYC store told me that all bags are now back to being made in the UK (do we know this to be true?).
NYC store told me that all bags are now back to being made in the UK (do we know this to be true?).
That’s good to hear! I’ll take a look at that bag online. No that’s not true sadly. I think it’s 50% of bags made in the UK now.