My A+ experience buying from ELady!

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It is too bad she can not rectify the mistake. Maybe she really thinks the bag is authentic but how can she not be able to authenticate it when her/his business is solely base on selling authentic goods?? Her reputation can be tarnished unfortunately.

I dealt with her once asking if a purse smelled like cigarette smoke. She answered my question without answering it. She did not say yes or no. She wrote back saying smell is personal! To me, cigarette smoke is cigarette smoke. I don't think you can mistakenly it for anything else! With that kind of response, i just stayed away from purchasing it.

True, she is extremely evasive with questions like that.

I was once interested in one of her Miu Miu bag listed with "a tear" at the back pockets. There no pictures of the tear and she was not very helpful in answering questions pertaining to the tear.
 
I want to reveal my first ever preloved LV purchase as well as provide a detailed review of my experience purchasing a preloved item from the Japanense seller eLady (AKA elady01 on eBay). I have watched numerous videos and read many posts on TPF about the Eva clutch and knew this was the versatile crossbody/clutch/minibag I was looking for. With the recent price increases, I considered buying preloved and I had such a positive experience. I found a beautiful Eva Clutch in Mono on eLady’s website at http://global.elady.com/. It was the only Eva with an “A” rating currently on her site and the bag was Made in France (just a plus!). I had a few questions about the bag and received a friendly e-mail response back from eLady within 24 hours.

I posted a thread to the LV shopping forum on others’ experiences buying from eLady and they were very positive, but most people purchased via eBay auctions rather than directly from her website. Her prices are 10% lower buying directly from her website (probably to account for her saving on eBay seller commissions). I would also get an additional 5% savings because I was a new buyer. I had the bag authenticated on TPF before purchasing and got the thumbs up.

I was still hesitant to buy directly from the seller’s website because I felt I may have more buyer protection buying through eBay. I called PayPal prior to purchasing the bag to inquire about buyer protection. PayPal ensured me that I had full buyer protection buying outside of eBay as long as I was purchasing a good (not a service) and I paid in one single payment (rather than paying in installments). This provided some comfort and pushed me to pull the trigger. I purchased the bag on a Monday evening (California time) and received a tracking e-mail from eLady by Tuesday morning. The bag was shipping via EMS Japan Post shipping service. I tracked the package over the next few days and saw it had arrived in customs in San Francisco. It was released within 12 hours and was on its way to my rural post office. I got a call from my PO on Friday morning of the same week telling me I had a package from Japan ready to pick up but needed to be signed for. I was glad to hear it was not dropped off at my doorstep.

A side note about duties: I read many posts on TPF regarding duties on purchases from Japan and wasn’t sure what to expect, and I figured I may be charged nearly 10% of the bag’s value, so I had to take that into consideration when figuring the overall cost of this item vs. buying new. It sounds like everyone has a different experience and being assessed duties are hit and miss. I was not assessed a duty and my bag was over the $200 threshold for purchases from Japan to the US. I’ve read that purchases shipped via EMS are less likely to be assessed a duty and that shipments via FedEx/UPS/etc. are more likely.

The bag was neatly packaged and protected well. And the best part…the bag was better than described. I had copied the photos from eLady’s website as well as the eBay auction and saved them to my computer to compare to the actual bag so I could ensure I received the described item. They must have a very high-powered camera because the flaws they noted were so hard to see, I had to examine it in full sunlight to see them. I did confirm that the bag was the one they described but the flaws were significantly less than what they rated. My bag smells absolutely AMAZING! I know some are concerned about the smell of preloved bags from Japan. I noticed some of eLady’s listings noted if the bag had a slight smell, but mine didn’t mention smell at all (therefore I assumed there was none). I feel that eLady underrates the condition of their bags based on this experience, which makes me feel very confident with my future purchases with them. I will definitely buy from them again!

Thank you to all of the TPF members who shared their positive experiences with eLady. They gave me the confidence to buy this bag and I couldn’t be happier. I hope this review helps other members if they are deciding to buy from eLady’s website directly (or her eBay auctions). You won’t be disappointed! :smile1:

My Eva!! :love:
Wow...it's in really good condition. Congratulations.
 
I do too, but not I am wary. Did they give you a hard time when you sent back the Neverfull?

I know, same here. I had a great experience with the Artsy I bought from her, but some CAN slip through the cracks I guess. That is why I am so happy I found this site! It really helps to get their opinions.

I am interested to hear what happens with the return!
 
I am so sad this happened and eLady is now a "buy at your own risk" seller. I really like her selection and pricing but confidence in a product, seller and customer service is crucial.


The "politics" of eBay is more than I want to deal with to spend my money, so I spend less money there on personal items and leave it for any business acquisitions. I got some really good deals and products from eBay sellers of business products, including purchases from the US government. Personal purchases are liken to navigating a jungle.


I may research purchases on sites such as Yoogi's, Shop Hers, etc. or just limit my purchases going forward and buy retail from stores.
 
I do too, but not I am wary. Did they give you a hard time when you sent back the Neverfull?

Well, so far so good. Of course, I won't sing any praises until they actually receive the item and refund my money.

Basically, I wrote them a bunch of emails about the bag. Because there is a time difference, I had to be patient during the day. But I am not a patient person, so I sent emails through the site, through eBay, and via email. Name dropped purse forum. But basically I pointed out all the things that were off and talked about their authenticity policy. I told them I expected to reimburse shipping. By the time I had woken up, they had responded with a prepaid fedex label and intstructions for return. I popped it in the mail and await results. Of course, we will also be curious to see if they will relist!
 
Despite the bad reviews I've been courage enough to still buy from elady. But I've always bought just Louis Vuitton from them, I trust they know this designer well enough. There was a short brake (because I'm not a millionaire :D ) but recently I ordered a dog collar. It was like expected. And good price, even when I had to pay customs and taxes.

And today I ordered again :D My first item in empreinte. I can't wait to have it and feel it! Hope it arrives as soon as the previous ones. But the customs hassle always slows it down :(
 
Despite the bad reviews I've been courage enough to still buy from elady. But I've always bought just Louis Vuitton from them, I trust they know this designer well enough. There was a short brake (because I'm not a millionaire :D ) but recently I ordered a dog collar. It was like expected. And good price, even when I had to pay customs and taxes.

And today I ordered again :D My first item in empreinte. I can't wait to have it and feel it! Hope it arrives as soon as the previous ones. But the customs hassle always slows it down :(

Cool! I have looked at all her empreinte items many times. I have been eyeing the audacieuses and the lumineuse. I also almost bought the mahina XL, but sat on it for a week and it was gone. I look forward to your reveal!
 
Hi everyone, I'm new here on the forum, have always been a lurker but now want to give my two cents:) I had a good experience with eLADY, even though I returned the bag. It was an '98 LV bag. I was tracking the package from NY to Tokyo and was surprised to see they'd refunded my money within an hour of receiving the bag back. The only downside about returns to Japan was the $80 shipping out of my pocket using EMS:( Part of the reason for my return was the smell, it was so musty, and I couldn't get rid of it enough to carry it. I guess just beware that Japan is humid and that any vintage bags will trap the smell. Overall, I'd buy from them again, I would just ask them questions about odor beforehand.
 
Hi everyone, I'm new here on the forum, have always been a lurker but now want to give my two cents:) I had a good experience with eLADY, even though I returned the bag. It was an '98 LV bag. I was tracking the package from NY to Tokyo and was surprised to see they'd refunded my money within an hour of receiving the bag back. The only downside about returns to Japan was the $80 shipping out of my pocket using EMS:( Part of the reason for my return was the smell, it was so musty, and I couldn't get rid of it enough to carry it. I guess just beware that Japan is humid and that any vintage bags will trap the smell. Overall, I'd buy from them again, I would just ask them questions about odor beforehand.


Next time try charcoal packets to get the smell out. It worked for me and some of my friends.
 
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