Hi! I’d like to share my moynat experience here. (Disclaimer: I do have a pair of eyes that can easily see defects. )I’ve always admired the design of rejane, the leather quality and the patented lock but have never really thought of buying one until recently. I found that south coast plaza had a store when I was back in socal a few years ago and had checked out their bags a few times. At that time they didn’t have many choices in store but when I visited last year they had the taupe rejane bb which I fell in love with and was planning to buy later the year for my bday. My mom happened to be traveling in Dubai in December and saw the moynat store and they had it in stock so she just went ahead and purchased it without really checking the bag (which I also thought should be fine given their quality and service). I was finally back in socal during christmas to see the bag in person and was shocked to find several issues: there was a thread/cardboard that was so visible at the lock which I really can’t take; some black dots on the metal feet which I thought was oxidization; one side on the flap seemed a bit distorted(later it smoothed out a bit); some glue residues and a few drops (only took pic of one but there were more I found later) of edge paint on the leather. I also thought my metal feet were misaligned but I checked a few photos online and I guess they are not that perfectly aligned anyway. I can understand the bag was handmade but I was very shocked that such an obvious issue on the front passed quality control (oxidization might have happened later but the loose thread?) and I’ve never had a bag that got drops of paint on the leather.
View attachment 5728064View attachment 5728065View attachment 5728066View attachment 5728067I took the bag to the store after christmas thinking they could prob help with taking the thread out, wipe out the oxidation and maybe help with the paint, or they can just exchange the bag. The attitude of the SA who was so kind to me before was also shockingly bad. She first was very angry that my mom purchased it from Dubai and then was a bit unwilling to help. The other associate was kind and asked her to snap some pictures to send to Paris to get feedback from them. Since I was going to leave in another week, I expressed my worry to them. The other SA told me to bring the bag back and they can just ship a new one to me later if that’s the case. He also told me it’s ok to use the bag (which I didn’t). Not only the SA attitude was bad, she even texted my mom to tell her it’s not even that much cheaper in Dubai which made my mom upset since she hand carry the bag back. I wasn’t able to get any update until I had left. A few weeks later, around mid-Jan, I got a message from the SA saying that they are going to offer a one-time exchange but I must return to the store to do an in person exchange in Jan. I told her it is already mid jan, and it’s raining every weekend which makes it very hard to travel and I was told they could mail it to me. She told me that was not what they meant, they can only mail it if I purchased it from them but I didn’t so they can not (then why told me they could the first place?) Then she said if i’m not happy and can’t come in Jan, then they can mail the bag to France for repair. I got really upset because this is the first time I had such a big issue with any brand and their price is not low at all. I asked her to give me their managers number but she refused and told me she already communicated the message with the manager so the manager would not speak with me. The second day, I got a call from the manager who was very polite and I explained the situation to him and he was totally fine for me to go back in Feb instead. He also told me to communicate directly to him instead of the original SA. Finally I went back to the store in Feb to find that the only taupe rejane bb they had was made in Italy! I wasn’t aware that some Rejanes are made in Italy instead of France but as soon as they handed me the bag, I could immediately tell the leather is much softer. I also noticed one of the strap holes is already enlarged which the SA explained that it was the displayed one so many people have tried it hence the hole became larger. Another reason I didn’t want the display one was also the color was much lighter than mine which they explained it was due to a different batch. The original SA eventually showed up and tried to convince me to get another color since they don’t have any other Taupe and she said most of the ones they received were made in Italy instead of France and the Italian made ones might have thinner leather hence they were softer. She did also bring out a french one with a different color and it was also softer. I also noticed the seam on the back of the Italian ones was also not as nice as my original one. She said they can not request a french made one for me so I asked if I could have this one repaired. Then shockingly she said this is not repairable (?? completely opposite to her message to me) and according to Paris this bag has no issue (???) so they can’t do anything. She also tried to sell the thinner leather ones by saying it’s lighter and easy to access your belongings. Eventually she said she could try to remove the thread (which she claimed was cardboard that they used to make the bag but forgot to take out) and we tried to wipe out the dots (might be some other dye or glue instead?) so the defects were not that obvious. She also told me it is common to have residual paint and glue on their leather. Although it is still not perfect, I suspect the new bags might all have thinner leathers now and they may have reduced the layers of edge paint/sealant. I decided to keep my original bag so I can actually start enjoying the bag instead of constantly waiting for a perfect bag. I do think the edge paint is still pretty good except they dropped a few on the leather but luckily not that visible due to the taupe color. Very disappointed that Moynat has moved even their rejane bags to be manufactured in Italy and I can tell the quality is going down hill. On their websites, if you choose english, it will show the rejane bb is made in France or Italy but not in French or Chinese, not sure if it’s just a delay in updating their website. According to the SA, only the nano, Gabrielle and the new bags are completely made in France now. Very shocking to me because isn’t Moynat known for having their bags made by skilled artisans in France?
PM, Clutch and BB.
