SAs selling scratched jewelry?

[GlamarousBarbie]

I was at VCA today looking at a Perlee bracelet and it was evidently scratched. I asked the SA about it, she said it was just fingerprints and cleaned it. She then got a magnifying glass and seemed to have noticed the issue and didn’t make a comment on it. It was scratched more than the one I own and I’ve had mine for almost a year, yet she was pushy for the sale. Is VCA just getting to the point that they’re selling scratched items and SAs believe people are dumb and will purchase items with inch long scratches? I thought the point of buying something not preloved was the condition being pristine.

She then was trying to push the sale of a 60,000 necklace I didn’t ask to see and earrings under the guise of “rarity”. I should have just told her I’m too poor at that point so she can can realize most people shopping for VCA can’t afford and/or don’t want to spend that on jewelry. She then lied about a client she has who has a purchase history of 30,000,000 and described a story about them which didn’t add up whatsoever.

 

[pinkmilq]

First of all, that SA sounds awful. I’m so sorry you had that kind of experience. I agree that it’s really tone deaf for SAs to push random items onto clients… especially high jewelry. I have to admit the 30m client part took me way off guard! I almost feel like it’s comical at that point. I would 100% work with a new SA next time. You should never be pushed or made to feel uncomfortable. And if you notice a scratch, they shouldn’t gaslight you into thinking it was just a couple ‘fingerprints’. Honestly, it’s sad to say, but I feel like this isn’t an uncommon experience. Earlier this year, I purchased a classic WOC at Chanel and brought it home to find the hardware completely scratched up on the inner snap. When I brought it back to exchange, the new one they handed me had leather peeling on the inner pocket! I showed the SA and he had the nerve to tell me that all it needs is a little leather cleaner. So I asked him if he could clean it off. He took it to the back, brought out a visibly brand new WOC, and said that the leather cleaner got the ‘spot’ off LOL. It’s kind of funny but also not. It’s sad that this is becoming more and more common… we just have to be smart, alert, and highly aware as consumers to combat it.

 

[GlamarousBarbie]

First of all, that SA sounds awful. I’m so sorry you had that kind of experience. I agree that it’s really tone deaf for SAs to push random items onto clients… especially high jewelry. I have to admit the 30m client part took me way off guard! I almost feel like it’s comical at that point. I would 100% work with a new SA next time. You should never be pushed or made to feel uncomfortable. And if you notice a scratch, they shouldn’t gaslight you into thinking it was just a couple ‘fingerprints’. Honestly, it’s sad to say, but I feel like this isn’t an uncommon experience. Earlier this year, I purchased a classic WOC at Chanel and brought it home to find the hardware completely scratched up on the inner snap. When I brought it back to exchange, the new one they handed me had leather peeling on the inner pocket! I showed the SA and he had the nerve to tell me that all it needs is a little leather cleaner. So I asked him if he could clean it off. He took it to the back, brought out a visibly brand new WOC, and said that the leather cleaner got the ‘spot’ off LOL. It’s kind of funny but also not. It’s sad that this is becoming more and more common… we just have to be smart, alert, and highly aware as consumers to combat it.

I agree, it’s tone death and honestly out of touch with reality for these SAs. They make it come off as if they’re desperate for a sale and are desperate to sell something with scratches. I called them after I left, because I wanted to have a think about it, and explained to them again that it was scratched badly and that I shouldn’t be put into a situation where I’m basically buying a preloved jewelry piece.

When I was at the store, the SA said it was normal for pieces to have scratches unless they’re ordered. This isn’t true at all, every other piece I’ve gotten from VCA have had zero scratches whatsoever. The Perlee bracelet was a repeat purchase, I already have one but I wanted another for my collection, and mine never had scratches when it was first purchased. Just imagine charging full price for a piece of jewelry which is scratched, I might as well buy preloved and save a couple thousand dollars at that point.

It’s interesting that Chanel does the same! I’m sorry you had to go through that. These luxury houses need to be checked, whether if that’s bankruptcy or whatever, they need to be checked! I had the same issue with Chanel, but with the ready to wear. The downfall in the ready to wear quality is something else, the cardigan I purchased has threads showing at the buttons. I showed that to an SA and she stayed quiet and made no comment on it, and focused on the sale she was about to make!

 

[war_bunny15]

Hiya, so sorry about your experience. You are totally correct. I would be agitated if I was pushed a scratched/damaged item, esp when they see you have the intention to buy and a strong purchase history. I urge that you work with a different SA. Out of curiosity have you previously been served by them? Either way, it looks like she made it sound like you are fussy to complain about such "trivial" detail.

I once had a VCA SA (my usually one before i simply just started buying internationally) show me a £21K alhambra diamonds watch and asked me to consider buying this rare piece, even though I had come into the store to decide if i wanted the Guilloche 5 motif bracelet or the 10 motif necklace. I am in no way "rich" and its basically my hard earned money that I save and very carefully think through before making a purchase. I thought that was tone deaf and frankly a bit sad. Not to sound petty, I also never got any birthday treat, like even a glass of champagne even though I reminded him a few times that I want to treat myself to a VCA piece for my birthday.

Do not even get me started on Chanel and issues with their quality! It's been going on for way too long - sometimes the diamond patterns don't align or the flaps is asymmetrical or leather peeling off. I am honestly too tired of keeping my eyes peeled and scrutinising items when buying at Chanel. That's not why we pay such high mark up and buy luxury. The whole point is great quality that will last you years, exceptional customer service. I guess gone are those days.

I hope you are able to find an SA that is helpful, kind, does not make you second guess yourself nor create unnecessary pressure to buy. 🤞 🌸

 

[GlamarousBarbie]

Hiya, so sorry about your experience. You are totally correct. I would be agitated if I was pushed a scratched/damaged item, esp when they see you have the intention to buy and a strong purchase history. I urge that you work with a different SA. Out of curiosity have you previously been served by them? Either way, it looks like she made it sound like you are fussy to complain about such "trivial" detail.

I once had a VCA SA (my usually one before i simply just started buying internationally) show me a £21K alhambra diamonds watch and asked me to consider buying this rare piece, even though I had come into the store to decide if i wanted the Guilloche 5 motif bracelet or the 10 motif necklace. I am in no way "rich" and its basically my hard earned money that I save and very carefully think through before making a purchase. I thought that was tone deaf and frankly a bit sad. Not to sound petty, I also never got any birthday treat, like even a glass of champagne even though I reminded him a few times that I want to treat myself to a VCA piece for my birthday.

Do not even get me started on Chanel and issues with their quality! It's been going on for way too long - sometimes the diamond patterns don't align or the flaps is asymmetrical or leather peeling off. I am honestly too tired of keeping my eyes peeled and scrutinising items when buying at Chanel. That's not why we pay such high mark up and buy luxury. The whole point is great quality that will last you years, exceptional customer service. I guess gone are those days.

I hope you are able to find an SA that is helpful, kind, does not make you second guess yourself nor create unnecessary pressure to buy. 🤞 🌸

I have been served by this SA and have had a bad experience with her before, but I was a walk in so I didn’t have much of a choice with an SA. I travel a lot and like to purchase pieces from different boutiques for memories. I’ve found that the nicest SA has been in the Bellagio.

She did the exact same thing! She showed me a watch and said “this should be the piece to finalize your collection” when I mentioned how there’s only a few things I want because white gold is a limited collection. I don’t want a super expensive watch from a company which doesn’t specialize in watches, I can’t even read the time! She then made it seem like I was poor by saying that I can do a 30% deposit for something and that it’s like a “payment plan” and is “affordable”.

I am not rich either, I work hard and save and am nowhere near the point where I can spend 60,000 - 100,000 on a piece of jewelry. It’s delusional for SAs to think most of the population can or even want to do that.

I’ve personally not purchased Chanel bags, I definitely missed the deadline for that and now they’re super expensive with bad quality. I do like the ready to wear, honestly. But the quality of stitching is not there. The quality of the fabrics definitely is, but the overall composition is crazy. There was a jacket there which was $12,000 and it was made of mostly polyester which is insane! Why are people paying 12,000 for plastic?

 

[oranGetRee]

I think the likelihood of getting scratched pieces is highly possible since there is hardly any stock in boutiques these days. They claimed that they only have one piece (and I wonder how many times it has been tried on), and I feel petty when I scrutinise the piece for scratches.

😞

 

[GlamarousBarbie]

I think the likelihood of getting scratched pieces is highly possible since there is hardly any stock in boutiques these days. They claimed that they only have one piece (and I wonder how many times it has been tried on), and I feel petty when I scrutinise the piece for scratches.

😞

I think the piece was a return/exchange because of the amount of scratches and how easy the piece is to get. It had deeper and more obvious scratches than mine which I’ve owned for 7 months. I was just trying it on and didn’t inspect it and saw the scratch. I can understand if it’s light scratches which can barely be seen, but it looked like a deeper scratch.

 

[oranGetRee]

I think the piece was a return/exchange because of the amount of scratches and how easy the piece is to get. It had deeper and more obvious scratches than mine which I’ve owned for 7 months. I was just trying it on and didn’t inspect it and saw the scratch. I can understand if it’s light scratches which can barely be seen, but it looked like a deeper scratch.

Really not honest of them to try sell returned pieces. Luckily you noticed it!

 

[Kayceedee88]

Really not honest of them to try sell returned pieces. Luckily you noticed it!

It’s not right for the SA to brush off the scratches that OP pointed out and to say it was only fingerprints, but then, what do you think the boutiques would do with returned pieces? Throw them into the trash? Of course they will be resold to the next customer, especially now that pieces are harder to get and production is slow. Usually, the items cannot be worn and returned as the client cannot return when you cut off the tag.
Glad that OP didn’t buy it as VCA pieces don’t come cheap.

 

[GlamarousBarbie]

It’s not right for the SA to brush off the scratches that OP pointed out and to say it was only fingerprints, but then, what do you think the boutiques would do with returned pieces? Throw them into the trash? Of course they will be resold to the next customer, especially now that pieces are harder to get and production is slow. Usually, the items cannot be worn and returned as the client cannot return when you cut off the tag.
Glad that OP didn’t buy it as VCA pieces don’t come cheap.

I agree. I understand VCA pieces can be hard to find, but this one isn’t - it’s been on the website for months. So, the fact that the SA tried to push the sale onto me rather than acknowledge the scratches are bad is awful. Then, to push a made to order by saying the deposit amount of 30% is like a payment plan is just shady. She knows exaclty what she’s doing, she’s inferring I can’t afford it. Maybe I’m reading into it a little, but rude SAs is common. I’ve been told by a Louis Vuitton SA that if “you have the money in your account, just get it!”. These experiences completely put me off from purchasing! I’ve also had rude experiences from sales associates for carrying a bag which isn’t designer, then they realise it’s a dog carrier and they switch so quickly. I do think it’s the area, the prestige and money in this area is insane. The average client probably can afford to drop 60,000 and not feel it. That’s not me, I work hard for my money and I’m in my early 20s!