Should I feel tricked about exclusivity?

[A bottle of Red]

I sort of mentioned in the thread about conglomerates that i feel tricked by the SAs. Especially the ones in Bvlgari who talked about how unique & exclusive their bags are. They claimed to have very limited amounts of each bag. And not just the exotics.
They spoke about the artisans handmaking the bags.
And now i wonder if that is really true since they're owned by such a huge corporation & it makes me wonder if they're really mass produced.

What do you think?

 

[papertiger]

I sort of mentioned in the thread about conglomerates that i feel tricked by the SAs. Especially the ones in Bvlgari who talked about how unique & exclusive their bags are. They claimed to have very limited amounts of each bag. And not just the exotics.
They spoke about the artisans handmaking the bags.
And now i wonder if that is really true since they're owned by such a huge corporation & it makes me wonder if they're really mass produced.

What do you think?

What you say has truth in it, but because the demand is often quite high, even major brands only make a certain number of each cw/size/model, and even then, many are not able to be ordered in every store. It would be the same with Chanel jackets or Hermes Birkins, customers literally fight over getting the size/colour of their choice.

 

[JolieS]

I sort of mentioned in the thread about conglomerates that i feel tricked by the SAs. Especially the ones in Bvlgari who talked about how unique & exclusive their bags are. They claimed to have very limited amounts of each bag. And not just the exotics.
They spoke about the artisans handmaking the bags.
And now i wonder if that is really true since they're owned by such a huge corporation & it makes me wonder if they're really mass produced.

What do you think?

I’m sorry you felt duped by a Bulgari SA. The quality of these bags is very high, and you won’t be disappointed over time.
That said, with luxury items, like everything else in life, it is buyer beware. Do your research first. For example on the Bulgari web site, you’ll see dozens (literally) of colourways for each bag. This doesn’t make for an exclusive product.
For unique and exclusive, you’ll have to go special order or custom order, and not all brands offer that service (Hermès, Delvaux, Valextra and Moynat come immediately to mind). Another option for unique and exclusive is to go with small, independent brands that have limited production and are available only in certain markets.
Good luck in your quest for exclusive makers!

 

[leechiyong]

I don’t think Bulgari really sells enough of their bags to be mass-produced, but I do think they do try to sell on their rarity (they tell me there’s only two left in the country for every single bag) and that LVMH would produce more in a heartbeat if they’d sell. LVMH has the means to produce more goods for any of their brands, but they’re not going to do that only to have products languish on the shelves.

I generally take the limited edition/rare/exclusive piece line with a grain of salt. Even with Hermes, just because an item is the only one in the country, it doesn't mean more won't be produced. And for small, independent designers, I celebrate the idea of them gaining popularity, so if selling more of a bag that was produced for me helps them then so be it.

 

[A bottle of Red]

@leechiyong yes thats what they told me too! Only 1 or 2 of this color or material, and if it sells out they can't get more.
Which made me feel like oh that's unique , which I like & want & spent more on.
And now i feel a bit duped/tricked.

 

[A bottle of Red]

@JolieS sure the website has a few colors/sizes of each bag, but in store the sa said that each color/material is made for only one or 2 bags.
I had mentioned liking bags that are unique, and not popular/mass manufactured brands and i feel they took advantage of that

 

[leechiyong]

They say that to everyone, which I’m not sure makes it better or worse. I really don’t think they produce that much though. I doubt there’s more than a hundred worldwide, if even that, but it costs money to go through R&D and it wouldn’t be economical to do that to produce two bags of one design in five different colors worldwide.

It’s a beautiful bag and still unique. It may not be one in three billion people and instead one in a hundred million, but that’s still rare and a long way to go from mass-produced.

 

[JolieS]

@JolieS sure the website has a few colors/sizes of each bag, but in store the sa said that each color/material is made for only one or 2 bags.
I had mentioned liking bags that are unique, and not popular/mass manufactured brands and i feel they took advantage of that

So order online or ask them to order exactly what you want. Have never had a problem getting what I want from Bulgari.
Good luck!

 

[A bottle of Red]

I think you misunderstood me. I got a bag there. And i was told it is very exclusive, only 1 or 2 of this color/pattern in the area, if it sells out we can't get more etc. Which seeing as they are owned by a huge corporation, makes me feel like maybe that is not true.
It's like thinking you're buying an original painting & then finding out oh no it really is 1 of 500 prints.

 

[jblended]

Perhaps it's not that you were duped by the Bvlgari SAs, but rather that you define exclusivity/uniqueness/rarity differently than they do.
You're unlikely to see Bvlgari bags in the wild as often as you see Chanel bags. That alone makes them more unique and meets your preference for not wanting bags that are "mass produced/too popular" (from your above post). They weren't lying or trying to mislead you if you look at it from that angle.

There's no way they make 1 or 2 of each bag. They're a global brand. It is more likely that the store in your location only receives a couple of each bag and cannot order more due to lack of demand. That could have just been a miscommunication or a poorly worded explanation from the SA.

At any rate, I hope you can enjoy your bag regardless. They are stunning and the quality is amongst the best I've come across. I would hate for this to sour your enjoyment of your bag.

 

[leechiyong]

I don't think the painting vs. print analogy is quite a fair comparison though. The make of the product hasn't changed since you purchased it. Only potentially the quantity produced.

Most items on the website are notify me when available or the stock is limited too, to be fair. I have a Bulgari SA who I go through, so there was one item I saw online and when I called her about it, she told me there were only two available in the country but that aligned with the quantity online. By the time it arrived, it showed notify me when available online and shortly after picking it up, disappeared from the website completely.

I do think they word things very carefully to entice people to buy and I have noticed it. I always get last two in the country, leaving out worldwide numbers or how many may have already sold. I've only heard this type of line from them with jewelry from their high jewelry, where with the size and rarity of the gemstones, I am inclined to believe it.

I hope in sharing these things that it lessens your agitation over this and I'm not seen as being combative and you're able to enjoy your bag. It's really a special piece. I mean, how many bags out there have semi-precious stones in their hardware by a jewelry maker?

 

[A bottle of Red]

Thank you @leechiyong im trying to get over it!

 

[Jktgal]

Are the manufacturers lying? Probably not as the 1% only hang out with the other 1% so people will quickly tell something is "mass produced" amongst them (everyone and their mother and nieces have one, like an Hermes B). Check the local tattler/society magazine for evidence.

 

[A bottle of Red]

Funny i just came across my post now . I recently asked about a light colored bag & the sa said i need to give a deposit bec there is only 1 in my country & it's shipping from far away.
I oredered the bag online, it shipped from a warehouse a few towns nearby .... and it's still showing availability online . So not the only one & not across country.
Idk the point of these lies, it just ruins my trust in them tbh