Hi all,
Thanks for your advice!
In addition to the defective logo, I also found out that there were some scratches on the zip of the bag.
I ended up returning the bag and wanted to update on my negative returns experience with SSENSE, in case anyone plans to order from them in future. (I've redacted the names of the customer service officers so as not to embarrass them, which is not my intention)
On 3 Jan, I emailed customer service with pictures of my defective Antigona, as well as pictures of other (non-defective) Antigonas in the same colour and size, for comparison purposes.
On 3 Jan, customer service officer C____ replied, claiming that there was no defect and "the style of the purse is meant to be this way" (her words). No remedy was offered for the defect - i.e. She didn't offer to exchange it for another item or offer a full refund.
I replied on 4 Jan with an email asking for a full refund including my initial shipping fees.
There was no reply within 24h so I sent a chaser email. There was still no reply within 48h so I sent another chaser. (Note the website says their customer service operates 24h from mon-fri but this doesn't appear to be true).
Approximately 2 days later, on 6 Jan, customer service officer A___ replied, saying that they would arrange for a full refund including my initial shipping fees. They also sent me a pre-paid shipping label to return my item.
However, his instructions to me on the returns process turned out to be incorrect. He initially told me that I SHOULD drop off the parcel at my local post office, and not use other couriers.
However, the pre-paid label they sent me appeared to be a UPS label.
I replied to clarify whether I should use the local post office or UPS, as these are two entirely different organisations.
A___ then corrected his earlier email, saying that I should NOT drop the parcel off at the local post office, but instead drop it off at a UPS outlet.
After the UPS guy picked up the package, I emailed A___ on 7 Jan and asked him to let me know when the package arrived (UPS was unable to issue a receipt or acknowledgement, and I just wanted to ensure that the item had arrived safely).
7 days later and no news whether my parcel was received by SSENSE.
I emailed them again on 14 Jan and another customer service officer, R___, informed me that the refund had been processed a few days ago (but I was not informed of the same until I asked).
I checked my credit card statement and found an incomplete refund. They had only refunded the cost of the item and not the initial shipping fees as promised by A___.
I therefore emailed A___ again and pointed out that I hadn't received the full refund. Finally on 16 Jan, he said he had arranged to provide a refund of my initial shipping charges. (I've not received this yet but I imagine it takes a few days anyway)
Whew! That was a long recap. It was an exhausting and frustrating few weeks dealing with them and after this experience, I will not be ordering from SSENSE again.