Would you ever buy a bag that needed repair?
- Thread starter Robyn Loraine
- Start date
No, just a lot of conditioning! The before pics are a little paler than IRL because of the lighting used and the after pictures are a little darker because it was evening. It was a very thirsty bag! The leather was really, really dried out when I got it. Someone did not take care of the bag very well. It smelled terrible and was faded in patches and dirty. It only needed some TLC no dying.
My first Bal was a Marron Twiggy that came to me more damaged than I thought.
In the listing, the bag's corner piping was actually 'painted' over... giving the impression that the corners were fine when the piping was actually showing. After I used it twice, the paint wore off and the white piping was exposed--I was furious!Plus, the main zipper was completely replaced by a new zipper because the previous owner damaged the original, a fact casually omitted from the listing. Worse still, the tassels were falling apart. Like literally. It was beautiful but in need of so much repair. I missed all these details because I got too excited about the colour... but I couldn't return it because I'm located in Asia, and it was shipped from the US. Well, lesson learnt!
I spent a good deal on repair (fixed the piping + handles, redyed it because the leather had discoloured, ordered tassels from Bal NY with huge shipping cost etc) and it cost me so much money that it was almost more worthwhile if I got a whole new bag. That said, even redyeing can't take away the luxurious feel of chevre leather... I love the bag now, but imagine if the restoration didn't work out and I hated it. All that money wasted. I'm not against restoring old bags, in fact I think it's great and should be done for chevre Bals, but make sure it's just one thing that needs work, and not everything. I agree with Catash when she says major fading is the dealbreaker, unless it's a Dolma or another colour that looks even better faded. Because you can fix everything else, but the colour is what draws you to the bag in the first place!
That said, nothing beats great restoration work and I just have to share her once more.Once Marron and now completely something else, the leather is just fantastic. I don't want to buy anything but chevre now
Hi riiche. May I know where you have sent your bags for the repair of the piping? I am based in Singapore, so would like to get your advice, thanks!
Hi MiuMiuholic! I've actually dealt with scuffings on two bags. For light scuffing (just the top layer of colour coming off, nothing major), ColorWash (http://www.colorwash.com.sg/) can fix it for you. They did an alright job restoring the colour for the worn corners of my Bordeaux.
When the inner piping gets exposed in the corners, it requires more repair (I believe this problem is more prevalent to the Twiggy and Velo due to the nature of their design). I sent my Marron Twiggy to Bag & Shoe Aesthetics (http://www.tbsa.com.sg/en/). I must say though - they could not do the complete job I've seen LMB do, which is to restore the piping to its original state and make it look like the damage never happened. The best they could manage was layer another piece of similar leather over the exposed piping and resew the corners (if you look closely at my Twiggy pic, you can spot this in the corners). For what they could do, the repair work was carefully done and their service is diligent. I consider them very pricey however! It's best you bring your bag to them personally and have them assess the damage for you. Best of luck!
Thanks riiche. I did send some of my anya hindmarch bags there (tbsa) for cleaning and restoration of the handles and it was quite expensive.
I was thinking of buying a bag but one of the bottom piping is exposed. With your sharing, I might reconsider coz the price might be too much for me.
Yeah TBSA has great service but I got a real shocker when I saw the bill. Like, really blown away by the figure. The repair cost made it worth it for me to get a whole new bag.
IA with you - definitely go for a bag that doesn't require too much restoration. More worthwhile imo.
Yeah TBSA has great service but I got a real shocker when I saw the bill. Like, really blown away by the figure. The repair cost made it worth it for me to get a whole new bag.
Thanks for your invaluable advice!
If the handles are not too warmed or softened I will pay $1K and send it off to LMB, but I am not sure how much LMB can do to darkened handles. Conni may know better
. The handles actually don't look too bad in your pictures. I can accept as is without any cleaning. But again I am still kicking myself for ruining the Ruby (yes I own a Ruby City too
) tassels when I tried to glue them back, even after I replaced them with brand-new Coquelicot tassels. So I can certainly understand why people want their bags to look perfect.If the handles are not too warmed or softened I will pay $1K and send it off to LMB, but I am not sure how much LMB can do to darkened handles. Conni may know better
The handles actually don't look too bad in your pictures. I can accept as is without any cleaning. But again I am still kicking myself for ruining the Ruby (yes I own a Ruby City too
Thanks for the reply! It's so hard to tell how dark they are in the pics. I'm just worried that if they're too dark I would want to send it off to get fixed, and I have no clue how much that would cost.
That's awesome we are Ruby ❤️ twins!
I'm not so bothered by darkened handles, but everyone is different. However, I will not pay top dollar for a bag if I know that I have to have it repaired and the repair is going to cost me over $100!
Sorry to say, but sellers nowadays are just not going to be able to command the $$$'s they used to in the heydays. I have to chuckle when I see people attempting to sell a "pre-loved" (major-leagued used) bag for even over $1000 .. even if it was considered an HG!
The other thing is .. if you are buying an "oldie", remember the retail on those bags were just a little over $1k, so why would anyone REALLY want to pay like .. $1800 for an oldie that needs a lot of work????
IMO .. you can only command over retail under the following conditions:
Sorry to say, but sellers nowadays are just not going to be able to command the $$$'s they used to in the heydays. I have to chuckle when I see people attempting to sell a "pre-loved" (major-leagued used) bag for even over $1000 .. even if it was considered an HG!
The other thing is .. if you are buying an "oldie", remember the retail on those bags were just a little over $1k, so why would anyone REALLY want to pay like .. $1800 for an oldie that needs a lot of work????
IMO .. you can only command over retail under the following conditions:
- Color -or- Leather was highly prized
- Rarity - the early "oldies" did not have as high a production rate as the current years/seasons
- EVERYTHING is included (mirror, extra tassels for older bags, cards and dust bag); leather swatches for the new bags -AND- the bag has not been altered (no cutting of tassels and no re-dyeing, etc.).
You are correct. Usually they look lighter in photos, but not always. When I buy a pre-owned bag, I always assume the handles will look darker in person.
The hot pinks and reds from 05 and 06 are notorious for handles darkening. I had actually sent Catash's Magenta to Gary at LMB because the handles had some patina, and I wanted to know they were as clean as possible without dye being applied. If they are dyed, with near perfect color matching, they can look great, especially at arms length, but they lose the natural diffusion that shows through on the original colored leather. Not as egregious when limited to handles, even to purists, and the dye acts as a sealent to protect against further darkening.
It costs between $100 and $200. I suspect the price depends upon if you want them cleaned (oil extraction) or simply dyed, which I suspect is a lot easier. It definitely takes less time, but I'm not certain how the fee is decided. HTH!
Thanks so much CeeJay, Catash, and Connie for your help! I appreciate your wisdom! I decided to pass on the magenta. That bottom pic (see above) shows the handles being a little too dark for my liking--especially if pics tend to depict them lighter than in real life. 2 of the corners needed conditioning as well. Also, the lowest price the seller would go is $1100.
This week I purchased the ME black with silver city from ******--I should be getting her in a few weeks! So excited. And I will be on the hunt for one more bright colored bal that has the older chèvre leather that is in excellent condition. I'm not in a rush, the hunt is fun!
If the handles are not too warmed or softened I will pay $1K and send it off to LMB, but I am not sure how much LMB can do to darkened handles. Conni may know better
The handles actually don't look too bad in your pictures. I can accept as is without any cleaning. But again I am still kicking myself for ruining the Ruby (yes I own a Ruby City too
Hi Catash
May I asked what happened to your tassels? The glueing them together didn't work? I remember you were the lucky one who got a set of brand new red tassels
And your Ruby looked great with her new tassels.The glueing worked! But the old tassels were shabby and tortuous so it was hard to line them up right. I also didn't pay much attention because it was the first time I had to glue the whole tassels!
I did a much better job with my Mogano!
The new tassels are great but a shade lighter.
I guess I am just too picky. I am fine with how it looks!
I did a much better job with my Mogano!
The new tassels are great but a shade lighter.
I guess I am just too picky. I am fine with how it looks!Hi Catash
May I asked what happened to your tassels? The glueing them together didn't work? I remember you were the lucky one who got a set of brand new red tassels