Zipper on Collegiate Dooney

[Statchmore]

I just purchased this NWT collegiate (Baylor) Dooney & Burke off Ebay. When I received it it was unzipped, and when I try to zip it up, the zipper is very hard to move. It's not a lubrication issue but rather the zipper is sort of rippled (see photo) so while it will zip up, you have line it up just right.

Looking for advice -- the seller is willing to refund my money if I will pay to ship it back. Since I paid the shipping to get it here (about $10), assuming it's the same to ship it back, I'll be down about $20 once she refunds the purchase price ($90). She'll also be out about $20 since she told me her eBay payout was $77. She volunteered this, by the way, I didn't ask for a refund, so I believe she's an honest seller who wants me to be happy with my purchase.

My other option would be to register the bag with Dooney and see if they can posslbly do some kind of repair -- replace the zipper maybe? Although it's new with tags, I suspect it's an older style, since I hadn't found any place to purchase it new, and I wonder if their guarantee/warranty will apply.

Has anyone had any experience with getting their Dooney repaired? I'm trying to decide whether to cut my losses and return it, or keep it and try to make it work. It is the perfect size for work (laptop even fits) and yes, I work at Baylor!

 

[lavenderjunkie]

I have limited experience with Dooney repairs. And while I believe they
can repair a zipper, that doesn't mean they will do it as it might be outside the
kind of repairs they normally do.

Dooney recently changed the repair policy. If the bag is over a year old,
they will now charge for repairs. They will give you a quote and get your
approval before proceeding.

But you might want to consider the possible cost of the repair.
And there is no way to know if they will charge for the repair until you
send Dooney the bag and they inspect it. That process will take a little time.

If it were me, I'd return the handbag, since you have that option.
I know it's a waste of $20 and that would bug me for a while, but....
it's better than investing even more money into the handbag.
You would have to pay to ship it to Dooney to be evaluated.
Then, even if the cost to repair/replace the zipper was modest
(say $30-40), the cost of the bag would have increased substantially.
And you would still have the $10 shipping cost to get the bag to Dooney.

You might luck out and Dooney might fix the zipper without charging you...
but given their change in policy, I wouldn't count on it.

 

[Statchmore]

I have limited experience with Dooney repairs. And while I believe they
can repair a zipper, that doesn't mean they will do it as it might be outside the
kind of repairs they normally do.

Dooney recently changed the repair policy. If the bag is over a year old,
they will now charge for repairs. They will give you a quote and get your
approval before proceeding.

But you might want to consider the possible cost of the repair.
And there is no way to know if they will charge for the repair until you
send Dooney the bag and they inspect it. That process will take a little time.

If it were me, I'd return the handbag, since you have that option.
I know it's a waste of $20 and that would bug me for a while, but....
it's better than investing even more money into the handbag.
You would have to pay to ship it to Dooney to be evaluated.
Then, even if the cost to repair/replace the zipper was modest
(say $30-40), the cost of the bag would have increased substantially.
And you would still have the $10 shipping cost to get the bag to Dooney.

You might luck out and Dooney might fix the zipper without charging you...
but given their change in policy, I wouldn't count on it.

Thank you, this is very helpful. I hadn't thought about the charge to make the repair, but it makes sense, particularly since I'm pretty sure this is an older bag. It does sting to lose the $20 but I think you are right and I should probably cut my losses. Buying second hand is such a crap shoot. You just never know until you have the item in your hands if it's a good buy or not. The retail on this bag is $250 so $100 was a great deal but I could see myself getting frustrated with the zipper issue pretty quickly!

 

[lavenderjunkie]

Thank you, this is very helpful. I hadn't thought about the charge to make the repair, but it makes sense, particularly since I'm pretty sure this is an older bag. It does sting to lose the $20 but I think you are right and I should probably cut my losses. Buying second hand is such a crap shoot. You just never know until you have the item in your hands if it's a good buy or not. The retail on this bag is $250 so $100 was a great deal but I could see myself getting frustrated with the zipper issue pretty quickly!

Even when you buy a 'new' handbag these days there are often costs to return the bag.
Sometimes we get free shipping (to us), but need to pay for return shipping.
Sometimes we have to pay for shipping in both directions.
And not every store/vendor even accepts returns or give a refund (as opposed
to a store credit).

So, yes it's frustrating. But in the end, I always remind myself
that I am lucky that a bag that didn't work out (for what ever reason) is returnable
and I can get my money out. It annoys me for a while, maybe cuts down my
handbag shopping for a few weeks, and then I move on.

And in the end, the
shipping/return costs are just part of the overall cost.... sometimes we pay more
because of shipping and sometimes those costs are baked into the 'price'.
I try to take a broader view and evaluate my mistakes against all my handbag
purchases. Sometimes a bag has to be returned, but if it's only once in a while,
then I'm doing OK. If there are a lot of bags I don't like or that have issues,
then I know it's time for me to stop buying handbags for a while and
also to be more careful about what I buy and where. Over time we tend
to remember only the lows and the highs, but in the end it's the total and the
average that defines our experiences and costs.

It sounds to me like returning the bag is a good decision for you.