My Ella's Back--am I being too picky?

[pritchettzoo]

My much anticipated Ella bag arrived early last week. Cute, but the straps were too short. I'd ordered 28" straps with a snap and they were 24". So I mailed it back and ordered a cosmetic bag to match. (They sold me the cosmetic bag at the regular price but deducted return shipping on the diaper bag.)

I'm so excited to see a box outside the garage with the mail. Ella bag! I pull it out and...okay, the straps are the right length, but they've just pulled out the old stitching and put new straps in and restitched it. The bag is vinyl-lined and you can see the old stitch holes. And the now double-line of stitching isn't straight AT ALL. There's a snap now, but it's way off center. And a third picky little thing, which honestly bothered me when I first looked at the bag last week but I was willing to live with it, is that the band doesn't match up on the seam. My granny made all of my clothes growing up, so maybe I'm just spoiled to good workmanship...

It looks very, very homemade to me. I think I would be disappointed if I made it, and I paid more than $50 for it. I don't know if I'm just in a foul mood and frustrated with the whole thing, so I thought I'd get some opinions and take some deep breaths before contacting them. I don't even know what to ask for at this point, other than a refund.

Please feel free to tell me I'm being an over-demanding bitch. }(

Anna
Mama to Gracie (9/16/03)


http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/3291.jpg


http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/3292.jpg


http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/3293.jpg

[jk3]

The band looks a bit sloppy to me. It's one of those things that once you notice you keep on noticing. I'm never great at complaining but maybe you could email them and see what they suggest.

[Dscvrlifewith3]

Goodness, well, this is the line of business I am in and I don't want to be tarred and feathered. We are all human and make mistakes, but if I was you I would return the bag for a full refund (if you can do that).

First of all with vinyl, I mean you just can't rip out seams and not damamge it. (I do not sew with it) If the stitching is ot back over the exact holes, eventually the vinyl is going to crack in those areas. :( And it will not look too pretty.

I wasn't sure if that is a strap you have a picture of up there, but that looks weird. Is that strap sewn with interfacing or deco-bond? I wasnt sure if that was the strap or not but it definitely doesnt look right whatever it is.

As for the band it looks to be less than 1/4 of an inch off. While you want it like you want it, I dont think that is that bad. I mean I got LIZ and Dooney bags that don't match up exactly on the side. The thing is, if you aren't happy, return it or ask for a new bag. Not just this one corrected.

Goodluck. I am sorry its not what you wanted. I think the fabric is nice. :)

[partyof5]

I ordered 2 Lily bags and didn't really have a chance to inspect them until I read your post. They arrived in 2 separate boxes and I hid them away so that DH wouldn't complain.

Well, not only does one have uneven piping/trimming similar to yours, it's almost one full inch shorter than the other! It's strange because one Lily bag is pefectly made with the correct height and piping that lines up, but the other Lily bag is totally off. And I paid extra for a Lily because I wanted the extra height. I sent an email with pictures of both Lilys requesting that they remake the shorter Lily. I think you should do the same. I'll let you know how they respond.

http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/3294.jpg
http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/user_files/3295.jpg

~Cindy mommy to...
Isabella (11/1999)
Sophia (10/2001)
Ethan (4/2003)

[Chelsey333]

The double stitching on the inside looks terrible and that would drive me nuts! When I buy something I like, I want it to be nearly perfect, and seeing imperfections like that would cause me not to like the bag. I like the seems to match up also. I would also contact them. They messed up the 1st time with the straps, and they should have fixed it correctly. They wouldn't have been able to put your bag in a store for sale bec people would notice it was a botched bag. You shouldn't have to settle. Their bags are beautiful, but hearing about the mistakes they are making on bag requests, helps me to refrain from buying one - and I need that!

[kelly ann]

Anna-

I do not think you are being too picky. I also noticed that the piping on my bag didn't match up - it is actually going to be a present for my mom so I hope she doesn't notice or care. I think a lot of the other Ella bags have been very well made after reading other comments on this board, but then there have also been some mistakes. I can understand mistakes in what you ordered (everyone makes those mistakes), but I am a little sad to see mistakes in the quality - KWIM??? Especially since you had multiple problems - good luck with trying to get resolution.

[mharling]

Definitely call. The last time I talked to Aimee, she had hired a bunch of new people. If there are quality issues, I may suspect that it's new people making the mistakes and Aimee would like to know. Especially since she's growing so much and expanding her audience.

Maybe I'm wrong, but either way, she should definitely know.

Mary
Lane 4/6/03

[khakismom]

Anna, I don't think you are being too picky at all!

I am a stickler for details too. The vinyl stitching would bug me but I could probably live with it. Same with the strap. But the band would send me over the edge and frustrate me every time I saw it.

And I agree with Mary--thay have expanded so fast that I think the workmanship might be getting a bit sloppy with the new people.

I would absolutely email her with your concerns. Good luck sweetie!! I hope they turn you into a happy customer! :)

(Edited because I can't seem to spell this morning.)

[cchavez]

My band is a little off but it has never really bothered me. And I am very pickey. But the other defects you mentioned would really upset me! You should definately let her know!!!

We have them tons of business and they have made so many errors!!! I don't think I am not going to order from the next coop b/c I think they have too much on their plate. I may order later on down the line if the next batch of orders comes in w/ less mistakes.

So to answer you question....no you aren't being too picky!

[khakismom]

ACK, Cindy! Please let us know their response. I hope you hear good news too! :)

When I got my second backpack, I immediately compared it to my first to make sure they were the same size and they were just about identical. But the difference in yours is quite obvious!

[jasabo]

Oh I'd definitely return it! The strap looks really bad, and the interfacing too. The piping on my Elaine is slightly off too, though not as bad as yours so I just overlooked it. Yours is much more noticeable.

You are absolutely not being an over-demanding bitch. You paid a lot of money for it, and you deserve good quality. Like someone else said, they'd never be able to sell this in a store. It's like they were trying to pass it off on a customer because it was mail-order.

I'm sorry that their quality seems to be slipping so much recently. That's one of the problems with expanding too quickly. It doesn't seem that they're able to keep up. Hopefully they'll get better about it. In the meantime, return your bag! I'm a big believer in "the customer is always right," especially when it's an absolutely reasonable request! I'm sure that Aimee will refund your money when she sees your bag. Then you can decide if you want to get a new one. I bet that if you ordered a new one, Aimee would make sure it was right ;)

Good luck!
Lisa - mom to 9 month old twin boys

[Momof3Labs]

It sounds like her new seamstresses aren't up to par because my bags didn't have these types of flaws. Yes, there were two mistakes to my order, but they were fixed quickly. Definitely let her know and give them the chance to fix things; if they aren't fixed this time around, I'd ask for a refund.

[jec2]

A little off topic, but do you have a pic of the entire bag? This is exactly what I was going to order and I would love to see how yours looks overall?

[mharling]

Juliet -
If you scroll down a bit, you'll see a thread that I started with a picture of mine. Anna said hers is exactly like mine except the custom band is khaki instead of green.

Mary
Lane 4/6/03

[jec2]

How did I miss your post? (oh yeah, I've been grading term papers like mad for the past 72 hours!) I really like that combo and it's fun to know others have similar tastes as me! I really like the sort of artsy/hippiness of the roman glass w/the casualness of the denim. don't know if that is what you were going for, but that is what I see when I see this bag. Thanks for sharing.

[Melanie]

Cindy, your bag selections are absolutely gorgeous. I would also be disappointed with the flaw and want it remedied. I wonder if it was two different seamstresses who sewed them?

[Melanie]

I would be disappointed, too. I'm not sure how I'd approach it though. I'm sure she'd rather fix it than have a disappointed customer.

[kelly ann]

After coming home from work I checked out my Ella again. I mentioned above that the piping does not match up, but now I see that the stitching around the top is not always in a straight line and at one point it looks like the stitching was repeated several times for about 2 inches. Also, where the piping meets the bottom material at the seams is a gap with the stitches looking like they are stretched out. I guess I never looked at it closely before since it is a gift for my mom. Maybe I am naive, but I didn't even think that Aimee would be using other seamstresses...I thought she would be making all of the bags. If this is the case, it would explain why some of us have seen varying quality.

After comparing the Ella bag with my ISM and another one I bought off eBay recently for less money for a newbie seller, the Ella does not compare in quality to either one. I don't expect it to compare to ISM, but I am disappointed that it does look more homemade than I expected. Especially since it is a gift for my picky mom :(

However, I can always look at this as the glass is half full...maybe I just got a great deal on the nice quality eBay bag.

ETA: I just emailed Aimee about re-doing my bag. I forgot to add that they didn't give me elactic pockets and the lining is not always flush with the outside of the bag. I got to thinking that even though we got the bag at a discount, $40 still too much for having about 5 quality issues with my bag.

[Dscvrlifewith3]

I wanted to make some additional comments on this thread. Take it with a grain of salt or not, and this is in no way to talk bad or good but more indifferent about other people in the line of work I do.

From my understanding Ella-bags is a new company. They started on eBay and run it out of their home. Most of us do. They really are no different than the many people on eBay. They just marketed their item a little better and sought a different avenue of sales but their product is not going to be like a Loom, it is supposed to have the feel of being homemade, boutique, heirloom quality. ISM, is a mother/daughter team -- also getting their start on eBay but a fairly new company as well. They are a great duo, I have emailed with the owner of ISM and they take great care in the quality of their products. I think out of most the bag designers I have crossed they have the closest thing to a loom, vera bradley, etc. bag that is massed produced. They are just on a smaller scale and take more exception to the quality and personalization than a larger company. Many of the eBay boutique diaper bag sellers and artisans offer just as good as or even better quality though(and is not their only avenue of sales). The problem with eBay is weeding out those sellers from hobbist looking for a quick dollar.

I think though that many of you would discover there are lots of options out there when trying to find similar or like bags. Most of us use similar fabrics and do customs. We all study the same trends, attend the same trade shows, buy all the same fashion magazines -- some of us even have each others back! Boutique bags are handcrafted. They are not meant to be perfection, but near perfection. :)

I know that with my business that the two other seamstresses I have sewing for me (and they only do about 10% of my customs)have actually more sewing experience than I do and are perfectionists. If my name or business name is on a product it better be something I am proud of.

I just want to say that I learn so much from reading this forum. I have been lurking here a while and I keep notes of things all of you like, don't like, and complain about.

[Melanie]

>The piping on my Elaine is slightly off
>too, though not as bad as yours so I just overlooked it. Yours
>is much more noticeable.


Same Here...

[kelly ann]

I like your comment that if your name is on it you should be proud. If other seamstresses are sewing your bags and mistakes are made...well those things just happen. However, there should always be some kind of quality check by the owner to ensure those bags with many mistakes are not being sent out to customers.

[mattysmom]

I emailed you yeseterday and also saw that someone posted the same question - can you tell us the name of your company? Do you have a website so we could see your bags? I know there can't be advertising here, but I know that a few of us would like to know.

Thanks!

[Dscvrlifewith3]

Exactly!

Last month one of my seamstresses sewed a bag wrong. She turned the fabrics in a different direction making it taller and not as wide. The bag was adorable, but not what the customer wanted. I emailed her right away, providing pictures and asked her if she wanted it or would she like what she originally ordered. She decided she liked the "defect" bag better and I gave her some freebies.

It's not uncommon for me to call customers while I am actually sewing their items. Just to check in, make sure things are right, and make sure they don't want anything else before it is finished.

[Dscvrlifewith3]

>I emailed you yeseterday and also saw that someone posted the
>same question - can you tell us the name of your company? Do
>you have a website so we could see your bags? I know there
>can't be advertising here, but I know that a few of us would
>like to know.
>
>Thanks!

I am sorry, I didnt get any emails that I know of.


I am sorry but I have not gotten any emails from this forum that I am aware of. Does this forum work like a private message box? OOPS. I am so sorry.

I don't know if I can tell the name of my company on here. I do have a website and I have an eBay store as well. All the bags are sold out of it however. LOL

Let me go see if I can pull up my profile and see if I have it set to recieve mail.

[Dscvrlifewith3]

Mattysmom,

I emailed you. I am not sure why I have not received any emails unless they are being filtered. Also my profile said I was a guy! I am definitely not a man. LOL

[jasabo]

I just emailed you too - I'd love to check out your bags, and would like to know your website address.

I think the profile's default is set for male and that you have to change it to female, though I could be wrong.

Lisa - mom to 9 month old twin boys

[etwahl]

lisa, maybe you could share the information with the group since there's nothing against doing that!

Tammy,
Mom to Lauren Genevieve
03/12/2003
www.evantammy.com

[Dscvrlifewith3]

Ok, I am getting no emails! I am very frustrated. If you like you can email me at [email protected]. I hope I can post my email address. LOL

Kim

[jasabo]

I just emailed Kim and will post the info when she gets back to me.
Lisa

[jasabo]

Hope no one minds me doing this - in response to some requests, I'm pasting Kim's email to me below:


I own Whimsical Wears. My website is whimsicalwears.com however it is being updated because it is sooo dated. I have 8 new bag designs and about 20 additional products. My eBay ID is whimsical_wears_boutique. I only have one bag listed right now because I have sold pretty much everything and have met my quota for eBay this month. You can see other things I have listed by putting my eBay name in the search and checking that you want to see what I have sold in the past month. Also there are some current designs listed on my about ME page.


Lisa - mom to 9 month old twin boys

[twoboyz]

I love your bag ! I was browsing for new bags when I came across this website. I have a stroller collection going on and now I think I'll start a bag one too! I would like to order a bag similar to yours and I was wondering if that is the dark or light denim on the bottom of your bag and what fabric is on the inside? ALso, has anyone done the express delivery. THis would be a gift and I'd like to have it soon. Thanks,

Katie

mom to Ryan (6), Jack (2) and Megan (6 weeks)

[pritchettzoo]

My bag has medium denimn on the bottom with a khaki band and khaki (vinyl coated) inside. The last email I got from Ella said that turnaround time was 4 weeks. I don't know anything about the express option.

HTH!

Anna
Mama to Gracie (9/16/03)

[jasabo]

I did express delivery. I paid $10 extra, and received my bag in a week, which I thought was very reasonable, especially considering it was take 3-4 weeks for delivery without express.

HTH

Lisa - mom to 9 month old twin boys

[ellabags]

I just had to join your group today to see how everyone was doing.
I'm so sorry that you were so disappointed with your bag.
I assure you that you're not being too picky.
We have several seamstresses that sew all of our products and we've have many many bags that ship everyday, that at times not all bags are personally inspected by myself or my partner.

We have shipped 100's of bags this month alone and it's not surprising that a few need a little care. We do have several employees that sew are products as well as ourselves.

The one thing everyone has to remember, and this goes for all handmade products, it isn't always going to look as though it was made by a machine in a factory. Even some of the best handbag manufactures in the world make mistakes. We always offer to fix our products or give a refund for the purchase price.

It has been mentioned on this board that we are a small company that happened to "market well". Our products are sold all over the United States by many boutiques (not all are listed on our website), other e-tailers and we have recently opened our own store front. We don't market our products outside of our newsletter and eBay was just our boost. We don't have to market our products, they sell themselves. We have 1000's of loyal customers and I hope that the Baby Bargains members will all come back to us.

The quality of our products have been compared to V.Bradley many many times. I doubt you'll find so many options and fabrics with anyone else so I hope that you'll all keep an eye on our products.

I wish you ALL the best of luck with future co-op's with other companies similar to ours.

Good Luck Ladies.
I'll be making an announcement soon about our new "NOVA CHECK" fabric.

[jec2]

Is there still another Ella co-op on the horizon?

[ellabags]

We are still trying to get caught up and we are opening our new store.
If everything goes well, we will do one this summer. There is no date as of yet.

Keep checking with us.