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!