Unexpected damage on my first Chanel bag. What’s a reasonable solution?
I first saw this bag in France in 2022 and was obsessed, but couldn’t afford it. I promised myself I’d buy it if I still wanted it when I finished my residency program. I finally finished earlier this year and the only thing on my mind was this bag! Yay! Photo #1 to celebrate.
I ended up buying from a luxury resale store for AU$7500 ($5375 USD). It was described as 9.9/10 condition, so I was surprised when it showed up with a scratch. Please note that the scratch actually looks much darker and wider in person than it does in photo #2–I think the pearly finish highlights it.
I’m in the USA, so my first assumption was shipping damage. Upon further review of the listing though, I was able to verify that the damage was present. This has backfired on me, and the store is now saying it’s my fault for not evaluating the photo. Picture #3 is the only picture of the back of the bag from the store’s listing. The bag itself is like… 10% of the photo, so it’s a bit difficult to tell that there’s a noteworthy scratch on the bag imo, especially when you’re expecting 9.9/10 condition.
When I reached out to the store, they told me that technically since it’s visible in photos (if you know where to look and zoom in), they could only offer a AU$50 ($35 usd) goodwill credit. I said that was unreasonable, and the store has asked what I think is fair. The problem is, I’m not versed in Chanel pricing or bag care, so I don’t know. Is it worth keeping this bag with this damage, and if so, what discount should I ask for? Or is it better to ask for a return (might not be possible, they don’t generally allow returns)? Am I being unreasonable for saying this issue wasn’t adequately documented in the listing?
Tl;dr: unexpected damage on $5375 bag. Is it worth keeping this bag with this damage, and if so, what discount should I ask for? Or is it better to ask for a return?