Online "designer" handbag retailer experience

What the hell is a "sanitized invoice"?!

Last Christmas I had posted about taking a risk in ordering a Marc
Jacobs handbag from a somewhat sketchy–looking etailer. I had a few
doubts about it, but I really wanted the bag and the language on the
web site seemed to promise authenticity, so I placed the order. I
waited for a while to follow up on how that went because I wanted to
make sure everything was settled.
Well, the bag arrived very quickly via FedEx. But immediately upon
seeing the box, I knew something was wrong. It was packed into a
large FedEx Express box which was only about 3 inches thick, and I
knew that a real bag in the style I had ordered could never have been
squashed into that without severe wrinkling.
Luckily, in the intervening time between order and delivery, the super
fabulous handbag lady at Nordstrom had miraculously managed to track
down the last remaining bag in that style in the country at 40% off,
so I was able to easily compare the two bags side by side.
The bag looked nice enough on its own, but was entirely the wrong
shade of red. The leather was thin, and anyone who has handled a
classic Marc Jacobs bag knows that the leather in them is thick and
very heavy. In addition, the suede lining was darker than anything
I'd ever seen in a genuine one. It could have been a very nice bag,
but it was not the real thing and not worth the $500 or so they were
asking for it.
I sent e–mail to their customer service, which took about 3 days to
respond. They never seem to answer their phone calls, so you always
have to leave a message. They had the audacity to continue claiming
that the bag was fully authentic. But in the end, they did give me a
return authorization number and accepted the return without charging
me the 15% restocking fee they usually charge for returns. I looked
at my credit card account online and saw the charge come up as
"pending" but it later just disappeared.
So, I guess that was a lesson learned. I was out my return shipping
fee (the shipping to me had been free) but nothing else, but it could
have gotten much uglier. I don't think I will ever order a bag like
this from a non–authorized dealer again. They seem so commonplace on
eBay and the web and the language they use sometimes seems so
unequivocal. But sometimes they are not just misleading but outright
lying about the authenticity of their bags.
For example, check out this language from the web site that I ordered
from:
"Due to our incredibly low prices, our new, first time customers may
feel a little skeptical regarding the quality and authenticity of our
products. However, our customers need to rest assured that when
shopping with us, they will be receiving without a doubt, brand new,
first quality, and authentic merchandise. We promise to stand behind,
and guarantee that. When you purchase anything from our site, you can
have the peace of mind of knowing that your item is brand new, 100%
authentic, and is accompanied by all certificate of authenticity
labels, cards, dust bag and/or box. We deal with only the best and
most reputable distributors in the industry, and we therefore can
provide sanitized invoices upon request. We furthermore offer a full
money back guarantee on authenticity. It is imperative that our
customers are aware that we absolutely do not offer, nor will ever
offer any compared, inspired, replica, or otherwise counterfeit
merchandise on our site, so please do not inquire or request us to do
so. Our company prides itself on building credible, and long term
relationships with its clients and customers."
Oh, and the website? It was elementofstyle.com – but don't order from
them expecting the real thing or you will likely be disappointed.
Alice