Over the last few years this bag has almost become a classic but with all classic bags comes the terrible cost that is : THE WAIT LIST. Looks like money can't buy everything after all...
On top of my dislike for the whole process I have my own issues with the brand itself. I will discuss the topic in a future article.
But for now let's talk about how I was able to save the wait list trouble, got my bag from start to finish within a month and paid 10% of the authentic retail price.
First let's talk about the communication with the seller. I have to admit I read enough about the topic to know to not expect the warmest customer service. However I really don't understand why I constantly have to feel like I need them more than they need me. I mean we're both doing each other a favor after all. I often felt like whether I was ordering or not from her didn't matter. Maybe she's very popular and really doesn't need a new customer. My biggest worries came from the fact that I felt like I couldn't freely inquire about items. I'm not here to put Nancy on blast though, I had the same experience with other sellers when I asked about the Pochette Métis so I guess it's standard procedure.
However I did get the answers I needed and therefore I decided to order from Nancy. Why?
Well Nancy is not be the chat-iest but she does get the job done. I do not say that to say that it makes up for the lack of explanation when a new customer comes to her but more as reassurance to you that if you plan of purchasing from her you will get your item. You will get what you pay for.
My favorite thing about Nancy is her yupoo album. It is well organized and prices are listed so you don't have to ask her about 20 different items that you may or may not buy. The pictures in the album are in fact Factory photos so if you know how to recognize them that's always a plus. I, on the other hand, still don't understand how it works...
Nancy listed the Pochette Métis for 155 usd with a 10% discount if you use Western Union as a payment method. Something you should know is that if you pay using your cellphone or even at the counter at the grocery store you will pay between 14 and 15 dollars of transaction fees. Using Western Union with Nancy brings the price of the bag down to 139.5 usd. With the fee you are back up at 154.5 usd which evens things out.
For more infos about the shipping, shipping timeline, and how I carry the bag, here's the link to my Youtube unboxing video :
Review
Price : 10/10
I like the general rule of thumb that a replica should cost a tenth of the price of the authentic version. The price of the authentic in France is 1390€ so about 1557 usd. The price of the authentic in the US is 1830 usd (+ taxes). For me I really prefer if the price of replica stays under un french price converted in usd. Now I'm willing to pay up to the US price with taxes if I find the bag to be worth the expense. As a first replica purchase I was a bit worried to invest my money into the unknown. But 154.5 usd being under the tenth of the french price in usd I was confident I wasn't over spending. I have seen prices for replica of the pochette Métis go up to 400$. At that point, personally, it isn't worth it for me anymore.
But the true test is here my mom. As a side note she has always loved Louis Vuitton. Her dream bag is the speedy. When I told her how much I payed for this replica and how much the authentic retails for she said to me : "Can you imagine if you had paid the FULL price?!" It looks like for my mom the bargain was worth not getting the authentic one. She didn't say "As long as you're not upset to not have the real deal" or "it's a good fake so why not". No she talked about it like if Louis Vuitton gave me the biggest coupon of all times. Almost like when you wait until Black Friday to get that gorgeous pair of shoes you've been eying for months but for half the price and as soon as you come home you think to your self "I'm so glad I waited for this day and didn't buy it 6 months ago".
Quality : 10/10
As you can see in my unboxing video I am highly impressed of the quality of this bag. Everything from the canvas to the metal parts is of high quality. The bag is sturdy and well sewed. Wearing the bag for a long period of time will tell what the real quality is but seeing how often Louis Vuitton has a call back for this particular bag, I think my non-authentic will be just fine.
Accuracy : 9/10
For me the bag looks as good as real. One piece of the bag caught my attention : the handle. Although you can wrap it in a Twilly or a scarf, I find the lack of effort from the factory to replicate the handle to be quite surprising. Two "details" (depending who you'll ask) can reveal the real secret of the bag: the stamping at the top and the red glazing.
I will start with the stamping. Even if it isn't a "bad" stamping it is just not the same as the authentic as you can see on the pictures bellow.
When it comes to the second part of the handle that might give away the authenticity of the bag I'm not sure how to even asses how the authentic is supposed to look like. I am talking about the red glazing. The dark glazing on the canvas looks perfect to me however the red one seems a bit messy. It is very hard to find very detailed pictures of Louis Vuitton bags and it seems impossible to find close up pictures of the red glazing. Now I will not comment on the accuracy of the Vachetta because we don't know how the authentic on this picture has been treated over time by the owner of the bag. Maybe the person used diverse products to protect the leather and make it shiny. We simply don't have enough information on the authentic bag.
Satisfaction : 10/10
Someone's satisfaction is very personal and subjective. One person can care about specific details and then be disappointed if the bag doesn't match their expectations. Besides the few details mentioned above, the bag looks like the real deal. Unless you're a sales associate or an expert in authentic and replica bag and you see the bag up close I don't think you would be able to tell whether or not this bag is real. If I saw someone holding this bag in person I wouldn't be able to question the authenticity.
Usually people rate the communication and service together but a seller can indeed have poor communication skills but provide the best service and vice versa.
Seller Communication : 4/10
When it comes to the way I will rate my communication with the seller I won't start from a 10/10 and take down points. On the contrary, I will let the seller work their way to the 10/10. For Nancy I find that I couldn't freely ask questions. But she does speak english and I could always understand what she meant. She overall gave me the information I needed and even used an emoji once when I told I was gonna make the payment the next day. Yes it's a friendly touch I'm allowed to appreciate.
Now I wouldn't rely so much on this rating. Does it matter how chatty Nancy is? I mean it's always a plus but we don't know why they do what they do. Maybe they don't wanna get lost in translation, maybe they deal with too many customers, maybe they're worried that given the legality of their business talking to much to people they don't know can be risky, maybe they don't like our chatty asses. Who knows?
Seller Service : 9/10
The service however needs to be on point. I do appreciate when a seller goes above and beyond with the service and I can say Nancy was very close to that. I wish had provided more detailed pictures when I asked about the handle but besides that I'm absolutely happy about how fast she shipped my order and with her answers once I decided to place my order.
Nancy's points of contact
Whatsapp : +86 185 6606 4199
If you want to see my unboxing, my first impressions as well as up close pictures, feel free to watch my video :
Regards, I have been trying to buy this one replica from her, but I think she changed her phone and her Instagram acoount there is another Nancy selling and its not her, please help me here, my email address is laxmickey@gmail.com ; Thanks