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Renaissance-Art, What A Shame


clear1

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Wonderful promotion, nice leather, messy finish, and horrible customer service.



This is my experience with Renaissance-Art's Universal Tablet Bag.


( www.renaissance-art.com )



1. Wonderful Promotion.



One of my friend introduced this shop to me.



This shop offered a leather journal cover FOR FREE! I only paid the postage.



It was a great product. The leather was superb, and the finish was impeccable.



I've always carried it with me. I just love it.




Arthur, the owner of the shop, sends out emails time to time to his customer.



He talks about life, journal, and many more things. I liked it.



A master craftsman with a insight in 21st century. How can I not like him.




One day, he offered $81 discount on the bag by email. The regular price was $350.



I couldn't miss it. I paid $304, including the shipping fee($35).



After about 10 days, the bag arrived to me across the ocean.



It was fast. I was overjoyed. For the moment.




2. Nice Leather



They offer this wonderful video on the Youtube.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t20KdLIbQ9A



What a great-looking bag. I chose the Flight-Jacket leather because it was lighter.



However, the actual bag's leather does not look so dark and shiny as on the video.



I was little bit disappointed, but it was not a big deal.



Still, it was a nice leather. It will age with time, and become more personal.




3. Messy Finish



When I tried to put things, I knew something went wrong.



1) the Size.



The bag was smaller that it was supposed to be.



Arthur said it's 9.5 inches X 12 inches approximately.



This bag is only about 8.5 inches X 11 1/2 inches.



fpn_1446649416__p20151016_125940069_8002



fpn_1446649402__p20151016_130614646_5f75



I can live with half-inch short height, but one-inch loss on the width is deadly.



I cannot put my A4-sized papers and notebooks in it, which I use mostly.



Also, I cannot put my ipad3 with a slim cover in it.



I can only put it without any cover, and that's pretty tight fit.



It is a TABLET BAG!! Oh my..



2) the glue



He used some kind of glue-like thing to bond the leathers.



It was not dried well, or something went wrong.



I could see it on almost every joints. It was still sticky.



On some parts, the leather sheets were not bonded well enough.



fpn_1446649383__p20151016_130749115_3bf3



fpn_1446649361__p20151016_130810761_f57e



fpn_1446649334__p20151016_130832657_2db0



fpn_1446649318__p20151016_130855378_ea20



fpn_1446649293__p20151016_130925698_fc26



fpn_1446649279__p20151016_131014706_1e83



fpn_1446649241__p20151016_131900780_3c94




fpn_1446649226__p20151016_131908338_4b7a



What a shame. I was so embarrassed to see this.



This bag was supposed to be made by a master artisan by hand.



At least that was what the shop says on the homepage.




Well, I calmed myself.



Arthur is just a human being, and we all make mistakes.



'It can happen. He will fix it, as he says on the homepage.'



That was my thought.




4. HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE



On Friday, I sent an email to him about this, with several pictures.



He responded immediately, saying he will look thru this and contact me on Monday.



I was satisfied with his quick response. So I waited. And waited. Waited more.



There was no response fro Arthur.



I've sent more emails and asked him about this. No answer.



I asked again why he does not respond to me. No answer.



I can see he read my email, thanks to 'Streak' on Gmail.



He just decided not to respond to me, without any explanation.



WOW. I didn't expect this.




He was known for the good communication with the customers.



I still do not understand why Arthur, the owner of the shop, decided not to answer to my email.



He is known for the kind and passionate artisan, I thought.




I bought this bag because I needed one to carry.



After 20 days of un-answered waiting, I decided to use the bag anyway.



I had no choice.



I had to change my lifestyle for that.



Putting A5-sized notebooks, instead of A4-sized ones.



Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4 instead of the ipad 3.



Not to look at the glues on the bag.



I can live with that, but that's not what I expected when I paid over $300.



What a shame.


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Will you post comments on his You-Tube video for benefit of wider audience? It sounds like you've given him ample time to make things right.

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About 3 years ago I was looking for a leather cover for Field Notes notebooks. I discovered that Renaissance-Art produced one and offered engraving for an additional fee, so I decided to get one with my husband's name engraved. At the beginning I was pleasantly surprised as I placed the order on Thanksgiving and received a reply the same day. The item arrived quickly, but, sadly, without the engraving. Also, the fold on the inner back side of the cover was notably and oddly uneven. I wrote an email to the shop about the engraving; he answered quickly indicating that would send other one engraved and that I could keep the one I already had. Well, I never received the engraved one neither a reimbursement for the additional $10 for the engraving. I send a couple of e-mails later without further reply, so I just gave up. It wasn't much money but It was part of a gift that I couldn't give as intended and that made me a little sad at the moment. Of course, I had never bought anything else again from that shop.

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Sounds as if you have done all that you could do. I too am surprised with his lack of response. perhaps someone here on FPN will contact him more directly and there may be some "good" reason for the situation - his lack of responsiveness.

 

In today's "public" media electronic environment, good news travels quickly and often "less than good news" travels even more quickly.

“Don't put off till tomorrow what you can do today, because if you do it today and like it, you can do again tomorrow!”

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Oops, sorry, double post!!

Edited by brgmarketing

“Don't put off till tomorrow what you can do today, because if you do it today and like it, you can do again tomorrow!”

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Will you post comments on his You-Tube video for benefit of wider audience? It sounds like you've given him ample time to make things right.

 

That is a great idea. Thanks!!

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About 3 years ago I was looking for a leather cover for Field Notes notebooks. I discovered that Renaissance-Art produced one and offered engraving for an additional fee, so I decided to get one with my husband's name engraved. At the beginning I was pleasantly surprised as I placed the order on Thanksgiving and received a reply the same day. The item arrived quickly, but, sadly, without the engraving. Also, the fold on the inner back side of the cover was notably and oddly uneven. I wrote an email to the shop about the engraving; he answered quickly indicating that would send other one engraved and that I could keep the one I already had. Well, I never received the engraved one neither a reimbursement for the additional $10 for the engraving. I send a couple of e-mails later without further reply, so I just gave up. It wasn't much money but It was part of a gift that I couldn't give as intended and that made me a little sad at the moment. Of course, I had never bought anything else again from that shop.

 

So sorry to hear it.

 

Most of the reviews on that shop seem quite in favor of it. I was fooled by that. Now I see this kind of thing has happened to many people.

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Sounds as if you have done all that you could do. I too am surprised with his lack of response. perhaps someone here on FPN will contact him more directly and there may be some "good" reason for the situation - his lack of responsiveness.

 

In today's "public" media electronic environment, good news travels quickly and often "less than good news" travels even more quickly.

 

I hope so.

 

Today, Arthur sent out an advertising email something about connection between people or something.

 

It made me laugh.

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Is it too soon to believe that the "free leather journal" thing might be a scam to gain people's confidence and sell subpar overpriced products to them? They say nothing is free in this world...

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Is it too soon to believe that the "free leather journal" thing might be a scam to gain people's confidence and sell subpar overpriced products to them? They say nothing is free in this world...

 

I hope not.

 

He has been in this market for quite a few years. I've seen some people who enjoy his products.

 

He can be mostly good seller, but in some cases with problems he has to solve, he might be just looking away.

 

On the Renaissance-art's facebook page, there are some angry customers who left post on the problems they encountered.

 

They say Arthur is not responding altogether, just like in my case.

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...And he GUARANTEES like this:

 

http://www.renaissance-art.com/Content.aspx?ID=182&L=1

 

"You can return anything* you are not happy with for free and you will get all your money back, including shipping*, even if you personalize your order and... there is nobody we know of who will let you return something personalized."

 

If your item ever breaks, no matter what the reason, we will...

FIX it FOREVER for FREE

 

 

...How can I return or get it fixed, when he does not answer?

Edited by clear1
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I had a similar problem with seams and communication. He did repair ( replace ) the item that had faulty stitching.While Arthur is not good with communication I believe he is honorable and wants to do the right thing.

I suggest that you return the item for a refund or repair.

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I suggest that you return the item for a refund or repair.

 

Yes, that was my idea, too. That's why I sent email to Arthur to discuss how to solve it.

 

But how can I do that when he does not answer? :(

 

How did you get his response?

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...And he GUARANTEES like this:

 

http://www.renaissance-art.com/Content.aspx?ID=182&L=1

 

"You can return anything* you are not happy with for free and you will get all your money back, including shipping*, even if you personalize your order and... there is nobody we know of who will let you return something personalized."

 

If your item ever breaks, no matter what the reason, we will...

FIX it FOREVER for FREE

 

 

...How can I return or get it fixed, when he does not answer?

I bought one of the "free" $10 covers and it arrived with a broken bead. I contacted him and got little more than a terse apology. After that, I sent his occasional meanderings to spam.

"Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination."

Oscar Wilde

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I have obviously been very lucky to have received the small notebook & last week the "pouch" that was another special offer because both were just fine. I honestly have felt a bit guilty about only taking advantage of his "introductory offers but I cannot imagine how disappointing it must be to have spent in excess of $300.00 for a regular item, receive it & find a problem that is not addressed.

I am certainly sorry to hear about these issues & hope there can be a resolution to each situation. I agree a guarantee is worthless if not honored.

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I bought one of the "free" $10 covers and it arrived with a broken bead. I contacted him and got little more than a terse apology. After that, I sent his occasional meanderings to spam.

 

Ouch. So sorry to hear that.

 

Then again, at least you got an apology. After spending over $300, I only got "I will look thru it." :angry:

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I have obviously been very lucky to have received the small notebook & last week the "pouch" that was another special offer because both were just fine.

 

I think it's best for you to stop there and enjoy them.

 

I was so happy when I received the leather cover, and also felt a little bit guilty to just enjoy it.

 

Look where my conscience led me to. :(

Edited by clear1
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I wanted to buy their pen pouch, but had a couple of questions. After answering the first couple of them, I had further need for clarification. But nope, no answers even after repeated emails. So I refrained from giving my money to them.

 

Could have been a freak glitch, I guess, but the above-mentioned cases seem to indicate that my instinct was sadly right.

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Could have been a freak glitch, I guess, but the above-mentioned cases seem to indicate that my instinct was sadly right.

 

Good for you!

 

I needed to be more careful. I usually am, but something blocked my instinct. :unsure:

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Yes, that was my idea, too. That's why I sent email to Arthur to discuss how to solve it.

 

But how can I do that when he does not answer? :(

 

How did you get his response?

 

 

I would ship it back to his address and ask him to issue a credit. If he won't , is there protection or recourse from your credit card company?

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