Scenario:
Let’s use the example of a traditional retail store experience. You want to buy something from Zara but there isn’t a Zara store near you. So you hire someone (like a personal shopper) who can go to Zara and get the item you want for you, but you have to pay them a fee to retrieve it.
TLDR: A trusted seller is your personal shopper, the factories are Zara. You can’t expect the personal shopper to change the quality of a shirt Zara is selling or to know if the shirt has your favorite kind of button. But you can ask them to buy a better shirt from Sandro for you!
You want to buy something from (Factory) but there isn’t a (Factory) near you. So you hire someone (like a Trusted Seller) who can go to (Factory) and get the item you want for you, but you have to pay them a (commission) to retrieve it.
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Why are factories important?
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There is a lot of talk about factories in this subreddit, like 187 / GF / OF for Chanel or Grey Couch / Marble for Celine. You should view the factory as the ‘traditional retail store’ / Zara in this scenario.
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Many factories make the same products, but every factory has different standards & different raw materials. The factories select the leathers, the factories do the stitching, stamping & hardware outfitting, the factories decide what details to include.
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Example: Maje and Urban Outfitters both carry black ankle boots, but they are different because of materials used, details included, etc.
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How can I tell factories apart?
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Usually a factory will have a standard (maybe more than one) background for their stock photos. So if two bags have the same background photo (like a beige couch), most likely they come from the same factory.
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It’s mainly just experience. Please also note that any “factory names” like 187, God Factory, Marble Factory, Grey Couch Factory are all just fake names that RL members have made up. If you ask a seller for a 187 Factory bag, they probably have no idea what you’re talking about, because the 187 Factory is not named “187” in real life / in China. Send the exact factory photo instead.
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How can I tell which factory is better?
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Read reviews! RL has a huge treasure trove of information just waiting for you! Community members have kindly spent much time giving their opinions on how the bags are in real life, and lucky you, it’s all free for you to read & use for your own benefit!
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Do your own QC assessment! Compare different factory stock photos to the real deal. Is the logo font wrong? Does the texture of the leather look off? Is there an extra hole in the strap? Is the inside missing a pocket?
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Why is my question about “which factory makes the best (blank)” being downvoted?
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Because there is so much information out there & because many community members spend so much of their own time doing their own QC & then releasing it into the world through RL posts, these kind of questions can come off as ignoring all the hard work & resources the subreddit offers.
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I understand that RL and Reddit in general is very daunting, and it can be hard to parse through all of it. But you are spending your hard-earned money! You should know what you’re getting yourself into, and make sure you are 100% happy with the bag you will get.
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No one wants to give their personal opinion & say “this is the best factory”. Everyone has their own idea of what flaws bother them most. Everyone has their own personal price bracket. No one wants to be held accountable if you get something on their recommendation & you think the bag is a waste of money! Everyone has different standards.
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Why are sellers important?
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With the exception of sellers who source from one factory or do custom orders (like Symode, Angel, Peltiano, Miss Chen & friends), you should view your seller as a middleman / your personal shopper who helps you get what you want. You ask them to find you something (or they find something & post on their WeChat moments), they source that item & hopefully, sell it to you!
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Why do people say some sellers have better quality than others?
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Like if you were to hire a personal shopper, every shopper would be different. Let’s say you’re trying to find a pair of black boots.
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Example: One shopper gets you the perfect pair of boots, but the boots they found you are $500 & you don’t have the budget for that. Maybe another shopper finds you a pair of $50 boots that are way off, but hey, they’re $50. And even another finds you a pair of $150 boots that are close to what you wanted, and in your budget. Do you see what I’m getting at?
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Different sellers have access to different factories. The sellers have to make contacts with factories in order to buy stock, and not everyone knows about the same factories. Because factories have control over their products, as we discussed before, sellers offer varying levels of accuracy / quality depending on their source / factory contacts.
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A high price does not necessarily mean a better quality or a more accurate replica or better service.
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If many sellers can source from the same factory, then does it matter which seller I go for?
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Yes and no.
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Yes, it matters: Because your seller is finding you something you want, you need to pay them for their service. They add commission into the price they give you. How much they choose to charge is up to them.
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Now you need to decide, what is the service like between all the sellers who offer the same thing? Do they have seizure policies? If you are unhappy with the bag PSPs, do you care how accommodating they are? Do you care about service? Do you care if they offer PayPal or not?
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What is the price they’re offering? Do you care about getting the cheapest price available? Would you pay more if someone else could offer you better service? What is most important to you?
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No, it does not matter: All sellers will receive the same item quality if buying from the same factory.
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If a seller has good reviews for a bag (e.g. Alex or Bela for Nano Luggages), can I assume their other products are good as well?
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No, you should not assume everything will be good across the board. Like I mentioned, the seller does not control the quality or accuracy of the items they sell.
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Yes, they pick what they sell using their own criteria. The sellers can do their own QC work too & have their own standards; they all have their own definitions of “best” quality.
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You should still do your own QC assessment. The sellers are stocking tons of brands, tons of bags. They do not know if your Chanel stamp font is wrong. You need to protect yourself by educating yourself on what is accurate. They are not trying to trick you, they just don’t have time to be checking every bag on Fashionphile / TPF / designer site to make sure they’re perfect.
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As an example, I buy a lot from Alex, I trust his opinion, & I trust him to provide me excellent service. After receiving a stellar Nano Luggage from a well-known factory, I inquired about the Celine Strap wallets. He sent me pictures of a factory he sources from & I thought the font stamp on the front was very off. He wasn’t trying to sell me bad product and just because one of his items was great doesn’t mean all of them will be.
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Okay, so just tell me, how do I get the best rep?
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Decide on your standards. How close to perfection does this bag need to be? Am I willing to pay $$$ if it means every detail will be perfect? Am I willing to sacrifice quality for a lower price? Do I care about great service? What does ‘best’ mean to me?
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Know that perfection does not exist, and that a higher price does not always mean a better product.
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Read reviews & do your own QC / research to get a sense of which factories fit your criteria best.
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Read reviews & talk to different sellers to get a sense of which sellers fit your criteria best.
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Buy your dream bag!
Please also note, just like how a personal shopper can’t change the quality of Topshop’s jeans, a trusted seller cannot change the quality of whatever the factory gives them. You can only expect from the factory & the seller whatever you see in the factory photos; if there are wrong details then you should assume they will remain that way. Please also refer to u/dogmomlife‘s great comment & example below in regards to this!
Putting in the time to educate yourself about every step of the rep chain will give you the absolute best experience. I promise!
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This all seems like a lot of work. What if I just want to buy a damn bag?
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No worries, I get that not everyone has the time to do all of this. But if you’re not going to put in the work to ensure for yourself that you’re getting exactly what you want, then you also have to take responsibility for any disappointment in the end.
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