This review is written with my limited knowledge of rep industry (1st year). Feedbacks on my review (format, photos, what to look at) is highly encouraged and appreciated 💕💕🙏🏻

This is my first rep purchase with overseas seller. I usually buy from my local seller which I believe has the same source

I have seen, feel the auth version at the boutique but for very limited amount of time. Some of the feel has been forgotten due to arrival of the package from require quite long time (held at customs).

Disclosure

  • Seller does not give me any incentive to post the review. I inform seller I will be posting a review of this bag.

Seller name & contact info Aaron ( +86 186 1733 0726)

Price

  • Item price: CNY 1680 with CNY 200 discount (general promotional)
  • Shipping fees: CNY 245 include brand box (reference: CNY 170 with no box)
  • PSP fees included
  • Total: CNY 1725 / USD 239.63
  • Payment method: Wise
  • Shipping carrier : EMS

Factory: Golden tile Factory

Timeline

  • 03/19: Messaged seller, agree on factory, terms of payment, shipping arrangements, return & refund policy
  • 03/19: Payment confirmed
  • 03/21: PSPs received, immediately GL
  • 03/25: Got tracking info
  • 04/16: Package arrival

PHOTOS:

  1. https://www.pursebop.com/the-chanel-bag-the-pursebop-girls-couldnt-leave-paris-without/
  2. https://madisonavenuecouture.com/products/chanel-mini-22-bag-iridescent-rose-gold-calfskin-rose-gold-hardware?variant=39966278975582

Note: DO NOT ENGAGE WITH TIKTOK OR INSTA SELLER. I use the video and pics as my research reference to manage my expectations about the rep bag. For this specific style, there are a lot of reps variety from different factory. Seeing a video definitely helps more than pics. I sent the videos to Aaron to help me find the right bag for me

Quality assessment :

Disclaimer: As this aspect is my weakness, I only based the rating from my limited experience of leather and luxury bags.

Pros:

  • Hardware is heavy, but I cant confirm if it is metal or plastic. But if it compared to my lower tier bag, the hardware is definitely heavier.
  • finishing on edges is spot on in my opinion. Nothing to worry.
  • Bag material is thick, I personally think it may have good durability. But it is also cause the leather stiffer.
  • I dont know if this style has machine stitched or hand stitched according to auth specs. There are several parts which have inconsistent stitching. I read that inconsistent stitching might indicate the bag is hand stitched. However, I feel like some part is inconsistent but some other part is really consistent, making it easy to notice that it is machine stitched. So as conclusion I think the bag is mixed, half machine stitched, half hand stitched. (The conclusion might be weird but it is what it is. Open for any feedback)

See from the pics:

  1. Diagonal stitch from left top to right bottom I believe is machine stitched since it is pretty consistent and fully straight.
  2. While diagonal stitch from right top to left bottom is looked like hand stitched since there is much more inconsistency

Cons:

  • Bag was claimed from calfskin by seller (seller album didnt state it though) but it is also stated as calfskin in the other seller’s album. I personally think this is not calfskin. The smell is like the leather smell of new Toyota car seat (I confirm with several people regarding the smell since I currently have flu). It is possible that the bag is from synthetic leather (Toyota car seat is from synthetic leather right? CMIIW lol). It has aged calfskin texture tho but not as aged as I usually seen on reissue 2.55. Im not sure how other CH 22 mini leather texture should be.
  • Also the leather is stiffer than I imagine, make it hard for CH22 mini to be closed in drawstring area. It is literally opened when I try to pull the drawstring.

But from what I gathered, some of SA confirmed CH22 mini rose gold made from bonded leather instead of real leather. Reference

Accuracy assessment compared to the FACTORY pic

  • Dimension: 23×18.5×6 cm (factory/album), 22.6×19.5×6.5 cm (mine). However, I didnt deduct the point because it is acceptable in my opinion
  • Shape, colors, hardware colors, leather texture, interior in my opinion are spot on. Factory pics definitely use filter on pics. That is why additional reference helps. Altho additional reference cant tell you which factory but I think it helps me communicate what I want to the seller. Usually seller also can help us find which factory the bag is from.
  • I see from the PSP stitching thread color is glaring, unlike the factory photos. We cant see it from factory photos since it is heavily using a filter. It closer to white from distance. However it is not a problem if you take a closer look. I give the GL because I know other batch will be the same (I have managed my expectation seeing from additional reference)

Accuracy assessment compared to the AUTH

  • Dimension: Auth is 20 x 19 x 6cm, it is a bit wider than auth but I am okay since more space for me 💕. Factory has declared this from the album, However it is not accurate dimensions.
  • Material Color: From factory photos you know the color is a bit muted. At certain angle and lightning I could see it is pretty spot on but in closer look, it is a bit muted. Although it is not calloutable unless you put them side by side in my opinion.
  • Material feel: As described on quality section, I dont feel this is real calfskin, does not pass sniff test, and quite stiff compared to what I felt on the boutique. Although the bag weight and material thickness is spot on in my opinion.
  • Stitching: Since the stitching has glaring color compared to auth. I think this is the tell tale sign. However it is not calloutable unless you put them side by side.
  • Interior color: The color of the interior is a bit different with auth. However, it is very SLIGHT different and located inside the bag. Auth interior color is more blended with rosegold color. This bag is slightly brighter.
  • Hardware color, microchips, interior design, engravings, logo stamps are spot on. To be honest I dont remember it should be made in italy or paris when I visitted boutique.
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Additional assesment:

  • brand box of this bag is the biggest tell tale sign in my opinion. It is calloutable, and for chanel, it is not easy to find a good box reference as it colored black, hard to see the thickness and texture if compared to LV brand box. I owned otg pm rep and the brand box is💯💯💯.

However I paid 75 CNY for brand box, pretty cheap so I dont expect much. I think for the LV box cost more than this Chanel brand box. Also, I dont mind. I do not intend anyone to see the box as it will be the place to store my bag.

Remaining discussion points:

Here I post several questions that I dont know the answer yet due to lack of knowledge. Since I dont know the answer of these points, I havent put this on my accuracy assessment. Let me know what you think!

  1. Am I dreaming but it seems the CHANEL logo is not using the right font? I missed on source about the font measurements of the right CHANEL logo. And do you also notice C is slightly smaller compared to HANEL? Or Am I overthinking? I think it is also noticeable in the PSP? I might missed this one
  2. Color of the chain looks like gold rather than rose gold. It is not as gold as the chanel plate or the chanel logo. Again, am I dreaming? Lol

Rep Satisfaction Buying a rep, I think having 8.5 accuracy is good enough with the price point. Do I wish having better accuracy bags? Depends on the price but this one is good enough. If I paid more, I might expect better accuracy. Also, I have managed my expectation and the accuracy is spot on with factory pictures. I get what I looked at on the album!

I really like the bag!

Seller satisfaction Aaron is fast, answers all my questions, and delivers my expectation. Despite some bait switching reviews about Aaron, I choose him because most sellers cant find the bag I expected, either no stock, wrong hardware color, or wrong interior color. Yet Aaron delivers and has a great price point. So to be fair, this is the fair rating for him/her based on my current experience.

Although there is a time when Aaron was not getting back to me regarding the shipping delays. But I solved it by contacting shipping courier so I dont really mind it.

Quick tip communicating with sellers:

  1. Manage your rep expectation with a lot of reference. Sent unfiltered videos def help the communication.
  2. And dont get fooled by filtered, edited pics from factory aLbum. Ask if they have previous psp from previous buyer (if no review available). Use photos of other buyer posted in this community too as additional material of your bag expectation. If you can reverse engineered the filtered media that would be much better. I wish I can
  3. Ask simple question, one by one. 2 lines question is too long for most sellers. Even harder if you send multiple questions. If seller does not answer your question, do not afraid to ask again!
  4. Set the agreement in the beginning, whether it’s about the shipping method, return policy, bag expectation (certain hardware color, branded box, certain interior etc) and be proactive. Dont expect seller knows what you want just because you have stated the factory name. I stated to Aaron if the interior or hardware color of the bag is different from videos I sent, I want another bag, if possible another factory. I summarize the agreement with Aaron (bullet points) Ask him to confirm the agreement before sending the payment.
  5. Start with good faith always. Be cautious and careful but does not mean you have to be negatives and overthinking small things. Remember law of attraction guys lol.😹😹

The Wrap Up

  1. Will I bring the bag out with my friends (or any other people) ? Yes of course! I am in love with the bag and as it is a rare seasonal color, I believe it is passable for 99% of people I might encountered. To me, thats the benefit of chosing seasonal colors, not everyone knows how it should look like. So it gives me peace of mind being calloutable
  2. Will I bring it to a boutique? Chanel boutique? No. Others? Definitely!
  3. Will I bring my bag group of people who is familiar with this brand? Yes, but I always straight forward mention that I owned a rep. If you afraid to be called out. Maybe you shouldn’t.

Additional info Several odd things happened in my purchase (not to be overthinking, but for me to learn):

  1. Factory photos in Aaron album is by Golden tile factory, but it is called Chanel NA factory on Amelia’s album. Literally same pics. Any ideas?
  2. My packaged declared as shirt instead of bag in EMS form. That might be the cause my package to be on Red Line instead of GL in the custom. But I dont know either if my assumption correct. Aaron told me it might be safer to declared that way. I assume from this point that Aaron might not be the person in-charge for shipping (the one deliver the pack age to logistic company). Just curious, did you guys experience the same thing?
  3. Although with different declaration, custom still release the package after physical examination (All RL item from xray will be examined by custom officer physically). Since I still receive my package at the end, I don’t intend to correct this with seller on the future purchase. Source