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House
621
Jun 7, 2015
Made in India.,..but authentically from UK, oxymoron of the day, gentlemen.
IanAnderson
2590
Jun 7, 2015
HouseYep, I tried to make sure it was clear so there was no confusion - made in India out of leather from a name-brand tannery in the UK. If the bag was also assembled there it would cost a lot more! British Belt Co makes most of their small leather goods in the UK but most bags abroad to keep costs down.
I find it interesting that so many products - on this site and in general - are made in Asia, but most go without comment. However, whenever I post a bag made there I get hit with a lot of negativity. Is there something that makes the origin of a bag more important than that of a computer, speaker, shirt, knife, or anything else? I try to source products made in the USA when I can, but I also want to offer products at a variety of prices.
On that note, I should mention that I'm currently sourcing some bags that are made in the USA and the UK, but be warned that the prices will be notably higher.
House
621
Jun 7, 2015
IanAndersonWell, that was more me being House than direct negativity.
Nowadays, almost 95% of consumer goods are made in Asia, laptops, bags, shoes, clothes, pretty much anything you can name. For more than half the price and if this is actually high grade veg tanned leather, it's definitely a good drop. Personally, I've just bought a more expensive bag so I most probably won't be rubbing the bank (again) for this one. It would be comforting to see a written review on the bag somewhere on the net, I did a quick Google in Carryology, and it didn't come up.
I think the location of make matters depending how people perceive the value of novelty. For example, you've instilled a lot of history in the tannery and the company and that will get offset when people find out its made in India, just common perception and does not necessarily mean it's not a quality product. In this case though, the price somewhat offsets that aforementioned negativity, if you are a fan of the design.
Personally, I don't find it too aspiring.
KAPS1M0
378
Jun 7, 2015
HouseOxymoron? Nah...
As far as I am concerned, both countries are members of the Commonwealth. And in both countries English is an official language, Indian cuisine is highly popular and the people drink tea and play cricket.
House
621
Jun 7, 2015
KAPS1M0I'm using culture as the basis. There's way too many people that speak English in this world, but that doesn't undermine it as a phenomenal language. Who knows, perhaps I'm biased.
EWP1
33
Jun 8, 2015
IanAndersonIf a product is made with slave-labor wages in china/india, and the quality is most likely lower than if it was made in a developed nation (although it is possible, although very difficult, to say get something made well in china), then the price should be a lot lower accordingly. You can buy leather bags made in india from people (far horizon trading, i think?) for far less than this, although their leather is also sourced from india.
This bag for example, would have an MSPR of maybe $200-250 considering it is made in india, and even that would be on the high side. So you guys saying the MSRP is $660 is obviously just a scam to try and make people think they are getting a killer deal.
IanAnderson
2590
Jun 8, 2015
EWP1Again, be careful about making overgeneralizations about what the quality and price are/should be. Price is dictated by more than just country of origin. For instance, I have a belt made a similar bridle leather that retails for about $150. Also, this is definitely not a scam to over-inflate the price - you can buy the bag at full retail on the manufacturer's website: http://www.thebritishbeltcompany.com/collections/satchels/products/burford-hazel-tan-satchel
As a general statement, I'm a big fan of made in USA products, but I do think that the idea is often over-romanticized. I think many people imagine American manufacturing to be a couple of skilled artisans building a product one by one in a sunlit workshop; although that certainly exists, most large-scale American production looks nothing like that. I've visited some American factories over the years and they look very different than most people would expect. For instance, there's a factory near my apartment that makes selvage denim for some of the biggest brands out there; it's basically a huge room filled with hundreds of Asian immigrants that make jeans all day. They make great stuff there, but it's not the romantic idea of "made in the States" that most people like to imagine.
EWP1
33
Jun 9, 2015
IanAndersonGood points, but the fact that is is much CHEAPER to make things over seas cannot be argued, and it seems that the price point on this is too high considering how cheaply it would cost to make over seas. Of course the cost of quality leather and hardware makes a difference. I've never seen the bags in person so I guess I can't comment to their quality.
Are the shoulder straps riveted onto the sides of the bag? There are no pictures here of the sides.
EDIT - from the website it looks like NO rivets on the sides where the shoulder strap attaches. This is a very bad sign for the quality of this bag and they will likely rip off after a couple of years if you load your bag up heavy for work/travel like I do.