Louis Vuitton Speedy 35 Review

A while back I said that I was thinking about getting the LV Damier Speedy 35 bag in the Ebene colour. I ended up buying it for my birthday in April and have just sold it on eBay. As it is such an expensive purchase I thought I would review it for anybody thinking of buying one.

Customer service:

Purchasing:

Going into a Louis Vuitton shop always makes me feel a little unworthy, everyone else in there seems to know exactly what they are doing but I go in there and feel so out of place :/ So if you're like me, don't fret - you're not alone.

Anyway, buying a bag from there is fine, usually the sales assistant is helpful but that really depends on the shop you go to. I have heard that LV sales assistants are known to be quite mean in some stores. I bought mine from the shop on Bond Street and the SA in there was nice enough.

Returning:

As far as I have heard Louis Vuitton has a very bad reputation for returning and exchanging items. All you have to do is a Google search and sites with lots of complaints about their bad service will come up.

After using my bag for two days and looking after it extremely well I noticed some damage to the leather piping, this was pretty disappointing for a bag of £455 so I took it back. I was seen by the same SA who I had bought the bag from two days before, she said that there was nothing that could be done because I must have damaged it myself - I hadn't even put the bag on the floor once. The receipt says you can return for any reason within 7 days of purchase but neither she nor her manager was having any of it.

I wasn't giving up that easily, so I tried another store in central London and told the SA there the same story. He took it straight away and said that it would be sent to Paris to "evaluate the damage". After about a week I got a call from the shop and they said that a new one was ready for me to pick up.

Be really careful when you purchase an LV bag because the level of service you get will be down to the SA that serves you. So many people have said this in Internet reviews and my story illustrates that.

Bag:
Below is the exact colour and size that I got:


Source

The bag is basically just one big space; there is a small, relatively useless pouch inside but apart from that it is quite difficult to organise or find anything in the Speedy especially the 35, which is the largest available in the Damier range and just fits A4.

Make sure that that if you do buy one you are completely sure of the size of the bag that you want because you'll find it neigh impossible to return after about a week. Looking back, I would have bought the 30 so that it looks a bit little less bulky and doesn't fit as much, so won't weigh as much. Just so you know, the numbers stand for the width of the bag in centimetres.  

If you want the Speedy because it is a classic LV look then go for it, if you want it for it's functionality and individual style, I would say you can get a much nicer bag for the same price or less.

Value for money:

These bags go up in price every year. I bought mine for £455 in April and it has now gone up to £465. I recently sold it on eBay for £405 which I think is pretty good. Some people say that the bag is not worth it because it is not made of leather, however these bags are always desirable and you would not find it difficult to sell after 2 or 3 years of usage, or even more.

I think that the Damier Ebene Speedy is better value for money, one because it looks nicer and two, because it doesn't get dirty and the leather handles don't darken over time like the Monogram bag does.

Overall, I wouldn't recommend this bag if you want something practical or something that is not widely replicated. In my opinion, the only good thing about the speedy is that it is a classic style that looks good and you can also get a good chunk of your money back if you decided to sell the bag.