cheaptotes.com disappointment

[lyrebard]

Hi everyone.

 

I know some of you have been looking at the cheaptotes.com "teacher tote" bags, but never heard whether anyone actually bought or received them. I finally took the plunge and bought 30 of them in the "light blue."

 

The good: they seem relatively sturdy, and mostly as *described*

 

HOWEVER...

 

The bad: They are not as *pictured*. The cheaptotes.com site uses this image:

 

 

You can tell by looking at the pic that the cotton is quite thick (especially the straps), and the shape of the bags is slightly wider at the top for easy access. I even did quite a bit of searching that referenced that picture, to see what other sites were charging for what appeared to be the same bag. turns out, they were charging more because it IS a different bag.

 

This is what came in the mail a few days ago:

 

 

Not only is the color off (forgivable, given different computer monitors, camera lenses, etc.), but the shape is wrong (it's MUCH taller than pictured), the straps are different (shorter and thinner), and it looks as if they just added colored straps to their regular "canvas" tote but with colored straps...what I was trying NOT to buy in the first place.

 

I'm going to call customer service on Monday to ask for a full refund upon return (their site claims they charge a 25% restocking fee), but a) wanted to let anyone who was thinking about this particular bag know what to expect, and to report on their customer service upon reaching them.

 

Do you think I'm overreacting? They just feel so much cheaper than I was hoping for. Got what I paid for, I guess!

 

(Of course, if someone does like the way they look, I'd be happy to re-sell them! )

[azhuskergirl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MoWife They definitely don't look like the same bags. I think you are right for calling customer service.

I agree. They're not bad looking, but they are not what was pictured.

[jamisoncollette]

If they get lippy, you can remind them that this is a digital age and there are many arenas for customer reviews

[MsShelley]

I would definitely call the company, they aren't even close to the pictures

[lyrebard]

Phew...okay. I was starting to wonder if I was heading toward crazy-ville (a.k.a. bridezilla). Thanks for the confirmation, everyone!

[Christine]

I think that the picture is not what you wanted, however that is a teacher tote, same size on the bottom and top and pretty cheap. I have a million of them from conferences and they are perfect to fit papers in. I would call the company because their picture on the website is a little off.

[h&a]

I agree that you should call the company - their picture is way off compared to what you received. Thanks for letting us know... I bought the teal cheaptotes and I'm happy with them, but started thinking that I wanted instead the teacher tote bag and was thinking of ordering those... thanks for the info. Good luck with customer service. Let us know what happens.

[Saraha]

What a bummer!!! Sorry to hear that and thanks for giving us all a heads up.

[Yari]

That stinks! Definitely return them.

[Sharonie]

That's a bummer, I just ordered a few of those couple days ago. I'm gonna have to call and see if they can cancel the order before shipping out.