It turns out to be quite a disappointment in fact.
What to do? Do you keep it, sell it, send it back?
Which one was your biggest disappointment?
Please tell use in the comments below. I will share my list too!
12 April 2017
Tell us about...... 3
It turns out to be quite a disappointment in fact.
What to do? Do you keep it, sell it, send it back?
Which one was your biggest disappointment?
Please tell use in the comments below. I will share my list too!
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My disappointment list is made of three items:
ReplyDelete1) VDS Senior light brown (didn't like the leather at the touch);
2) Filofax Pocket Finchley in Imperial Purple (the colour is too dark and dull for my taste);
3) Filofax Standard Malden in Kingfisher blue (didn't like the colour, plus I prefer the old style Malden);
4) Filofax Compact and Pocket Classic Botanics (the leather was too dry and the organisers too stiff).
Apart from the Classic Botanics, that's old and discontinued, I'ld happily sell the rest, but I have never sold anything at all before, so I am scared at the thought of my item be lost somewhere by the mail carrier and then having to reimburse the buyer.
The day I will be able to overcome my fear, I'll post and ad for each and will let them go to someone that could appreciate them more than me.
Hi
DeleteThe protective coating on the light brown and purple Touch Me's isn't to everyones liking at all. The newer leathers are very different and have a very nice texture to them.
I have seen one of our community who has extensively used her light brown Touch Me so much so that the coating as worn through and the leather underneath is so much nicer than anything! But of course it's all about those initial impressions.
I've had a couple of major disappointments.
ReplyDeleteOne was my personal Ochre Malden. I first handled one of these back when they first came out (2010) when they were made from incredibly soft, buttery, floppy buffalo leather. Years later I bought one, and the leather was so dry and hard the binder wouldn't stay open. I don't mean flat, I mean at all: it would self close. I was so catastrophically disappointed I sold it to someone else. I wrote a post about it with photos here: http://www.plannerisms.com/2012/11/im-finally-member-of-malden-club.html
Back in 2012 when the Holborn binders first came out, I received a personal zip Holborn in wine to review. It was made of supersoft buffalo leather. My review of it is here: http://www.plannerisms.com/2012/02/holborn-zip-personal-size-filofax-in.html I still have that binder, it is gorgeous. But a couple of years ago I ordered an A5 Holborn in brown and was terribly disappointed with the leather, which was hard and plastic-y looking. Even my husband said it doesn't look like leather at all, but like cheap plastic. I still have it, but I only use it to store pages. I wish I could find an older A5 Holborn from back in the days when the leather was soft.
I totally agree with the quality of recent holborn leather. I bought one- black personal, another- brown pocket size. I got them because it looked like very soft and great quality leather from I've seen many other users( like frome blog or You tube). When I got them in my hands i got really disappointed and I dont think they dont deserve this much price!
DeleteI had that situation with a Filofax Malden. Everybody on the internet seems to adore the Malden and so I thought this could be the perfect planner for me, too. I came across a personal one in purple which was on sale and ordered it immediately, but when it arrived I realized that this would not be my "unicorn binder". It was in perfect condition, but I strongly disliked the colour and also the floppiness of the leather. It just wasn't for me... Quite disappointing, but this showed again that what works as "perfect" for others just isn't always for you. I returned it and will stick to stiffer binders in the future as this is obviously an important point for me. :-)
ReplyDeleteI once got swept up by the Malden craze and had Grey, Red, Ochre, and Black. I had an A5 at one point too. They are all gone. I still use the Malden credit card wallet and accessory case, and enjoy those.
DeleteI ordered a compact Franklin Covey Quinn in black as I had the classic in burgundy and loved the feel of the leather. When I first went to open the rings with the push mechanism, the top one (mechanism, not ring) broke off. The only way I can open and close the rings now is by pulling them apart, which I know is a no-no.
ReplyDeleteRight now it's in my drawer as I've been using a pocket Malden for the last year and a half to plan and am very content. If and when I do decide to size-up I may not use the FC because I don't want to break the rings. I'll probably just give it to Goodwill. I got it off eBay for only $14 so I'm not too devastated, but I am disappointed
Hi, Elana - I'm still new-ish to the Franklin Covey world although my understanding is you can change their rings. Not sure if it's for all of their binder sizes though. I believe there is a YouTube video from Yay for Fridays where she does a ring swap on a Franklin Giada planner. Oh, and I hear the Quinn is a lovely planner. :)
DeleteHeather
Hi Heather - thank you for this. I'll check it out. I never checked the FC website to see if they sell ring mechanisms. Unfortunately, I don't have another planner I can swap it out from - unless I purchase an inexpensive FC compact from Staples and filch it from that.
DeleteThe malden leather was extrememly pliable. I wasn't expecting that.
ReplyDeleteDuring a misguided period I once ordered a personal sized Kent Filofax. They are not leather, but are made to look as though they are. It had a slightly sticky feel to it and nothing of the air of quality that I'd become used to from other (earlier) models. I persevered for a while and then sent it to a charity shop.
ReplyDeleteMine is a buyer beware story. I made the mistake of trying to save $10 USD by purchasing the personal Malden in ochre on eBay. When the item arrived, it was reasonably nice and functioned perfectly but had cosmetic damages to the leather that were not disclosed in the photos or ad. What was shown in the ad were several photos of beautiful dashboards, dividers and accessories. All I received was the damaged Malden. For me, it was a matter of ethics that gave me feelings of disappointment because I was purposefully misled. I have a fondness for well-loved planners with character (I recently bought one with paint spatters from an artist) but in this situation I felt taken advantage of. Even though eBay offered me a full refund, I ended up buying myself a new ochre Malden and swapping the eBay purchase in one of the groups for a personal, Finsbury zip in black and both myself and my swap partner were happy. I knew it wasn't the planner, but my experience that was a disappointment.
ReplyDeleteOut of curiosity (and after an unkind note from the seller basically calling me a sucker), without revealing the eBay seller (a fb group member) I posted my experience to fb group with the eBay photos compared to my photos of what I had received. It was interesting to see the responses fell on both sides.
I once bought a Winchester from a person that used to be well-known in the Filofax online community and even was the creator of a group about older models. I trusted him and send the funds as family & friends. I never received a thing and Paypal could do nothing for me. He's still around, but not in the Planner groups.
DeleteSorry to hear that. I purchased my pocket Malden Dec 2015 on eBay and it was still in the box. So far, every planner I've purchased from eBay has been so far, so good - with the exception of the FC Quinn, but it may have been me that was too rough trying to open the rings!
DeleteRegrets, I've had a few, but then again... Oh, to heck with it. Here goes:
ReplyDeleteI have had a few that were leather, but I suspect were heavily impregnated with some artificial material. I have a mid-1990s slimline that I simply don't use for that reason. I recently needed an A5 to organize some exam materials from the past decade, and the only A5 on my shelf that was unused was "Deluxe Leather" but feels like vinyl. (I think the model is "Signature", used for corporate promotions.) There are other examples I could find, if I had the time.
I have some older models that don't excite me. The Kingston feels cheap. The Canterbury has an unusual finish on the leather that I don't care for. The Lincoln seems flimsy. (I once used a Lincoln for donor rings when fixing a Winchester!)
I've mention this before. I love Personal Kensingtons. The leather is thin, yet hard-wearing and overall the profile is more svelte than most other Personals. However, the A5 and Deskfax models have excessively stiff reinforcements in the cover. I have, and use, both A5 and Deskfax Kensingtons, but don't even think of them as being in the same model lineup anymore.
The Personal Portland disappointed me as their lack of ring protectors means that their covers seem to inevitably look like rib cages with the rings showing through.
A couple of Slimlines have disappointed: The Richmond took a long time to find. but when I found it, my reaction was "Meh!". In retrospect, I'm not sure why I expected it to be more than it is. The Eton is soft and squishy, but this also makes it excessively thick and a tight fit an my jacket pocket. Likewise, the weight & thickness of the leather on my Kendal, while wonderful in Personals and A5s, makes it somewhat too bulky the way I use my Slimlines.
I am not a fan of nubuck. It looks lovely and eventually develops a nice patina, but the process of getting from new to aged is painful for me. Yet it has not stopped me from buying Connaughts and Dorchesters. I still have one aged Dorchester - I sold my BNIB one - and the interior leather of it is among the nicest leathers I have seen in any planner by any company. As I've said before, I wish Filofax had made an entire model of that leather.
Finally, I have a disappoint of my own doing. I use some Deskfax in my teaching and the ONLY model with 7/8, 23mm rings is the Statesman (DX1CLF7/8) which has the clip-in style rings, like Filofax always used until the early 1990s. The problem is that a DESKfax is designed to stay on a DESK, not to be carried in a briefcase. Frequently the rings pop off their anchors. Frankly, I wish there was a 23mm Deskfax with riveted rings and nice leather like the Statesman, Sandhurst, or York.
The moral I would draw from your experiences here Alan would, with a few exceptions, be to stick to Filofax models introduced before 1990! That has been my philosophy for a while now. It wouldn't solve your Deskfax dilemma though.
DeleteSlimline Westminster (circa 2001) was another one that disappointed me. The durability of the leather was very poor.
DeleteOh disappointments… While looking through planner binders on eBay, I fell in love with an orange FC Charlotte(?) I’ve never had an unstructured binder and thought I’d try it. When it got to me, it wreaked of cigarettes. Even after sitting in the relatively open air of a garage for 3 months, it still smelled. Donated it to Goodwill. I never did get to use it.
ReplyDeleteThe Charlotte is a conundrum. I had an orange Compact - it was HUGE for a compact. It was only an 1 shorter and barely an inch less wide than a Classic.
DeleteI personally didn't care for the leather texture or floppiness, but I did like the fabric lining.
In my case it was the Holborn in the photograph. I received it from Filofax for review but I was not that impressed with it. The leather was very dull. I later found out after returning it that the organiser I had received must have been a prototype or a pre-production sample and I shouldn't have received it! I subsequently bought a black Holborn (which I still have) which was much better.
ReplyDeleteThe other small disappointment with the Holborn was when I got a Holborn A5 zip, the zip models don't have the same internal pocket layout as the clasp models, not a deal breaker as such but something I should have spotted from the description on the web site!
Oh hey, disappointments and send backs, I had quite a list of these.
ReplyDelete1) A5 Finsbury: much too stiff for my liking, send back
2) Compact Ikat: not satisfied with the quality, send back
3) Compact Holborn in grey: stiff, plasticy leather, send back
4) Personal Kendal in brown: I received them twice from Norway but they both had a defect on the inner mesh pocket. Both times I had to pay around 15 Euro for the shipment back (Germany to Norway) - in the end I've got reimbursed for at least one sending. Still 15€ cost for nothing but disappointment. I must add the guys of customer service were always kind and as helpful as they could.
5)A4 + 2x Personal Logic: bought at discount but as the vinyl coating crumbles away after a few weeks or months - a lot disappointment without re-selling-option.
6) Personal Cuban in red: no option to lay flat or to leave it open laying on a desk. I had it long enough to not be able to sending it back, even tried to train the leather cover - with NO effect. I was thinking of selling it but at that time had no experience with this yet. In the end this Filofax made me furious so that I cut it into pieces. Though, I am not proud of this act, still it provided an outlet to all my frustration - that had gathered over more than one month of usage.
7) Deskfax Professional via Ebay: The binder had a chemical smell about it and the thin leather deteriorated on the edges (end of seaming) during my attempt to treat the dry leather with leather balm.
Enough of old frustrations. Happy planning everyone :-)
Sorry, but I forgot one:
Delete8) Personal Guildford zip with 30mm rings. This piece is quite heavy brick, that I did not want to carry around. So this still pricey item, that also developed some ring issues has since served as extra storage. In 2008 I did not have the idea of sending it back.
I bought a Van der Spek Touch me in dark brown second hand. On the photos it looked absolutely lovely, but when I opened the package it smelled like a smoke filled pub in the 90ies. That terrible mix of old beer and old smoke. I did everything to get rid of the smell (coffee, baking soda, peppermine oil), that I basically destroyed the planner in the process. I couldn't sell it on, but because it had marks from my "treatment" I couldn't return it either. Another major disappointment were all pocket filofaxes I ever bought. I think they are a terrible size. Just not big enough to comfortable hold moleskine pocket sized pages, but already too chunky to fit in a pocket. I feel they should either to 2 cm up or down - at the current size they are of no use to me either way.
ReplyDeleteI bought a second-hand blue VDS that had such a strong perfume applied to it, that I could smell it before I even opened the box it came in. I ended up RAKing it in a Facebook group as I couldn't sell such a thing. The seller said she didn't notice it. Big fat liar. I noticed Karma caught her in a post she shared about a planner that had a defect. :)
ReplyDeleteAgreed. I'm used to my old Bromley personal size. In recent months I purchased the ochre Malden (A5) and am disappointed over the floppiness of it.
ReplyDeleteLove that I have not seen a single comment about anyone disappointed with their Gillio, I know I'm supposed to list my disdapointments but I'm very new to rings and went straight to Gillio for my first. I couldn't be happier and will probably never purchase any other brand! I only wish I could have my pick of colors in any size I want at any given time but the wait is so worth it that I really can't complain!
ReplyDeleteI could have mentioned my A5 Mia Cara.... which isn't A5... but I've mentioned it too many times and nothing happens... so let's leave that one for now!
DeleteOther than the various binders that arrived with stinky issues...
ReplyDelete1. Compact Luxe - stiffer than I expected, useless pen loop
2. Chameleon Personal Aqua and A5 Brown - much stiffer compared to the Pocket Red and Personal Pink I have owned.
3. Personal Original Racing Green - didn't like the exposed suede interior or unfinished edges and mine had the shorter strap, too.
4. Temperley Ikat - boy did it feel cheap all the way around!
5. Personal Classic French Navy - stiffer than I expected, useless zip pocket in back.
6. Cuban Slimline Chili - didn't see the contrast stitch in the photos so it was an unpleasant surprise
And I shouldn't say that I didn't expect it, but the Personal Malden Ochre. I avoided it for years because I'm not a fan of it's contrast stitch, flexible leather, shiny finish and casual look. I broke down and bought a used one just to make sure I wasn't missing out on Planner Peace. Nope - it went right back out for sale barely a month later.