Brooks Brothers Leather Triple Briefcase – $231.97 (reg. $700)
Son of a gun. The key really won’t open the lock.
This must be the exact same case, and it must be getting passed around from customer to customer. The reviews when it was still available online were harsh. But when the price dipped to $230? It was worth a shot. Here’s the first reaction:
The Good
- Nice shape. Dressed up without looking elderly. Not bulky at all from a width standpoint
- Sturdy. The leather feels pretty good.
- Those buckles have a nice hidden quick release fastener system that allow you to quickly open the case
The Bad
- This thing has been dinged up. Even if I hadn’t read the reviews, I would have noticed.
- There’s some junk on the lock. Kind of like there was a sticker there at some point.
- Speaking of the lock. Would love to see the inside of the case, but the key doesn’t work.
If I carried a case like this every day I’d seriously consider contacting Brooks Brothers and asking if they could fix the lock somehow. But since I don’t, I won’t. Back it goes. Not for $230 and certainly not for $700… but then again I’d never drop that much for any briefcase. $230 is pushing it, hard, for my spending habits as it is.
And I didn’t feel offended when the lock didn’t open. Not in the least. But I’ll certainly note the lock issue on the return slip. Unlike an angry online review, maybe (maybe?) that’ll help get it fixed.
Oh, and if this shows back up on BrooksBrothers.com with a fixed lock for under $200? I call dibs.
Internet reviews FTW. Snarky? Sometimes. Overly indignant at times? You bet. But they have saved me more money than I could calculate. The research they provide helps you avoid bad products and enables you to maximize your dollars for the good products. There are few things I purchase now without doing a good amount of research first.
I think the axe swings both ways. For whatever reason, there’s a good portion of the population that seems to actually enjoy getting angry. Maybe it’s the result of a few decades of “the customer is always right.” So when something is not 100% as they expect, they just kill it in a review online. Now that can completely be an advantage to the rest of us, because I think a lot of otherwise great products get marked down because people get scared off by inaccurate, overreacting bad reviews. Was that the case with this case? Nope, the case actually was a lemon. But I also didn’t think it was going to be the exact same case (I figured maybe one guy got a bum one… y’know?) It’s just a matter of weeding out what’s right and what’s wrong.
I completely agree with you. One of the arts of sifting through online reviews is the ability to perform on the spot qualitative analysis on what you’re reading so you can find the reviews that actually seem thoughtful and level headed. E.g., when reading reviews for electronics or appliances, I always mentally discard reviews from people whose product arrived DOA. While I understand those reviewers’ irritation, that tells me little to nothing about the product except that QC wasn’t 100%. Obviously, if it’s a high ratio of DOA reviews, then that should raise an alarm, but you see what I mean. Same with people who get disproportionately angry at the internet and post oddly angry reviews.
I think the only bags I openly lust after now are the ones from Saddleback Leather. My goodness I can’t wait until I can afford one of their backpacks or briefcases.
Thanks for the reference. It’s the first time I’ve heard of that company, so I checked their briefcases out…and wow, they look very clean.
Other than looks, what’s so great about Saddleback?
I also secretly lust after Saddleback Leather. One day…
To me, it’s the thick full grain leather. The quality that says this will last you longer than any other item you will own. The 100 year warranty, although I don’t plan on using it.
My dad has a reading chair wrapped in a chestnut full-grain leather and it’s older than I am. It looks great with the patina it developed and doesn’t show any wear.