Filson Bag Thread: With Pictures

[treehouseleader]

Hi all! If anyone is in the market for a 70222 Med Duffle in Tan, built date 03/2015, please send me a message. I've tried selling it on ebay twice now and both times the winning buyer has refused to pay. I thought I'd give this styleforum a shot. Thanks!

 

[Churchill W]

I imagine they have a tracking system in place.

Even though my opinion counts for little, I think they should repair an item so long as it's a bona fide Filson product (not fake) and not due to negligence etc.

I agree with you. If it wasn't bought as a second quality item, the regular warranty should be honored or repair should be available at a cost.

 

[bucky0486]

I agree with you. If it wasn't bought as a second quality item, the regular warranty should be honored or repair should be available at a cost.

I just don't understand the tracking system. Are they gathering buyer information from all of their authorized retailers? Do they have serial numbers that allow them to keep track of the bags Filson sells through unauthorized dealers? And are bags that are given as a gift not covered under the warranty?

Their requirement that you obtained the bag from an authorized dealer does not, to me, align with their guarantee. The first statement on the Filson repairs website: "We guarantee every item made by Filson. No more, no less."

 

[speedy611]

I just don't understand the tracking system. Are they gathering buyer information from all of their authorized retailers? Do they have serial numbers that allow them to keep track of the bags Filson sells through unauthorized dealers? And are bags that are given as a gift not covered under the warranty?

Their requirement that you obtained the bag from an authorized dealer does not, to me, align with their guarantee. The first statement on the Filson repairs website: "We guarantee every item made by Filson. No more, no less."

I don’t think any sort of tracking exists. Too many bags from all different eras of production and historically many authorized retailers who now either don’t stock Filson or have closed.
I suspect if an owner says it was bought used or on eBay then the Filson rep may reject a warranty claim. I guess there is a difference between the lifetime of the bag and the lifetime of the original owner.

 

[bucky0486]

I don’t think any sort of tracking exists. Too many bags from all different eras of production and historically many authorized retailers who now either don’t stock Filson or have closed.
I suspect if an owner says it was bought used or on eBay then the Filson rep may reject a warranty claim. I guess there is a difference between the lifetime of the bag and the lifetime of the original owner.

I agree with you on there not being a tracking system. That would be a bit extreme.

It does seem weird to me that Filson would reject warranty claims, though, based on whether the owner is the original owner or not. I understand the need for companies in general to limit their exposure to warranty claims and abuse of the system (not-so-quick side story: my company was considering offering a "no questions asked" replacement warranty because we had so much faith in the product, but that idea was scrapped when we found out that a competitor that implemented that policy issued three items through warranty for every one item that was actually purchased because there were so many jerks abusing the system), but it irks me that Filson would do that when they rely so heavily on offering a robust warranty when building their brand.

 

[speedy611]

I agree with you on there not being a tracking system. That would be a bit extreme.

It does seem weird to me that Filson would reject warranty claims, though, based on whether the owner is the original owner or not. I understand the need for companies in general to limit their exposure to warranty claims and abuse of the system (not-so-quick side story: my company was considering offering a "no questions asked" replacement warranty because we had so much faith in the product, but that idea was scrapped when we found out that a competitor that implemented that policy issued three items through warranty for every one item that was actually purchased because there were so many jerks abusing the system), but it irks me that Filson would do that when they rely so heavily on offering a robust warranty when building their brand.

Agreed. And I think it’s the challenge of old Filson vs private equity Filson. Growing the brand means managing costs and trimming fat. Therefore if employees can discern that an item isn’t a first party purchase, perhaps they are given the option to refuse warranty, and thereby save costs.
Of course it’s ethically challenging, and brand damaging behaviour in the longer term. At the same time, the warranty was originally intended to be a surety that the money you were spending was being invested well and in return the items recieived would potentially save your life.
Times have changed...

 

[Churchill W]

I just don't understand the tracking system. Are they gathering buyer information from all of their authorized retailers? Do they have serial numbers that allow them to keep track of the bags Filson sells through unauthorized dealers? And are bags that are given as a gift not covered under the warranty?

Their requirement that you obtained the bag from an authorized dealer does not, to me, align with their guarantee. The first statement on the Filson repairs website: "We guarantee every item made by Filson. No more, no less."

When you submit a warranty claim you have to indicate where you purchased it from. If you received it as a gift that is fine from my experience.

 

[McRiz]

When you submit a warranty claim you have to indicate where you purchased it from. If you received it as a gift that is fine from my experience.

I agree with bucky0486 about the guarantee (not warranty). The guarantee specifically states "We guarantee every item made by Filson. No more, no less." The entire guarantee is here: https://www.filson.com/customer-service/support-repairs#section--the-filson-guarantee

There is nothing in the guarantee that says that the guarantee is limited to authorized sellers. I've used the guarantee to get them to replace a ripped, broken shoulder pad for a Pullman from eBay. The telephone customer service rep initially told me that he could not replace it because they did not have extra pads hanging around. I don't recall if he asked me where I got the bag. After I advised him about the guarantee, he spoke to his manager and he was able to miraculously locate a shoulder pad to send me.

The ironic part is that I was impatient and also simultaneously contacted Filson through email and the email customer service rep also sent me a shoulder pad. I seem to recall no issue with the email rep. And no, I was not trying to get two shoulder pads; I thought the two customer reps were communicating with each other considering that everything went to my address through me account. Apparently, they were not.

I don't think they track all of their items. That would be impossible. Their products use to come with a registration form you could mail back. I'm not sure what they did with that, if anything.

If you have a Filson account and buy products through your account, there is a purchase history on your account. However, that tracking history only relates to purchases through Filson.

This is just my own experience.

 

[Churchill W]

There is nothing in the guarantee that says that the guarantee is limited to authorized sellers.

You missed this part of the guarantee taken from your link:

Our guarantee applies to all Filson items purchased through an authorized Filson retailer

 

[McRiz]

You missed this part of the guarantee taken from your link:

You're right! I don't how I missed that. It's strange because I don't think I've been asked before.

 

[CCF1897]

I agree with you on there not being a tracking system. That would be a bit extreme.

It does seem weird to me that Filson would reject warranty claims, though, based on whether the owner is the original owner or not. I understand the need for companies in general to limit their exposure to warranty claims and abuse of the system (not-so-quick side story: my company was considering offering a "no questions asked" replacement warranty because we had so much faith in the product, but that idea was scrapped when we found out that a competitor that implemented that policy issued three items through warranty for every one item that was actually purchased because there were so many jerks abusing the system), but it irks me that Filson would do that when they rely so heavily on offering a robust warranty when building their brand.

I agree with this. I’ve made calls before and been rejected by one customer service rep, hung up, called back and asked to send it in and had it covered by another. My belief is their is no tracking system and their training is suspect as well and sometime left to the mood the person on the phone is in. However I will say with a little persistence I’ve never not had an item repaired or replaced that I felt should have been.

 

[Churchill W]

You're right! I don't how I missed that. It's strange because I don't think I've been asked before.

I think it's because you have been calling or emailing and @CCF1897 is probably right that the training to all the representatives has probably not been consistent. There is a field when you fill in the warranty request form for you to indicate where you purchased it from.

 

[speedy611]

Here’s a new to me style 31 hunting vest. Double tin, massive game pockets front and rear.

Literally totally unused - looks like it’s never been even tried on. It’s sat on a shelf somewhere since 1994 if I read the label right.

Fit is on the large size, which I expected. It fits over my ultralight jacket or vest for an amazing mix of warmth, water resistance and pockets. It will improve once it softens up. At present it’s so stiff it’s like body armour.

Many thanks to @TinMan3 for forwarding to me in the UK.

 

[nevadabob]

Props to tinman? I agree! He helped me add a new horse to the stable as I ended up buying the bag on the left from him recently. Man, is that heavy tin as advertised! The difference in weight and sturdiness between the heavy tin and denim is hard to believe. I have to echo one thing tinman said about the leather - it is much much thicker than I've seen on a Filson bag before. Also, probably due to all the wax from the tin, it has a wonderful oily smooth feel to it. I find myself just running the leather through my hands - and it reminds me of a section of Melville's Moby Dick. Anyway, certainly props to the tinman!

 

[pnwprice]

Props to tinman? I agree! He helped me add a new horse to the stable as I ended up buying the bag on the left from him recently. Man, is that heavy tin as advertised! The difference in weight and sturdiness between the heavy tin and denim is hard to believe. I have to echo one thing tinman said about the leather - it is much much thicker than I've seen on a Filson bag before. Also, probably due to all the wax from the tin, it has a wonderful oily smooth feel to it. I find myself just running the leather through my hands - and it reminds me of a section of Melville's Moby Dick. Anyway, certainly props to the tinman! View attachment 1247376

Harness leather baby! It’s the best. Really wish it was the standard on all the luggage.