How to spot a quality leather product?

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Leather occupies a pre-dominant part of our lives. People are hooked on the idea of getting leather goods because they have a way of looking stylish and highly durable. However, leather is a costly material, and while its products look beautiful and have a good lifespan, the price is a downside.

However, to find a way apart from this downside, many manufacturers in the market consequently compromise on the quality. Some lousy sellers might also be willing to sell a product of foul leather quality for the price of a genuine leather product!

Hence, a person must know the characteristics of a good quality leather product to avoid falling into a scam. So, if you have been considering getting a leather product, hold off and make sure you go through this guide first!

Spotting A Quality Leather Product: Red Flags to avoid

A product made from good quality material will speak for itself. Even though you may not know about those qualities, you will have satisfying instincts around them. Furthermore, it improves in quality after buying a product made from genuine leather!

However, the need for products such as leather wallets, leather jackets, leather baby bags,  and various other products has increased the demand for it, and the need for finding at a price of steal gives birth to foul products in the market.

However, these foul products are made so ingeniously that they can easily deceive a usual buyer, and the manufacturer can get away with a scam without the customer knowing!

Focus on the following things to find yourself a good fit:

1.   The Real Leather Will have a distinct smell:

The first way you can check the authenticity of a leather product is by the smell it carries.

If the leather is purely authentic, it will possess a mildly earthy smell if it is purely authentic. Such smell is easy to identify, and if the product doesn’t smell like it, you have cause for concern.

Whereas fake leather smells like plastic. Similarly, if you choose chemically treated leather, it will have a different smell too. However, it becomes easier to spot a fake leather product if the same product is available in different qualities.

2.   Search for Products that come with the label “Full-Grain.”

The cause for concern doesn’t end when you can tell a real product apart from the fake one. There are different types of qualities of leather used when making leather products.

Full-grain leather is the highest quality of leather. However, you must only look for a product with the label “Full-Grain.” Similarly, avoid the products in which various leather accessories stores might use wordplay to pass off a poor quality product as a leather product.

You will want to avoid any product with a label saying, “Made from original leather/ or any other kind of leather instead of full grain.”. Some cheap manufacturers might even pass off a faulty product by labeling it as a full-grain leather product. However, look for catches such as spelling mistakes.

In conclusion, buying a product made from original leather is not the only thing that matters. A product may be made from leather but might be as bad as a product made from fake leather, so keep your eyes open.

3.   Inspect the edging of the leather:

Apart from the quality, there are other tells that a leather product is not good enough. One thing that can help you is inspecting the edging of the leather. If you find the edgings to be blue, the product is made from leather that hasn’t been able to tan properly yet.

It will only take one look at the edges to differentiate a faulty product. Sometimes, the manufacturers wil try and paint the edges of the product to cover up the lacking in their product.

In conclusion, if you see blue color in a leather product on its edges, you must treat it as a red flag.

4.   The Non-Leather aspects of the product tell enough of the story too:

If a manufacturer has used good leather in their product, they will not choose low-quality non-leather features to compromise on the quality of the product. For example, a leather product made from genuine leather will have high-quality stitching to match the quality of the leather and make a stellar product overall.

Avoid a product if you see any faults in stitching, hardware, or lining, as the bad lining signifies inferior leather products. In short, seeing any of the non-leather aspects of a product malfunction is a clear sign of lousy handiwork, which you will want to avoid if you want a product that can last you a long time.

5.   The Feels and Looks it offers will tell a story too:

One of the biggest ways to tell fake leather apart from a real one is to see how it feels when you hold it. An authentic product made from pure leather will tell a story and give you a satisfactory feeling.

On the other hand, fake and low-quality leather products deliver a “wrong” instinct to a person. By wrong, we mean that the leather of that product might come off as hard, a little plasticky, or even thin. Furthermore, you must also keep your focus on getting hand-crafted leather products.

Hand-crafted leather products are often a work of an expert, and they have a way of offering an amazing feel. However, machine-made leather products are more prone to shortcomings and carry their fair share of blemishes.

6.   Probably The Most Obvious One: Price

As we mentioned in the introduction, there are many people in the market making leather products and selling them at a considerably lower price!

The genuine leather requires a certain level of processing and handiwork, setting its worth considerably higher. You will find that leather accessories stores that sell genuine leather products will list their products at a higher price, and it will not be very often for you to obtain a discount.

On the other hand, you might want to turn down that seller who has been trying to convince you that he’s selling a leather bag made from pure leather at only $50!

If you expect good quality from a product, know that good products come at a price. It would be wise to compare prices from the market and see how much the other manufacturers are selling the same kind of products. However, we are not saying that you should end up paying extra money for the insurance of getting an original leather product.

7.   Ask About the Origins of the leather:

Even when we talk about buying leather, the matter of its origin, so before you purchase a leather product, ask the manufacturer for the origins of the leather used behind the product.

Preferably, we would suggest you go for European Leather. European Leather is often treated with care, concerning environmental consciousness and other regulations as well. Similarly, be skeptical and check if the products are made from Brazilian or Indian Leather.

The reason is that leather originating from such countries often are of a cheaper quality. The product made from the leather of these countries is not a preference as there are no environmental protection regulations or proper rule-following of any kind. Hence, the products from these countries often become “dirty” products.

8.   See How Thin The pockets of a Product are:

If you are looking for an ideal leather product, you must consider the pocket thinness. The product that you are looking for (in such cases, often leather wallets and jackets) must contain thin pockets.

The products having thin pockets signify that a skilled craftsman makes the product. Hence, if you are satisfied that a finesse craftsman has worked on your product, you will find fewer bulky areas, and the quality will also be good.

Ensure that your leather pocket can carry a lot of storage to carry stuff. However, if you are buying a leather product that doesn’t require the need to carry many items, know that the quality of the leather is still a matter worth paying attention to.

High-quality leather is durable, and its beauty will only further evolve as time passes. Nevertheless, you will also need to take care of yourself to ensure it stays good in the long run. Maintaining and taking care of your leather products can ensure that they last a long time and also look good.

Final Words

The human desire to want everything of good quality and durable is natural and expected. However, many people out there take advantage of people’s naiveness and sell them bad leather products at a significantly higher price!

The tips in this article will tell you all there is to know about finding a quality leather product and steer clear of one. However, you must remember that leather goods will cost you significantly more.

Someone might have been willing to send you for a lower price, but don’t expect anything good from it. However, if you stick to these tips and focus on everything that we have mentioned above, you will be able to see a leather product worth spending on.

Happy shopping!