I was kind of shocked to see that Modo is now manufacturing over there.
I sent two email inquiries to them, but got no response. I also called
Moleskine US and they did not have any information.
I'd like to know, is this a permanent change? If so I need to start
stashing away the older ones. I think it's really abysmal to let the
quality of such a good product slip, and also for them to trade on the
"European" tradition for something that is now being commoditzed and
for all we know, made in some sweatshop.
Has anyone else had this experience?
Does anyone else have any info they can share?
Thanks
I don't understand, I think we need facts.
As far as I know, my M's didn't say that it was made in China
though... :S
Could you post the address? I have a feeling that we're a letter writing
crowd.
--
Evan "JabberWokky" Edwards
http://www.cheshirehall.org/
Their email address is:
in...@modoemodo.com
The press office:
silvia...@modoemodo.com
But I've never yet discovered what the sometimes green strip label
means, sometimes on both the moleskine and the Cahiers (softer cover).
The more people who write to express concern the better! Thank you in
advance for any and all support. :-)
But I still prefer the reporters, because, with the lid/cover lifted, I
have the use of a full flat page, and not a curved page as in the books
with the binding on the left side.
The first attempt to "ii...@modoemodo.com"
came back and
"in...@modoemodo.com" seems to work.
I have recently bought the new 18 months calendar
and as Fountain Pen
user I was disappointed as the ink bleeds through much worse than with
all other notebooks I am using. And some pages are worse than others.
Ok, the pages are thinner but still. I have tried the Pilot G2 which shows
through as well so I will stick to my Fountain Pen. I had ordered a fine
nib yesterday in the hope that this will help.
Not sure about where it was produced though.
I had not checked at the
time when I bought it.
Best regards,
Marcus
molesk...@gmail.com
Sent by: Molesk...@googlegroups.com 01/08/2006 22:23
|
To: "Moleskinerie" <Molesk...@googlegroups.com> cc: Subject: Re: Moleskines Made In China-not surprised |
That should be:
ii...@modoemodo.com
My apologies.
I got hooked on Moleskines early this year and loved them, but if this
what to expect from now on I'll never buy another.
Aaron
August 1, 2006
Ms. Silvia Trenta
Marketing Department
MODO&MODO S.p.A.
Viale di Porta Vercellina, 10
20123 Milano - Italy
Dear Ms. Trenta,
I recently emailed Modo e Modo about the lower quality of your
Moleskine notebooks made in China and did not receive a response. I am
following up now via regular mail, as I'm a dedicated user of your
products and would like to know about their future.
The fact that Modo is now manufacturing Moleskines in China is
distressing on many levels. First, and also most important, is the
noticeably lower quality of the product. I recently opened a large
squared notebook, not knowing where it was made, and it had a terrible
smell, something like diesel fuel. The cover material was also
different, and after holding the book for more than a few seconds, my
hands got all sweaty. After less than a page of writing, my pen was so
clogged up with debris I couldn't use it. On my way to toss the book
out, I finally checked the packaging and saw "Printed and Bound in
China," which explained everything.
Secondly, I do not think it is ethical to continue marketing these
products as artifacts of the "European Intellectual Tradition" if
they are now being mass-produced in Asia. It's like a slap in the
face to your customers, who are obviously intelligent, and willing to
spend a significant amount for what they perceive as a better product
or something that has a certain cachet. To try to pass these off as
"original" Moleskine notebooks, the same as Hemingway and Chatwin
used, is just plain insulting to the buyer's intelligence.
Lastly, I fail to see how a company like Modo, that would seem to care
about things like human rights and the environment, can justify having
their products even partially made in China. Paper manufacturing and
printing is a notoriously toxic process, and the only reason the
Chinese can do it so cheaply is their total disregard for polluting the
environment.
It's also common knowledge they treat most of their factory workers
like indentured servants, and the working conditions in most Chinese
manufacturing plants is inhumane at best. Even though Modo must be
saving significantly on costs by moving some or all production to
China, I did not notice the retail price of your products coming down.
Nor would I want see that. I'd gladly pay even more for "il
originale," if it's still available. I'm sure I am not alone in
my sentiments.
I hope that you will consider these concerns and reply promptly. I
appreciate your attention to the matter.
Every type of notebook has a different color. Orange is lined. Green is
plain. Pale blue is music staff lined. Yellow is squared (graph paper).
Magenta is storyboard layout.
There are a few others, but basically, you can glance at the size and
color and know what's inside. I like small and green... i.e., pocket plain.
I'd imagine that would have much less of an impact that everybody sending
individual letters.
J
I have had the same kind of problem with my pocket notebooks since the
second reporter's notebook I used.
It pisses me off that no one from the company seems to have replied to
any of us who has written. Perhaps they have been too busy arranging for
the sale too the French.
The French may again meet their Waterloo or, for Canadian content, their
Plains of Abraham, if they do not bring the Moleskines up to snuff.. I
will not have my name and recommendations attached to a second rate
product, and just as I have done all I can to promote Moleskines, the
new owners may be assured that I, and I suspect others, will do all we
can to find and recommend other products if the shoddy quality persists.
An advertising executive friend of mine spent some time analyzing the
Moleskine phenomenon on the web, and concluded that the value of word of
mouth on various groups came at least to the high six figures in US
dollars. I would hate to have that kind of advertising power turning
people away from my products.
Daly
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I certainly hope the French buyers will stop this nonsense immediately,
and return Moleskine to its former quality. If not, well I guess I'll
have to find something to replace Moleskines. I really don't look
forward to that process.
Now that I've ranted about this major annoyance, does anyone know where
I might be able to purchase a small stock of older NON-Chinese pocket
ruled notebooks and pocket sketchbooks - mint in the original
packaging, of course?
Thank you !!!
but the thing that'd not be cool for me is that i haven't come across
any other notebooks that are as durable and simple as Moleskine...so
it'd be very hard for me to go to another brand :S
but, in retrospect, i did notice an increased availability of
Moleskine notebooks at local bookstores recently, which may coincide
with the time they started to make them in china? i wonder...
best,
Also, Barnes and Noble, generic brand bound books, actual hardbound
books. Maybe not for carrying, but sure a deal for a desk ledger.
----- Original Message -----From: Jim-LTo: MoleskinerieSent: Tuesday, August 08, 2006 12:18 AMSubject: Re: Moleskines Made In China
The link is here:
http://groups.google.com/group/notebookism
Thank you.
Moleskine isn't the only high end product out there. They'll definitely
lose my loyalty if they choose to continue this route. My 18 month
dayplanner is falling apart. If one of my writing books starts to go,
I'll abandon the product line completely.
G
SFWriter wrote:
> I noticed a significant decrease in the quality of the last Moleskine
> notebook I purchased. I looked at the tag and it said "Bound and
> Printed In China" "Designed and Packaged in Italy."
>
> I was kind of shocked to see that Modo is now manufacturing over there.
> I sent two email inquiries to them, but got no response. I also called
> Moleskine US and they did not have any information.
>
> I'd like to know, is this a permanent change? If so I need to start
> stashing away the older ones. I think it's really abysmal to let the
> quality of such a good product slip, and also for them to trade on the
> "European" tradition for something that is now being commoditzed and
> for all we know, made in some sweatshop.
>
> Has anyone else had this experience?
> Does anyone else have any info they can share?
>
> Thanks
> ------=_Part_7618_30404182.1154525440788
> Content-Type: text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1
> X-Google-AttachSize: 1875
>
> Folks, please let modoemodo know what is happening.<br><br>To a large extent the Internet made their business -- and we can also make their business slump, leaving them with thousands of unsold books.<br><br>We love our Moleskines so let's rally to the cause (not to be over melodramatic or anything!)!
> <br><br>My Moleskines are too important for shoddy craftsmanship.<br><br>Daly<br><br><div><span class="gmail_quote">On 8/2/06, <b class="gmail_sendername"><a href="mailto:arm...@gmail.com">arm...@gmail.com</a></b> <<a href="mailto:arm...@gmail.com">
> arm...@gmail.com</a>> wrote:</span><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;"><br>I thought I was crazy when I bought my most recent squared large
> <br>notebook. The cover is, well *different*. It is thinner feeling and<br>the finish is much more dull and less *oiled* feeling. It feels dry<br>and cheap, if that makes an sense. Not to mention that I had to return<br>
> it immediately because the covers were misaligned and crooked about 1/4<br>inch (i.e., not flush with the paper inside). I promptly returned it<br>and got another one. I didn't notice until a few written pages later<br>
> that it too had a flaw on the cover, what looks to be where a wheel of<br>sorts that would move the cover along the assembly line got stuck and<br>slightly *spun out* on the edge.<br><br>I got hooked on Moleskines early this year and loved them, but if this
> <br>what to expect from now on I'll never buy another.<br><br>Aaron<br><br><br><br><br></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>Discuss and learn about David Allen's Getting Things Done: <br><a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Getting_Things_Done/">http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Getting_Things_Done/
> </a>
>
> ------=_Part_7618_30404182.1154525440788--
No one has mentioned it yet, but the "original" ones had stickers that
said "W R I T I N G" on them. The new chinese-manufactured moleskines
do not have these. It's another way to tell.
I recently purchased a large sketchbook from Barnes and Noble and the
elastic band was broken and frayed. I didn't notice until I got home
and I needed to use it that night, so I just repaired it myself.
Also, if you look at the covers under a bright light, you can clearly
see the difference in textures between the old and new materials used
for the covers.
Much as we hate the loss of quality, chinese manufacture and labor are
probably so much less expensive for Modo e Modo that they aren't going
to yank it back to Europe.
So what can we do??? Just write letters?? Any other ideas, anyone?
I think it is worthwhile to make sure they are aware of the concerns.
Daly
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The quality difference you may be finding is probably due to another
factor -- maybe a different printer, or, maybe it's just pyschosomatic
because of our association of bad quality with Chinese manufacturing.
If this is true, I have to say, I'm deeply saddened. It's been marketed
as a European product and clearly now, it is not. Maybe it never has
been, but they sure had us fooled. The quality was once outstanding.
Now it's mixed at best.
I don't think the differences are psychosomatic. If you read the
details on this thread, it's all pretty much objective. Bad paper. Bad
cover. Spine splitting. Band breaking. Etc. Something did definitely
change recently.
Unfortunately, I have to be this way about it, but I really can't tell
you how I know this (I know, how cliche). But I have absolutely
nothing to gain from them being made in China.
I too think it is disgraceful that Moleskines have been marketed as a
European product. However, Chinese manufacturing is a part of life
now. Most Americans just aren't willing to pay the price for American
or European-made products. That being said, I find it difficult for
one to pay $10-$15 for a Chinese notebook.
I'm only eight weeks into my 18-month planner and it's already showing
significant 'structural' wear. The planner is never in my pants pocket
- it goes from home office to work office and travels in my bag
otherwise - I treat it very kindly because I want it around for 18
months.
The cover is already starting to detach from the binding below and
above the stitching. I'll make a simple repair with tape on the inside,
but I'm a little unimpressed with the quality.
I don't care where the notebooks are manufactured - but I'm aware of
the fact I pay extra for the Moleskine quality I'm used to. I hope any
change in manufacturing doesn't challenge the quality we've all grown
accustomed over the years.
I'm thinking for legal reasons. I almost wish they would have just
kept it to themselves at this point.
> and i thought that i've read that after the original (the french company)
> stopped producing the notebook, years later the italian company (modo e
> modo) revived the moleskine notebooks.
This is true. When I said that they were always made in China, I was
refrerring to the Moleskines as we know them today, the ones by Modo e
Modo.
> the reason why they put themselves up for sale was, i believe, because
> demand got so much higher in recent years that their production capacity
> couldn't keep up with it, which got me believing that they were made in
> italy at least until the sale of modo e modo...
I personally think the owner wanted to cash in on their brand and
retire. Or, maybe they were afraid that printing "Printed and bound in
China" on the notebooks would tank their sales and wanted to sell the
company.
Also, when they publicly went up for sale, they were said to have 13
employees. There is no way they could produce the amount of notebooks
they do with only 13 employees -- unless they were outsourcing the
production.
What is likely to happen, assuming that these notebooks are actually
inferior according to the lofty quality standards we have some to
expect, is that quality will rise as the production team becomes more
adept at producing high-quality notebooks. This may take some time, but
it makes sense: if you were making paper airplanes, would your first
attempt, your 10th, your 100th or your 1000th be of the highest
quality? I would venture a guess that if we were to find the first run
of the very first Modo e Modo Moleskines, they would not be as good as
the one I am currently using as a journal.
However, that being said, a more concerning development are allegations
of inferior materials--the elastic band, the paper, etc. One can chalk
up things like the spine breaking to production inexperience, etc., but
inferior materials cannot be explained away. This is far more serious
and cannot be fixed by experience.
If you really want to move away from these Moleskines, Clairefontaine
and Rhodia both produce excellent, extremely high-quality notebooks &
pads, although they lack an abstract "warmth." If you go to your local
bookstore you will find dozens of Moleskine knockoffs that might suit
your fancy.
My question is: while the leatherbound notebooks have seen a decrease
in quality, is that also true for the cahiers?
And my other, more pressing question is: how can I tell the new,
poorer-quality ones from the older, high-quality ones? I want to go to
a few bookstores and stock up before it's too late.
That being said, I have to point out many beloved brands are now
manufactured in China. One of which is my favourite Coach. You'd think
that prices would be a less but they are still charging a premium
because of the brand. And many still buy thinking they're getting a
"Made in the USA" product. And that's exactly what's happening to
moleskines now.
I honestly don't think letters to Modo are going to work. It's purely
economics and profits. Are you seriously going to stop buying them now?
I know I'm not...there isn't anything else out there as good. We'll all
grumble about it here and in our blogs but we'll still buy them. And
after a while, all this will just...stop.
As far as the European-marketing issue, this cuts both ways. This is
hard for me to believe, but for a couple of years I saw Moleskine
displays in the stores where I was buying my (many types of)
notesbooks, and put my nose in the air. I was thinking, why would I
buy these because Hemingway supposedly used one? C'mon, I want a
notebook that PERFORMS.
So when I first tried Moleskine, sure enough, it was the top performer,
so now I go through stacks of them, because I love the size, shape,
paper quality, construction, and (sadly) the durability.
My point is (you knew I'd get to it sooner or later) I'm not going to
confuse form with function. As long as my Moleskines are functioning
as I want, I'm not going to let the form of marketing bother me.
I completely understand the sentiment though, because I have to admit
that I really loved the thought of my notebooks being stitched together
in a picturesque Italian shop and kept on a dusty shelf in a European
stationerer's until I needed one, at which point it was whisked through
time and space into my waiting hands. Should I give up my dream?
Letters to Modo e Modo won't do any good now that the company is sold to
a French firm. However, letters to the French firm, once we get the
address may well help to get quality improvements. I suspect the French
firm may have got into this without knowing that M & M had a quality
problem.
If you can live with the quality lottery -- never knowing which book is
the one that will start to fall apart if you look at it the wrong way --
fine, but I am not. I had one of the small lined Moleskines that had
never been used. When I opened it one day with a view to using it, the
spine cracked and came loose from the cover. I am gentle with books, so
it wasn't that I was being forceful with it in any way. That hasn't
stopped a number of others from falling apart either.
And there are alternatives, such as the Triform books -- www.triform,com
-- created for use by police and others requiring a good notebook. The
pages of these pocket notebooks are ruled and *numbered*, which is a
plus. The covers are heavy paper for slipping into a plastic, leather,
or cordura cover. I have the cordura covers, and it is indestructable. I
stopped using the system when I discovered Moleskine, but it is my
fallback position.
As I have started using a fountain pen since I stopped using Triform, I
have tested my fountain pens on some Triform pages, and found that they
work as well if not better than in Moleskines.
Daly
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SFWriter wrote:
>
> Ms. Silvia Trenta
> Marketing Department
> MODO&MODO S.p.A.
> Viale di Porta Vercellina, 10
> 20123 Milano - Italy
>
>
Via babelfish, I hand-wrote both in Italian and English. But I also
sent it on Clairfontaine stationary. And I mentioned switching to
Clairfontaine in the message. I hope that wasn't too pushy! :)
And they came out with a very nice similar "Moleskines" looking
notebook But my favorite is still the Leather Like Journal in 4x6 size.
The price is $8 - $12 depending on the version that your purchase -
Available in several colors (Red, Green, Black, And Blue)
The 100 Page 4x6 size is very similar size to the moleskine but soft
cover and much much better paper quality. You can really tell the
difference.
They carry them locally in a couple of the bookstores (B&N, Borders)
Here is the article that I wrote about the newer version is located
here:
http://www.merlinstower.com/2006/07/16/new-miquelrius-journals-on-their-site/
I have had one that I carry with all my important phone #'s, passwords,
notes on websites, business info, personal info. This is my catch-all
journal that only houses that kind of info and I have had it for 2
years of me lugging it around in my leather holder I made and the
bindings are still strong - the cover is still nice and none of the
pages ever fell out. And I use this a lot for reference. I throw my 3x5
cars into various pages to keep me up to date and carry a printed
calendar around in it as well. It has served me well and continues to
do so with out all the issues the moleskine is having.
That is my 2 cents on this subject.
Alan - Digital Alan - www.MerlinsTower.com
http://groups.google.com/group/notebookism/browse_frm/thread/65645d53...
Thank you.
Jerry (Canberra Australia)
my second favourite brands are the above mentioned Rollbahn and
Miquelrius. I guess for the time being, i'll have to switch between
those three and see which one works the best for me, considering long-
term patronage into the future.
I guess you'll have to write moleskineus.com to let them know that
their website is wrong. It says "Moleskine journals are made in Italy."
Enough of a buzz could kill the company (or at least the brand) before
they even have a chance to address the issue.
--
Evan "JabberWokky" Edwards
http://www.cheshirehall.org/
Good point. That is what can happen in the Internet age when a company
with a premium-priced product dramatically lowers their product's
quality and keeps the price the same. For me, the Moleskine brand is
already dead, as I won't buy any more of their products until I hear a
rousing chorus of satisfaction from other users, reporting that all the
paper quality, cover quality, and binding quality issues have been
resolved. I will not tolerate my journals coming apart. This is a
very highly competitive market. Moleskine has already lost me as a
customer. It will take tremendous effort on their part to even
possibly win me back. I suspect other former Moleskine enthusiasts
feel similarly about Moleskine's breach of faith with us.
Well, it could either be a breach of faith or a shipment of volumes from a
factory that did not meet their quality standards, but they were stuck with
no other choice; either go bankrupt or sell their inventory. Molo e Molo was
quite a small company and the sale is too new for the new owners to have an
effect on inventory that is currently in the marketplace.
You appear to assume, quite arrogantly, that you have knowledge that their
recent batch of notebooks was intentionally done "on the cheap". They were
looking to sell themselves, which is a flag that they may well have been in
financial difficulties (quite possibly doing well, but unable to expand),
there had been a dearth of products in the marketplace just before this new
batch, and they announced several new lines, which would likely need a new
manufacturer if the old one was already having trouble meeting their shipment
needs. Working with new manufacturers, especially when you are a small
company, is a walk through a mine field.
I am not assuming that the decline was, as alluded to in the sketch I have
written above, due to business pressure. I am not assuming anything; I (and
most people here) simply do not know. Whatever the reason, we are seeing the
issues within one shipment of volumes. If this one batch was done poorly
they have not yet had a chance to rectify the situation... and not selling
the batch may not have been a financially viable option. Either that, or
your fears are justified, and they have lowered their standards for more
profit -- but I cannot justify that with any information I have seen pass
this group. It is quite possible you have knowledge of the inner workings of
the company that have led you to this conclusion. I am sure I am not alone
in asking you for that information.
I do not know what is going on with the Moleskine brand, but I suspect
that your characterization of the quality issue as a "breach of faith" is
less of an informed statement and more of an emotional response.
I am not assuming that the decline was, as alluded to in the sketch I have
written above, due to business pressure. I am not assuming anything; I (and
most people here) simply do not know. Whatever the reason, we are seeing the
issues within one shipment of volumes. If this one batch was done poorly
they have not yet had a chance to rectify the situation... and not selling
the batch may not have been a financially viable option. Either that, or
your fears are justified, and they have lowered their standards for more
profit -- but I cannot justify that with any information I have seen pass
this group. It is quite possible you have knowledge of the inner workings of
the company that have led you to this conclusion. I am sure I am not alone
in asking you for that information.
I do not know what is going on with the Moleskine brand, but I suspect
that your characterization of the quality issue as a "breach of faith" is
less of an informed statement and more of an emotional response.
--
Evan "JabberWokky" Edwards
http://www.cheshirehall.org/
If a company decides to sell a batch of defective volumes, the company
can reasonably expect customer backlash such as this thread carries.
If a company is not monitoring the quality of their suppliers, the
company can reasonably expect customer backlash such as this thread
carries.
You grant me more knowledge and arrogance than I actually have. I do
not know who made what decision where or when. I do know that the
journals now shipping are not up to the quality standards of the
Moleskine journals I have bought in the past. I do know that someone
somewhere in the Moleskine supply chain made a decision to reduce
quality, using new covers, new binding, and new paper. The reports on
this thread make all of that clear, as there are now new covers, new
binding, and new paper. Are you with me so far? No matter who made
those quality-reducing decisions, the sellers of the Moleskine journals
(Modo e Modo or the new owners) are responsible for ensuring that their
supply chain is producing high quality journals (as before). The
quality decrease happend "on their watch", no matter who made the
implicit or explicit decision to reduce quality.
Let us take a few other examples, maybe automobile tires. If a tire
manufacturer sells a premium tire and has a quality problem with one of
their suppliers, you don't mind driving around with your family on
defective tires that could get you all killed, do you? I certainly
would mind. Can you say Ford Explorers and Bridgestone tires?
I hope you are not saying that it is OK for manufacturers of formerly
high quality products to reduce quality and keep the same high price,
are you?
Sure, a Moleskine journal is not a tire, and a quality decrease in a
paper journal is not a life-threatening issue. It certainly is an
emotional issue. I LOVE my old Moleskine journals. I luxuriate in
writing in them. I enjoy reading them.
Modo e Mode went out of their way to foster the emotional connection I
had to their journals with the ads about how various famous artists and
writers used their journals and relied on them (even though the
journals those artists used were not made by Modo e Modo, but Mode e
Mode used the emotional link anyway). Sure, for me writing in a
journal is all about sensation and emotions. I like the feel and the
sound of my fountain pen gliding across the beautifully finished paper
in m old Moleskine journals. I enjoy running the book mark through my
fingers while I think. Sure, writing in a Moleskine journal is an
emotinoal experience, and Modo e Mode worked hard to establish that
emotional connection.
Sure, somebody at Modo e Modo or the new owners have performed a breach
of faith. I used to have faith in their quality and I paid their very
high prices to get that. Now, I don't get that same quality, but the
high price remains the same. Yes, of course there has been a breach of
faith by the sellers of Moleskine journals. Yes I am highly emotional
about the breach of faith, I am very dissapointed that the Moleskine
journals I used to know and love and enjoy and buy are apparently gone
(new manufacturer, new owner, new wrapper label, new low quality, same
old name, same old high price). Any one who assumes that emtions are
not a factor in a customer's selection of a product does not yet know
very much about marketing, I fear.
At this time, all the information I have says the made in China labeled
Moleskine journals are exhibiting poorer bindings, poorer covers, and
poorer paper.
But maybe you know something the rest of us do not.
How do you know the quality issues we are seeing are only in one lot of
journals? Are there lot numbers somewhere we can check? I have looked
at all my Moleskine journals and I can not find any such identifying
numbers. If there are both good lots and bad lots with the made in
China wrappers, can we start to figure out which are the good lots so
we can all avoid the bad lots? Or are you just inventing the
information that the problem is restricted to one bad lot, without any
actual data to back up your supposition?
I believe that I answered your question. My point is that we don't know.
My main problem was your use of the term "faith". Faith is for God and
lovers. Both artists and businesses are forced to be a bit more pragmatic or
they will be found to, like the boojum, have "softly and suddenly vanished
away".
Not at all... that they may be the victims of a manufacturing facility
that produced some prototypes that were quite nice and met the quality of
Moleskines. They then ordered shipping crates full of them and what was in
the shipping crates was not at all the same quality as the prototypes.
It happens quite often with Chinese scooter parts. That's why my mind
went to that concept; many people who commission parts from Chinese factories
have run into the same problem. One factory might do a fairly good job,
another shows nicer prototypes at a less expensive rate, but then delivers
even worse than the first factory. In some cases you can find dealers
dumping the inventory close to cost to recoup their losses; they generally
aren't large enough to take a loss on the order of parts.
To make it even more... ahem... interesting, Chinese factories have a
habit of (at least for scooter parts) bidding out sub-lots of a large order
that they can't handle. Some regions have high quality factories and do very
nice work... and mixed in with that are products from lower quality
factories.
Counterfeit? Well, not quite. But also quite possibly not the product
that Molo e Molo expected when they placed their large order of the new
expanded line of notebooks this time around. At least not in quality. And
once they arrive, they may simply not have the option of tossing them and
reordering. It is quite nice to talk of them going bankrupt for some sort
of "faith" issue, but that really isn't a sensible option, especially when
they are brokering a buyout.
And again, the brutal truth is that we don't know. Writing to the company
is a good idea. Causing a fuss is a good idea. My main problem with the
original post was the use of the term "faith". It's a product, not a
religion. If it is lousy, I simply don't buy it. If it becomes good again,
I do. It is not some sort of personal affront. No worries; they aren't big
ticket items, they are simply notebooks around the same cost of an evening
dining out. I have certainly known restaurants that have had bad runs, some
recover, some don't. Some go out of business and some stay in business.
Speculation on the cause of your burned entree is fun, but either the food
is good or it ain't. They just hired a new French chef: I'll wait until he
starts cooking, stop on by and see if it's any good. If not... well, it's no
personal attack on me. I'll just find a new place to dine at.
Please also see the Wikipedia definition for "bad faith"
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bad_faith): "In philosophy bad faith is
the flight from existential responsibility Bad faith (Latin: male
fides) is a legal concept that can be found in many areas of the law."
While I do find a Moleskine journal to fit well in my suit coat's
jacket pocket and to be quite useful for jotting notes during a sermon
or a religious discussion, I certainly did not mean to drag my religion
or your religion into a discussion of Moleskine's decreased quality of
covers, bindings, and paper. Again, I apologize for your confusion; I
was and am talking about Moleskine's recent decrease in quality in the
sense of "good faith" and "bad faith" (per the Wikipedia definitions)
rather than in any sense of religious faith.
I realize that many readers of this thread may not be native English
speakers, so I thank you for raising this point about the multiple
English uses of the word "faith".
I wasn't taking it as specifically religious (which is why I said "Faith
is for God and lovers"), but rather as a personal injustice. I don't see
anything personal in a product dipping in quality. I think that, even when
honestly trying to made an outstanding product, there can be problems. They
are a fairly small business working within realistic bounds of their
product -- a rather inexpensive notebook. They aren't Mead, who can dump a
bad shipment and eat the loss, nor do they have the clout of a major company
like Mead. Nor are they producing high end several hundred dollar leather
bound journals in small lots. They're a fairly small company making large
numbers of pretty cheap notebooks. The quality versus price was always
surprisingly good. Now it's a bit more in line with the price (a la
Miquelrius, which have always fallen apart on me). Hopefully they can
increase the quality to again exceed what one would expect for such a low
price.
I'm not making excuses... I'm just being realistic. It's a notebook, not
an expensive journal. For a long time they were better than their price
would suggest. They have recently dropped in quality, and it looks like
there were manufacturing changes.
If we weren't all writers and artists, there would be far fewer words
written on this. If these were oil filters (about the same price, bought by
people about as often) and we were gear heads, we'd all warn each
other "yeah, the McGuffin oil filters used to be a great deal until last
April". There would be no lamenting nor gnashing of teeth and talk
about "breech of trust". Some people would move on, some would stock up on
old filters, some would make a quiet mental note to try them again in a few
months.
Moleskines are cheap notebooks. They still are. The latest batch isn't
as good as in the past. This is not an injustice... it's just what happens
sometimes with products. Complain to the company, hope they get better. If
they do, enjoy them. If they don't, find another notebook.
I've been an avid BB&B shopper for several years, and this was the
first time they've ever carried Moleskines that I've been aware of.
Untypical from the manner in which I generally find Moleskine notebooks
displayed, these notebooks were stacked haphazardly in a plain
cardboard box on a shelf of the display. It had a very 'clearance
sale' look to it, which although common at BB&B, is not how I'd expect
to find Moleskines.
Since this was the first time I'd seen any Moleskines being sold in a
retail setting since long before this issue began, I decided to take a
close look at them. Sure enough, along the bottom of the paper strip
on the back of each notebook were those dreaded words, 'Manufactured
and Printed in China'. I found one had already been opened, and was
laying on top of the others.
Picking the unsealed notebook up in my hands, I immediately noticed the
difference in the cover. The material was all wrong...sure it was
black, but it was too shiny, too smooth, and just felt 'cheap'. There
was also a significant gap between the inside of the cover and the
spine that allowed me to see how poorly it was bound. Finally, the
paper was different...not soft enough, and too smooth.
Of course, these observations have already been made by many others in
this very thread. But, perhaps I had to witness them myself to truly
understand the heft of this issue. Although with 4 'original-quality'
Moleskines currently at my disposal, I have no immediate need for any
new ones, I am at least in spirit joining the boycott. Oh, and in case
anyone's wondering, the substandard Moleskines I saw at BB&B were
priced at US$12.