In May of 2008, I was attracted to a pretty duffel bag and its little sibling in a Travelpro outlet in Orlando. Thinking that a purchase of a Travelpro bag would be the best luggage decision I’d ever made, I bought them both. My 9 year old son spent his saved-up “Disney” money on a rolling computer bag made by your Atlantic brand.

Unfortunately, we were both attracted to the pretty bags, not doing our research online, to really check the reputation of their manufacturer. Our family’s previous bags had lasted 8 years. We expected at least that, of a company that advertises itself at the caliber of Travelpro. Actually, we were convinced of our great decision, since the salespeople recommended I make photocopies of the sales receipts, because I might need them for warranty work, and the ones printed out at the register tend to fade over the years.

3 months later, my son’s bag had begun to fall apart, and we found ourselves back in Orlando. Having had some interesting conversations with the staff of the store, they remembered my family. They accepted the return of my son’s bag and upsold him to a TPRO Xtreme Lite 19. He ended up spending more of his savings.

A few months later, my 2 duffles began to come apart. We happened to be in Orlando, again, and I was told to bring the bags to the Atlanta service representative. Having described what was coming apart on my bags, they were sure they would be fixed under warranty.

One year and several cancer treatments later (I don’t blame Travelpro for that---it’s just the reason it took me so long) I brought my 2 bags to the Leather and Luggage Depot. As I walked into the store, the employee seemed to be “on guard” for another customer not understanding why her bags were not covered under a warranty. The employees looked at my bags and deemed them wear and tear. When I asked them exactly how long a bag should last, they were stymied. Really, how long should a bag last? At least 2 years?

I purchased a Costco branded bag at least 6 years ago. It’s not coming apart. It’s not designed with cardboard being stressed by the contents of the bag, tearing the ballistic nylon. I just had warranty work done on a Delsey that was 8 years old.

You send out press releases, advertising your lightweight, large duffels, designed to carry heavy loads. I was told by Jackie Peterman at TPRO that my bags looked like they had been overloaded. Really? I thought that was their purpose. And, I would never pay the airline’s fee for an overweight bag. Are your bags not designed to carry even the 50 lb standard?

I have a five dollar suitcase I bought from a premium shop that has transported 50lbs of rocks from Connecticut to Georgia on Delta on a regular basis. It’s still going strong. You try to attract customers with ballistic nylon. Ok, so a baggage handler won’t rip it. However, filling the bag and travelling with it will.

For a company that positions itself as a design innovator, manufacturing lightweight, durable collections, you are not really living up to that image. I am beyond disappointed. For my $200 I could have bought 2 Costco bags and even returned them at this point. Your bags, however, were a pretty lime green.

Thanks for the lesson learned. i'd like my money back.