Buying Leather – Sitting on a Top Secret

Top grain leather, a dirty little secret:

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The ad proudly says “We carry 100% top grain leather.”

Watch out, fair buyer. Top grain leather is a sneaky marketing term used by leather goods dealers. It literally means “low quality leather with a fake grain embossed on it.” That last slogan was not so catchy, eh?

Top grain leather means they take cheap leather and buff it, then emboss what looks like leather grain on top. Marketers often talk about turning a negative point into a positive one. I suppose this falls into that category, but really does a disservice to the consumer.

The proper name for this leather is “corrected grain,” though don’t look for that term in any sales pitch. Full grain leather is what you are looking for.

2 Comments so far

  1. [...] http://leathercraftcentral.com/uncategorized/buying-leather-sitting-on-a-top-secret.htmlTop grain leather means they take cheap leather and buff it, then emboss what looks like leather grain on top. Marketers often talk about turning a negative point into a positive one. I suppose this falls into that category, … [...]

  2. [...] http://leathercraftcentral.com/uncategorized/buying-leather-sitting-on-a-top-secret.htmlWatch out, fair buyer. Top grain leather is a sneaky marketing term used by leather goods dealers. It literally means “low quality leather with a fake grain embossed on it.” That last slogan was not so catchy, eh? … [...]

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