Hey "Fast Eddie",
Ok, well I've been reluctant to mention what the problem is as I am am still mulling over whether to do something about it, or just leave as is.
If you look at the original pic in this thread (the one with the wine/lilac/purple-ish faux-suede) and the yellow "Norton" name, this is the picture I emailed them and specifically asked if they could do my saddle "the same". Now, in my book, "the same" means "the same"! ie with the same colour scheme although after speaking to the guy (email-wise) I agreed it would be better with gold thread for the embroidery... so this (latter) part was ok.
Anyway, it came back as you can see in the subsequent pics.
Since receiving it back, though (Thursday), I've grown to prefer the black as I have it. The black leather is also better than that in the original pic I would say. I'm still pissed off though as - and it's the principle of the matter - it is still contrary to what I ordered. Furthermore, when I contacted the guy with a personal 'phone call, he wasn't particularly friendly about it. He also told me that in the picture I sent him (the original pic) the seat is black... this is rubbish. I then asked him to send me back the original pic. He did while on the line and there it was ... purple as I had sent it. For that sort of business, I can't imagine that the colour calibration of their computers is so far out that it shows up a light purple/lilac colour as... black!!!
On another note, I was told the turnaround would be two weeks. It was three weeks for me.
It does look like a good job although there is one thing...
On the angle of the horizontal part of the saddle up into the 'vertical' back part of the saddle, the overlying material doesn't seem to be flush on the underlying upholstery. If I gently press down on it at this point, I can feel the covering material pressing down onto the underlying upholstery... like a webbing over a space. It's not a huge 'space' but it's enough to be noticeable on pressing down on it.
I'll decide what action to take after the weekend. To be honest, if he hadn't given me this nonsense about the pic showing the saddle black on his computer, I'd have probably just left as is. However, I don't like being made a fool of... or attempts to do so anyway!
Frankly, the guy wasn't particularly friendly and understanding. He was extremely defensive.
D
