I got this bag when it was full price (it was a gift, I could certainly not have spent that much on a bag - even though it will certainly earn its keep). I also have the matching purse (a first for me!) After three weeks I took it back to M&S and got a replacement. Two weeks later the new bag has the same problem as the first.
It's a lovely thing - the leather is nice, it's not got any unfinished bits or questionable seaming inside. It's not over-pocketed or over-organised inside, so you don't have the nightmare of trying to remember which zipped section contains what you're hunting for (with a queue of annoyed people behind you...). It has an adjustable strap so that you can have it long enough to put over your shoulder or carry on the crook of your arm. It looks good either way. It's easy to close/do up and there's a little magnetic disc inside which holds it closed under the black horizontal bar.
Here is my problem: if a bag is described as a 'tote' bag, you expect to be able to keep more than a hankie and a lipstick in it and have it retain its shape. This bag doesn't keep that 'squashed hexagon' shape which you see in the picture. As you face it, the right hand side scrunches up from the bottom, where the little brass studs are on the base. I don't have a huge amount in it (also a first for me). It contains a purse (matching, natch), small tube of hand cream, small hand hygiene gel, a lip balm and a lipstick (these four in the inside pockets - what are they actually for? Who keeps a mobile in their bag these days?), a cheque book and Swiss army knife in the inside zip pocket and finally, a fan (I'm a middle aged woman - everywhere is too hot for me these days). In the back pocket I have four sets of keys (one work - 15 keys; home - four keys; car - two keys; friend's house - two keys). For a bag this size this is a very modest amount, but still this bag pulls up on one side. The first bag, I had the straps on the longer length so that it fit over my shoulder better, and the right-hand clip showed more than the left (which was behind my arm when being carried, I *do* the right shoulder) and would actually 'grab' the leather on the slot which it fit through. That was how I realised that there was something not right with it. This second bag I currently have on the shorter strap length, but have found that if I loop the front flap under the horizontal bar, then the metal clasp at the end it scratches my under-arm (truly a first-world problem!).
Is it worth taking this one back too? Well, I may do that, but if a third bag does the same thing ... well, it's disappointing to say the least and for the price, I'd have expected the base of it to be more rigid or to sag after, say, a year rather than a week. So, M&S - do any of these bags stay level along the bottom or are they all going to do the same thing? What exactly does the 'testing' involve when these bags are designed and prototypes are made? What's the point of the expansion poppers on the side if you can't keep more than air in them?
Like I said - loved the bag, but the way it scrunches up really takes the gloss off.