I love Kate spade but I have only bought outlet bags. I have 2 that I switch daily for the past 2 years and they big are still beautiful. I have a red and black bag. The red hasn't faded yet.
I only had to use cs once when my tracking ibfo still showed that it had been picked up after a week. They couldn't find it and issued a refund and 25% offwhich is what i used to buy my florence. Which i was a little surprised bc I know hoanis had trouble doing that in the past. I think they now say that sale items can't be used w/other promos. I think koan and I may have been the reason why. Ha.
I love my KS bags but I would never pay full price. I always wait for them to go on sale.
I own several Kate Spade bags and have never had quality issues with them. Two are on regular rotation, so if they were shoddily made I would definitely know 4+ years later. Still, after all the posts here about customer service issues I'll think twice before buying from them directly again.
I just took my bag in today to have it sent off to be repaired - they were super great, no problems! For me it would be a for customer service.
ETA: I also have a wallet and a ring and both have held up tremendously well. So I guess I don't know what to say about the quality. The bag I just took in broke the first time I used it (although I'm sure that's really abnormal).
I've never had a problem with the quality on KS bags, but I've also always bought from Nordstrom just in case because their customer service has always been great.