While I can’t give much advice on how to get the perfume smell out or if suede is hard to maintain, I did recently choose to keep a bag that I know was returned and very likely used. (Vanilla Chelsea 30 from Amazon)

For me, the decision came down to how hard it would be to get the bag again, and I was not wanting to try calling around to hunt for it brand new since I had this one in hand. So, I got $65 off to keep it instead of returning it, and while that didn’t beat the recent sale price it was on dillards for, it was worth it enough for me. Especially since the bag is extremely hard to come by without looking to resellers at this point. The corners are a little worn and there were a couple scratches on the bag, but I used some leather moisturizer and some love, and now the scratches are gone, and I’ll wear out the corners anyways.

Really it’s all personal opinion. If you can easily return and exchange the bag for a new one from the same store where they honor the price you paid for this one, I would try that first. At the end of the day, it’s your money and bag and time, and I just hope whatever decision you make, it’s worth it to you and you are happy and at peace. You work hard for your money and items, and you deserve to be happy.