Upon receiving the saddle, I cast another data point in the "you get what you pay for" camp. The grain of the leather is not straight (along the length of the saddle) and the "honey" color is a result of paint slathered on the outside of the leather, which can crack as the leather flexes. But I still figured it would work passably for a commuting bike.

So I treated the leather with Brooks Proofide and put it on my bike. Also, the rails were not parallel and it took some work with zip-ties to get them moderately lined up with the seatpost clamp to where I could tighten the clamp down.

However, upon sitting on the saddle, the leather immediately collapsed/sagged into the middle. I tried to tension the saddle but the tension bolt is so short that it provides limited adjustment ability, but the bigger issue is that the tensioning bolt slips through the threading point (not the bolt, but the threading point further away from the nose of the saddle) and therefore cannot sustain any tension.

It's not really worth the cost of returning the saddle ($20 retail + $12 shipping were my initial input costs) so I figure I may replace the tensioning bolt with a longer screw (that has a head on one end) so it doesn't matter that the threads have stripped out.

Here are some photos (all taken before sitting on the saddle)