Kiltstore.net kilts

[davedove]

I have ordered a kilt, two jackets, and a bunch of accessories from them and have had no problems at all. The items are of good quality.

The only instance of a problem came from a vest I ordered with one of the jackets. They originally sent me the wrong size. After contacting them, they asked me to send back the wrong vest and they would send the correct size. I know that they had to send the correct vest BEFORE they received the incorrect one from me because of the timing.

My complaint comes not from them, but from FEDEX. When bringing items into the States through FEDEX, they act as an customs agent and charge some hefty fees. For that reason, I try to get items from stateside unless they are not available, or I can get enough price discount to compensate for the fees.

[porrick]

Welcome to the forum and addiction!

I am a repeat customer with kiltstore, and have nothing but positive experience. Customer services has in my experience been top notch - as has the quality of delevered goods.

Ah, the question of import and customs... I get the impression that a number of US customers tend to get worked up over having to pay duty upon import from Europe. This issue has been discussed earlier, as has FedEx charging for the clearing through customs (still cheaper than travelling to port of entry and doing it oneself) and the postage/shipping rates. I do not wish to revive that discussion here, but simply point out that for your own peace of mind that you should calculate the import duties before you shop, in order to avoid disappointment when the charges are presented at the other end.

But, again, I have nothing but positive experience with kiltstore, and pay my 25% import duty with a smile. Oh yes, living in the US you do not pay the 17% VAT.

[McClef]

17.5 % VAT Porrick

[McClef]

I am pleased to report that I received an apologetic phone call from their customer services manager this afternoon, agreeing that the mistake had been made at their end on the postage and the money is being refunded to my card.

This has also been confirmed in an email.

Persistance works, however it shouldn't require persistance to resolve what was a simple issue. I told him on the phone that I was an XMarks member (this would have been included in another email had it been necessary) and he really appreciates the business from Xmarks so a mention if you have to email for any reason might go a long way to quicker resolution of any problems.

Now it's sorted I will definitely put another kilt order their way!

[porrick]

17.5 % VAT Porrick

Thanks, McClef - saving another .5% there... Ooopps, wait a minute, we have a 25% sales tax/import duty

[arrogcow]

By shady I meant several things first the prices do sometimes change from page to page (yes it's only $1.50, but still weird). I admit that it is not doing it today (I just checked), but it has done it most times I have been to your site. It probably is a cache thing, but like much on you site, it probably needs to be looked at. The other thing is that if your cache system is speeding up your site, then you have other problems, because your's is one of the slowest sites I ever look at (I tried going through the kilt order process this morning and some pages took over 30 sec to load). It drives me nuts waiting for pages on your (and your sister sites) shop.

But regardless of that, with your system, you don't know what you're paying for a kilt until you pick a tartan. All other kilt shops on line have different catagories (all kilts on this page are $X.xx, all on this page are $Y.yy), your advance search idea would never occur to anyone. Clicking on a link for $328 kilts says to me that the kilts should cost $328, and then when I find they cost $387 (the cost of the sample I deciced to click on randomly this morning), I get a little discouraged (it's called bait and switch in the US).

As for your prices, I did not accuse you of artifically raising them. I pointed out that they were high. I will grant you that you use an outside kilt firm, and the company I compared you to uses inhouse kilt makers so that is probably why they are cheaper (still made in Scotland, not imported slave labor kilts, as you implied).

However you insist that you are fairly priced on other items. As an example you mention your leather kilts. Yes the $715.88 (X-marks price) you sell for is much lower than the $2450 of a TFCK. But in all fairness TFCK is a high end fashion hours with their own grossly inflated prices. Now Utilikilt sells a leather for $625.85, RKilts go for $638.03 (US) and Union Kilts leathers are only $514.74 (these prices are for Black, Rkilts go up to $701.83 for the more exotic colors, but then yours go up to $804.42). Maybe your kilts are better, others will have to judge.

So maybe your prices are comparable in accessories. Just last week, I bought a belt and some hose from the same kilt vendor I mentioned in my first post. I have found the exact same products on your web site (not Bazaar merchant look alike), let's see how they stack up (all prices were found as I was writing this post).

Your Price (X-Marks Discount) Their Price (Sale Price)
Belt $41.82 37.38 32.52 29.27
Hose $18.44 16.50 15.08 13.57
Just for fun I found sporrans and OTR tweed jackets (again same product on the sporrans and comparable jackets)
Sporran $125.74 112.02 97.72 87.95
tweed jacket $335.12 299.60 268.87 241.98

Do I need to keep going on. Their every day prices are significantly lower than your discount prices

Now as Ron has said many times you can have any 2 of (Price, Quality and Service). Your company has quality and service (be proud of that, stop defending your prices), the company I'm comparing you to has quality and price (everyone that has dealt with them will tell you their service sucks - though it only took a week to get the hose and belt). I personally will go for the second option every time, but there are those here that want to be in constant communication with whom ever they are dealing with, expicially when a kilt is on order. You serve them.

Finally Fed Ex ALWAYS charges the duty AND a fee. Royal mail/USPS sometimes misses the duty and NEVER adds a fee (so even when you do get hit, it is less).

Adam

[porrick]

By shady I meant several things first the prices do sometimes change from page to page (yes it's only $1.50, but still weird). I admit that it is not doing it today (I just checked), but it has done it most times I have been to your site. It probably is a cache thing, but like much on you site, it probably needs to be looked at. The other thing is that if your cache system is speeding up your site, then you have other problems, because your's is one of the slowest sites I ever look at (I tried going through the kilt order process this morning and some pages took over 30 sec to load). It drives me nuts waiting for pages on your (and your sister sites) shop.

But regardless of that, with your system, you don't know what you're paying for a kilt until you pick a tartan. All other kilt shops on line have different catagories (all kilts on this page are $X.xx, all on this page are $Y.yy), your advance search idea would never occur to anyone. Clicking on a link for $328 kilts says to me that the kilts should cost $328, and then when I find they cost $387 (the cost of the sample I deciced to click on randomly this morning), I get a little discouraged (it's called bait and switch in the US).

As for your prices, I did not accuse you of artifically raising them. I pointed out that they were high. I will grant you that you use an outside kilt firm, and the company I compared you to uses inhouse kilt makers so that is probably why they are cheaper (still made in Scotland, not imported slave labor kilts, as you implied).

However you insist that you are fairly priced on other items. As an example you mention your leather kilts. Yes the $715.88 (X-marks price) you sell for is much lower than the $2450 of a TFCK. But in all fairness TFCK is a high end fashion hours with their own grossly inflated prices. Now Utilikilt sells a leather for $625.85, RKilts go for $638.03 (US) and Union Kilts leathers are only $514.74 (these prices are for Black, Rkilts go up to $701.83 for the more exotic colors, but then yours go up to $804.42). Maybe your kilts are better, others will have to judge.

So maybe your prices are comparable in accessories. Just last week, I bought a belt and some hose from the same kilt vendor I mentioned in my first post. I have found the exact same products on your web site (not Bazaar merchant look alike), let's see how they stack up (all prices were found as I was writing this post).

Your Price (X-Marks Discount) Their Price (Sale Price)
Belt $41.82 37.38 32.52 29.27
Hose $18.44 16.50 15.08 13.57
Just for fun I found sporrans and OTR tweed jackets (again same product on the sporrans and comparable jackets)
Sporran $125.74 112.02 97.72 87.95
tweed jacket $335.12 299.60 268.87 241.98

Do I need to keep going on. Their every day prices are significantly lower than your discount prices

Now as Ron has said many times you can have any 2 of (Price, Quality and Service). Your company has quality and service (be proud of that, stop defending your prices), the company I'm comparing you to has quality and price (everyone that has dealt with them will tell you their service sucks - though it only took a week to get the hose and belt). I personally will go for the second option every time, but there are those here that want to be in constant communication with whom ever they are dealing with, expicially when a kilt is on order. You serve them.

Finally Fed Ex ALWAYS charges the duty AND a fee. Royal mail/USPS sometimes misses the duty and NEVER adds a fee (so even when you do get hit, it is less).

Adam

Hmm, I have been following this post (ok, I have posted too), and I had intended to merely follow. But, I can't alwayd manage to keep my trap shut.

If ones main interest is always buying things at the lowest possible price I may see the relevance of your post, but in most cases of buying merchandise - be it clothes, automobiles or what have you - there are price differences in the market. There is a simple way to approach this:

1) you settle for the non-cheapest product for numerous reasons as convenience, selection, quality, customer service etc

or

2) you do not wish to pay anything more than the most reasonable alternative. If so, just walk away. Does it really matter that some have higher prices than others? Nobody is forcing you to buy

There are plenty of us who for our reasons appreciate alternative 1) above.

I guess it all has to do with priorities.

No offence intended - just my humble 2 cents worth.

Happy shopping

rgds from
patrick, a happy kiltstore shopper

[Hamish]

Hmm, I have been following this post (ok, I have posted too), and I had intended to merely follow. But, I can't alwayd manage to keep my trap shut.

If ones main interest is always buying things at the lowest possible price I may see the relevance of your post, but in most cases of buying merchandise - be it clothes, automobiles or what have you - there are price differences in the market. There is a simple way to approach this:

1) you settle for the non-cheapest product for numerous reasons as convenience, selection, quality, customer service etc

or

2) you do not wish to pay anything more than the most reasonable alternative. If so, just walk away. Does it really matter that some have higher prices than others? Nobody is forcing you to buy

There are plenty of us who for our reasons appreciate alternative 1) above.

I guess it all has to do with priorities.

No offence intended - just my humble 2 cents worth.

Happy shopping

rgds from
patrick, a happy kiltstore shopper

Very well stated, Patrick. I wanted to say exactly this but you have done so far more eloquently than my feeble, unpublished attempt. Thank you.

[arrogcow]

If ones main interest is always buying things at the lowest possible price I may see the relevance of your post, but in most cases of buying merchandise - be it clothes, automobiles or what have you - there are price differences in the market. There is a simple way to approach this:

1) you settle for the non-cheapest product for numerous reasons as convenience, selection, quality, customer service etc

or

2) you do not wish to pay anything more than the most reasonable alternative. If so, just walk away. Does it really matter that some have higher prices than others? Nobody is forcing you to buy

There are plenty of us who for our reasons appreciate alternative 1) above.

I guess it all has to do with priorities.

No offence intended - just my humble 2 cents worth.

Happy shopping

rgds from
patrick, a happy kiltstore shopper

That was my point. Nick took umbrage that I said his prices were high, and claimed that they were not. I proved him wrong using identical products (not look alikes not knock offs). So using your 4 alternate reasons to buy lets - quality is the same, convieninece is the same (both online only retailers where you can shop any time) selection is the same (again same item - does Nick sell more things? yes, but if there is no competition they you do have to pay what ever) finally service - Nick is above reproach in service, no argument. And that is what Nick should be touting, that he has fantastic service, not trying to claim he has the best prices when clearly he does not. I can justify, in many ways, why his prices are higher and that it could be a good thing.

And yes shady was probably a bad word, but I can't come up with a better one (though badly designed web site comes to mind). As a customer I want to know prices before I take the time to build an order. I've never been to another kilt makers web site (or any other retail site that I can think of) where prices weren't the first thing available (and I have over 25 kilt maker/retailer sights bookmarked).

Adam

[McClef]

Being in the UK I obviously don't have such Fed Ex issues to deal with.

Here in the UK we get offered a choice of options, carrier for which we pay a fee or free for which we don't.

Whereas free isn't going to be viable for long distance shipping it might be beneficial to offer an element of choice for shipping as Fed Ex-phobic customers may be put off placing an order in the first place?

Just a thought.