(Bad) Review - House of Staunton American Staunton Chess Pieces

Good thing I saw this thread, before I pulled the trigger on one of their expensive sets. Thanks for the detailed review.

House of Staunton, if you are reading this, you have a couple of days before I make a Paypal claim. I have sent you an email on friday and no reply yet as of today (Tuesday).

So, I ordered the *NEW* Minsk Series Chess Pieces - 3.75" King (MENWNMN375-GR), HoS sent me a wrong item, The Minsk Series Chess Pieces - 3.75" King (MENWMIN375) instead.

There is a significant difference in regards to the proportion among the pieces between the two sets. In MENWMIN375, the queen, knight and bishop are about the same height which I don't like. Whereas in MENWNMN375-GR, the queen is taller than the bishop and the bishop is taller than the knight which I prefer and this is the main reason I ordered this set.

I have the feeling that HoS just wanted to move their old stock, which I think is dodgy. But prove me wrong, send me a reply, and do the right thing, much appreciated.

If they care about customers and the numerous folks on this site,they'll make good on it my friend! Good luck......I'll be watching for your results.

You're in Australia? Then I think your only hope of getting any response from HOS is to get one of their regular US based customers to contact them on your behalf and ask what's going on. Ever since I bought a "luxury" set from them at $415 where the varnish came off the white pieces (I had to sand them and refinish them myself) I've watched posts complaining about HOS. The only ones from outside the US that seem to get resolved appear to be those where an American has helped. I only managed one email response from them, and that didn't even apologise.

Though I heartily agree with the original poster and feel for him,for others to trash a company like HOS based on a small sampling is not fair. My recent HOS experience was absolutely one of the best I've had,after ordering 22 sets overall. However I have only bought one set from HOS.

The worst experience,by far,was C.B. Now,that being said,C.B. ultimately made good on my issues,but after a ton of poor communications and wrong replacement pieces. I actually had to pay for two new Knights,since the replacements were incorrectly sized.

Looking at my sample size of sets bought from C.B. which is twelve,I'm confident in saying that C.B. can and do make a nice set ( I have a few gems from them) but the odds of hassles and issues is far greater than the problems I had with other vendors.

S.C. and NOJ.....EraRetro and Oldset,as well as Royal Chess Mall were a pleasure to deal with.

No issues.

I am a fan of Frank Camaratta, not necessarily HoS. Of all the HoS sets I own, Frank created all but one or two of them.

I managed to speak to a HoS customer service over the phone and she apologised and said would look into it. But if I don't hear from HoS by tomorrow, I will submit a Paypal claim which will force them to react. I have experience dealing with HoS last year and they were quite quick to respond. Also dealt with RCM and CB lately, also quick to respond. But this time around, I have no luck with HoS.

Also, in my recent orders, HoS didn't give me the tracking number. I had to request the tracking number. My last order, I requested the tracking order last night but HoS hasn't gotten back to me. Parcel arrived today, still no reply from HoS. What's going on with HoS? They're supposed to be a premium supplier, as compared to CB and RCM who are quick to communicate.

I reckon times of high demand are the litmus test of good processes and systems; Black Friday moving into Xmas peak is a strain in processes and systems.

My guess is some suppliers have better processes and systems than others and you’re being negatively impacted as a result. In no way an excuse - any retailer should be prepared for this time of year - just a guess as to what’s going on. I also reckon that’s why the retailers go up and down too… the clever ones learn from past issues and end up with better systems for the experience.

Words of wisdom from Powder.I'll still bet that HOS ultimately solves the issue to your satisfaction. It's a busy time of year,so just stay on top of it and let HOS know the Chess.com forum is aware of your issues. That tends to resonate with vendors.

Good luck pal.

I - living in Sweden - have only bought platic pieces and mousepad boards from HoS. Neither did impress me.. The pieces were OK, kinda, but worse than similr pieces I´d bought elsewhere. the same goes for the boards.

I´ll never order anything from HoS again. Fool me once..

UPDATE: HoS offered me a partial refund of USD 50 and I get to keep the wrong set. As expected, HoS was forced to react because I lodged a Paypal claim. If I didn't, I'll wait forever. HoS says that what I receive matches the "New Minsk" profile on stock and promised to update its listing but as of date, it hasn't updated it. If HoS will update the listing, I will accept the offer. I take it as a sincere gesture. I still have until 28th to accept or reject. But if it won't update the listing, that's sort of a joke. How would I know that what I receive matches their stock for "New Minsk" when they continue to offer both the "New Minsk" and the old Minsk sets. It's confusing and poor customers who will order the "New Minsk" will just follow my ordeal.

I truely wish there were shops where you could walk in and buy what you want after handling it. I would buy a superset if I could do this. The most expensive I bought was a russian import for about £400, it was over priced but I had my reasons.

UPDATE: HoS finally updated its website after 12 days from my first email. As promised, I have accepted the 50 USD offer and get to keep the set. All good now.

Sorry to hear about this experience from HoS. My impression had been positive though I haven't bought anything from them or seen a set in person.

I've been impressed with the two sets I've purchased from Royal Chess Mall. I can find little things to nitpick on one of the sets, but I think their knights look better (based on online photos anyway...) than any other company's, and their prices are competitive.

I get more and more impressed with the quality of my Fischer Ultimate Chess pieces. The design is decently classy (bulkier pawns and bishops than would be most beautiful) but it seems they were designed for in the hand feel rather than beatuty. They do feel great! The felt at the base is excellent and crisp. And plastic molds avoid some of the issues that beset wood pieces.

Just a heads up for anyone considering buying from House of Staunton:

I bought a Grandmaster Chess Set directly from them. After only two uses, several pieces developed cracks — even though the set was properly stored and rarely touched. Their warranty supposedly covers manufacturing defects for one year.

When I contacted them, they refused to replace the pieces, claiming the warranty had "expired" — even though it’s obvious the cracks happened earlier and just weren't immediately visible. Instead of honoring the warranty, they tried to get me to pay for replacement pieces.

This company does not stand behind its products or its warranties. Be very careful — there are plenty of better, more reputable chess suppliers out there.

Save your money and avoid the headache.

Is the product still under warranty? If it is not one year since your purchase of the product, House of Staunton must provide replacements.
Of course, cracks are not House of Staunton’s fault as these chess sets are originally made in India by various Indian manufacturers and if the wood is not seasoned and processed scientifically the chess pieces containing metal weights can develop cracks especially if not stores properly or are exposed to excessive heat and cold.
It is good that you have informed HOS about the cracks so that they can contact their Indian suppliers and request from them replacements. House of Staunton is very reputable and unequalled in product quality and I am pretty sure that they will help you out if their product is still under their warranty period.