Chess Bazaar - Beware of guarantee

One year ago I bought a Dubrovnik 3.0 from Chess Bazaar (India) and it was ok. The tip of the finnial ball of the queens were not 100% centralized, but I was satisfied with the overall quality.

Last month they did a 50% discount offer in their website and I purchased two sets, 1x Romanian Hungarian in Padauk and 1x Latvian set in sheeshan.

The first set came ok. Cannot complain at all. The second one however came with “leaned” knights, instead of being at a 90o angle from the base, they came with a lean (one to the right, one to the left (see pictures). I decided to fill a claim to get replacements, than the bad customer service started: I send a message with pictures asking for a replacement. First, this guyJitender said they are hand carved, so small differences are normal. Seems like they didnt even bother to check the pictures I sent. Then I sent another message and they said I need to send the defective pieces back to India on my expense and after their analysis, they can send back new knights to me. Probably they will try to send the defective ones to other customer… Finally I said I wont send it back at my expense and they need to replace any way, copying the manager/supervisor called Vik. So far I had no answer. 

I am not very picky with stuff but even my kids said when they saw the knights: “Geez dad, those “horses” are crooked”

I dont recomend this company to anyone. Be careful, maybe they will treat US customers better, but if are not from the US, dont buy from them, even with discounts of 50% or more.

The saying “you get what you pay for” is very real with those people from CB. Their quality control is poor.

Thank you for sharing it

I am still waiting for the replacement ebony queen ( Richard Whitty set). Mr. Gupta said that he was sending it to me, last May.   11 months ago!  And Chessbazar no longer replies to my email.  I love the 5 sets that I bought from CB. I would love to write positive posts regarding the quality of my CB sets. Their  terrible customer  service   prevents me from recommending CB to my friends, chess club  members and everyone else.  In case you are reading this,   Mr. Gupta, I am Edward  Dubin

That just stinks. I’m sorry for your trouble. Your knights lean like one of my knights from my vintage Soviet set. My set had a hard life as it had to survive 90 cold winters in the Soviet Union. I am not sure why your knights are leaning like that.  Those knights should be replaced.

Take it from someone who's bought 12 sets from C.B.(gifted away one,so down to eleven).....

All you have to do is use the psychological ploy of threatening to place a bad review on Chess.com.....Worked for me 4 times.

I never wanted to go that route,but their communications to me was so bad,I was forced to do so.

I mean,don't tell me that my email address doesn't work and then send me advertisements on it every day.

That's terrible. This doesn't look like an accidental mistake that got past poor quality control. It's so obviously wrong. It seems like Chess Bazaar knowingly saw the error, looked the other way and intentionally sent out these poorly made Knights anyway in hopes that the customer either doesn't notice, or doesn't mind. 

^^ The knights are bad, as well as the customer service. Let's not go jumping to wild conclusions though.

Those Knights are so obviously bad even at a quick glance, how can a manufacturer who does this day in, day out NOT see something is wrong? And for the record, I did say "seems like." Meaning, I'm guessing. I wasn't present in the factory. 

What you feel is a wild conclusion. I call it a rational conclusion.

Guessing is right.

Thanks to everyone else for your sympathy and messages!

Regards to all chess players, fans and collectors!

by the way, I bought this Staunton Castle Dubrovnik in Padauk last year and it came perfect. The rook arrived with a broken collar and it was immediatly replaced. That is great customer service. This company is also from India.

@ferpesan As always, it's important to not negatively paint all these overseas manufacturers with the same brush. There are highlights. Time and time again we can see who routinely resides at the bottom of the barrel. Good luck in getting it sorted out. 

@ferpesan - by any means you shouldn't have to deal with this poor customer service. However, I have noticed glue at the bases. Indicating 2 pieces. I'm sure a small dowel is in there holding the two together. If you get nowhere with CB you could always try and heat that glue up carefully until it breaks away. Re-apply glue and clamp at 90 degrees. Hope CB does the right thing.

Well, when Chessbazaar does big discounts on certain chess sets there might be some good reason for it therefore caution seems wise in case imperfect chess pieces have slipped through. 

This is consistent with their policy. They're not willing to replace poorly made pieces. I asked them directly as I was debating buying their 2017 Sinquefield world Cup replica set, they referred me to their replacement policy which appears to be intentionally misleading in that it states CB will replace pieces that have manufacturing defects* the asterisk notes that this is for cracked or warped pieces ONLY. Which are material defects, not manufacturing defects. Seems slimy, I won't give them my business.

I have to say that with all the hassles I've had with C.B. all were corrected....Not too easily,but taken care of to my complete satisfaction.....and.....They are quite capable of selling very,"very" nice sets!

Ya' just have to stay on them.

It’s too bad, i hope CB steps up and does the right thing for you. The grain does look really nice though, i can understand the draw of the set. For me, with all the rest of life’s stress, I’ll avoid any company that doesn’t provide good service after the sale. Keep the pressure on CB.