Castle Forbes quality problem

[hockey_magnet]

Or it may be the merchant - I ordered Castle Forbes Lime shave cream from ClassicShaving.com - I want to point out that I have always had great service from them and I just notified them of the problem, so I'll wait to see what they say but I thought I'd pass this along. My order arrived and the exterior box and Castle Forbes box were both in perfect condition. When I opened the lid, it looked like there was only half the cream (well maybe 2/3). also the lid was in pretty rough shape, badly scratched. I understand there may be some settling but you can clearly see that the level of the cream is way down. There is a tight fitting inner lid that had a lot of cream on it, but the cream in the jar was nowhere close to making contact. If this was some inexpensive cream, no big deal but at $35, I expect better than this. I'll follow up when I get a reapons from Classic but I do not intend to repackage it and pay for return postage plus I've lost the taxes on it as well. Here are some photos:

In the last one, it may look like the product has shifted and it is up near the rim on one side, it isn't that's just a small blob. It is pretty uniformly a full 1/2 inch below the rim all the way around

Chris

 

[Gruder]

My container of their cedar/sandalwood (awesome cream, BTW!) was not full to the brim when it arrived, but I wouldn't say it was as low as depicted in your picture, either. Nor was my lid scratched up. I'd say you were correct to contact the vendor. Surely they'll take care of this for you. Do keep us posted.

(Doesn't it smell fantastic, though? )

 

[blantyre]

CF is usually only full to the top of the recessed part and the threaded part is empty (at least when the cream has settled). Yours looks as though some of the cream flowed to the top during shipping. The scratching is probably due to shipping issues and possibly very hot conditions while being bounced around.

 

[Austin]

The cream is not measured in mass but in weight. All creams settle and don't always look full. CF is quite dense and may appear to be less than full. Weigh the container and see if the weight is correct.

 

[hockey_magnet]

The cream is not measured in mass but in weight. All creams settle and don't always look full. CF is quite dense and may appear to be less than full. Weigh the container and see if the weight is correct.

Isn't the weight supposed to be the weight of the product without the container? If so, this would make it impossible to check unless someone happens to know the weight of the container empty

 

[hockey_magnet]

That makes sense - on one side, it is almost up to the bottom of the threaded area but not quite but on the other side, it is WAY below. . You can see from the picture that it is actually below the top of the label by 1/4 inch or so. If I bothered to spread the contents completely level, I'd say there would be at least 1/4" , which is a lot, of empty space below the bottom of the threaded area across the entire surface. I also don't see how cardboard (the CF box) could scratch plastic. As I said, the CF box was perfect, not a mark or dent anywhere. I'm not that picky but this just does not look right to me.

CF is usually only full to the top of the recessed part and the threaded part is empty (at least when the cream has settled). Yours looks as though some of the cream flowed to the top during shipping. The scratching is probably due to shipping issues and possibly very hot conditions while being bounced around.

 

[hockey_magnet]

My container of their cedar/sandalwood (awesome cream, BTW!) was not full to the brim when it arrived, but I wouldn't say it was as low as depicted in your picture, either. Nor was my lid scratched up. I'd say you were correct to contact the vendor. Surely they'll take care of this for you. Do keep us posted.

(Doesn't it smell fantastic, though? )

It does have a very nice smell. Haven't used it yet but looking forward to it.

Chris

 

[thunderball]

Something isn't right there...but I'm sure this respected vendor will make things right for you.

 

[biomesh]

My brand new, never used tubs of CF are:

Lime: 8 1/2 oz
Sandalwood & Cedarwood: 8 1/8 oz

Your tub (with lid and seal) should be fairly close to that.

 

[BarryR]

My brand new, never used tubs of CF are:

Lime: 8 1/2 oz
Sandalwood & Cedarwood: 8 1/8 oz

Your tub (with lid and seal) should be fairly close to that.

Yup. My unused lavender tub is 8 1/2 oz.

 

[hockey_magnet]

My brand new, never used tubs of CF are:

Lime: 8 1/2 oz
Sandalwood & Cedarwood: 8 1/8 oz

Your tub (with lid and seal) should be fairly close to that.

Thanks I'll try and weigh it tomorrow

 

[hockey_magnet]

Yup. My unused lavender tub is 8 1/2 oz.

Weight was 234 grams or 8.25 ounces so certainly not far off. I suppose the most likely explanation is that it got really hot and pretty much melted.

 

[scottish steve]

I've only ever got 1 tub of CF, Sandalwood, but it was pretty empty compared to all other cream I've bought. Still lasted for ages. Great initiative on the weighing of comparable products by 2 separate members in short order.

 

[tlanning]

For what its worth, my container of lavender was considerably under the threads on the jar.

The lid being as shown, now thats not right. The product is terrific, there packaging sucks!

 

[tg16]

I'm not sure about the heat melting it. I just received a tub of the lavendar and my mail is delivered before 11AM and I get in from work at about 6 PM. The temp this week has been 92-95 F every day and the cream has been sitting in my metal mailbox baking until I got home.

Of course, I had to open it, look and smell and found the cream very warm, but firm. Unless you're in a hotter climate than me, it shouldn't be melting.

 

[hockey_magnet]

Thanks everyone for contributing. Especially those who actually weighed their unused jars - I would be hard pressed not to use this the minute I received it

If I hear anything back from ClassicShaving, I'll let you know what they said.

Chris

 

[HoratioCaine]

Weight was 234 grams or 8.25 ounces so certainly not far off. I suppose the most likely explanation is that it got really hot and pretty much melted.

One other thing to consider: the label on the tub you received is an older version than what is currently used. CF's Andrew French first spoke of the most recent packaging change almost two years ago, and the CF tubs I purchased a year ago had the newest labels, meaning your tub has been sitting in stock for a while. That could have contributed to the settling of your tub, plus the scratching of the lid. It should still work just fine, though. Heck, I've still got some lime cream with their silver label from four years ago that is in fine shape.

 

[hockey_magnet]

I received a response yesterday. They aopologized and said they didn't sell 'used' items. Of course I knew they would never knowingly do that. They gave me an RMA for a return and replacement with an inspected package but as I indicated earlier, I told them it wasn't worth the trouble of packaging and mailing it as the cream itself was satisfactory. I thanked them for the response and chalked it up to poor QC at Castle Forbes. I would not hesitate to do business with them again - I've ordered numerous items from them and always been happy with their service.

Chris

 

[BarryR]

I received a response yesterday. They aopologized and said they didn't sell 'used' items. Of course I knew they would never knowingly do that. They gave me an RMA for a return and replacement with an inspected package but as I indicated earlier, I told them it wasn't worth the trouble of packaging and mailing it as the cream itself was satisfactory. I thanked them for the response and chalked it up to poor QC at Castle Forbes. I would not hesitate to do business with them again - I've ordered numerous items from them and always been happy with their service.
Chris

I'm not clear on how this turned out. What's the QA issue? Was anything actually wrong with the product other than scratches on the lid? Did you weigh it?

 

[hockey_magnet]

Sorry, I thought it was clear, Classic definitely agreed there was a problem based on the photos I sent and offered to replace it considering both the scratches on the lid plus the way it was packed into the container. If you check the thread you'll see that I did weigh it and the weight was very close to what it should be. So basically the packaging and the way the product was put into the packaging was not in the condition that a $35 cream should be in. If, for example I had purchased it as a gift, there is no way, I would have given it to someone in that condition. There was nothing wrong with the actual cream when I used it but what could go wrong with it anyway?

I'm not clear on how this turned out. What's the QA issue? Was anything actually wrong with the product other than scratches on the lid? Did you weigh it?