A friend of mine wanted to start straight razor shaving, so I went to Straight Razor Designs, my usual source for supplies, to get a razor and paddle strop. It turned out the strops were out of stock, but I found some for sale at Shave Nation. After finding nothing but good reviews on the business, I decided to try them out and placed an order for a paddle strop. I was visiting my out-of-state friend in a week, and figured the 2-3 day Priority Mail service would allow plenty of time for the package to arrive.
5 days later the tracking number showed my package had never left the state it shipped from. I emailed Shave Nation, explaining the situation and asking if they could re-route the package directly to my friend or otherwise check to make sure it had not been lost. Another day passed with no response, so I called. By now the package was 4 days past its projected delivery, and instead of offering to ship another one, Shave Nation told me to first wait another 3 days, and then call them back again if it still hadnt arrived before they would ship.
Those 3 additional days passed with no shipping updates to my order, and I called Shave Nation to request a replacement strop be mailed directly to my friend as my out-of-state trip had occurred during the shipping delays. They said no problem, took the new address down, and said they would ship that day.
3 days later, the original paddle strop unexpectedly arrived at my house. The wood of the strop was visibly bowed, to the extent that it was completely unusable. I emailed Shave Nation with a photograph of the bowed wood, showing that it was unsuitable for stropping, and said that while I would ordinarily request a refund or store credit, hopefully the replacement strop sent directly to my friend would be suitable and we could leave it at that. I also said that if they wanted me to ship the original strop back, I would do so because I couldnt put a razor to it.
Again, I received no response to my email, and additional days passed without my out-of-state friend receiving the strop that Shave Nation supposedly shipped. After waiting over a week, I called Shave Nation to inform them that the replacement strop was never received. They responded that they never mailed it because they saw the original order arrived at [my] house. This claim overlooked the 3-day delay between when they said they would ship a replacement and the tracking information updating to show delivery. I responded that as per my email, the strop I received was completely unusable anyway and asked for a refund. I was told that to get refunded, I would first have to ship the useless strop back to them, even though I had sent them a photograph clearly showing that the wood was bowed to the point that it was completely unusable. Why they would demand I pay to ship it back before offering a refund after a now weeks-long process of discontent for a first time customer is beyond me. No apology or surprise was offered at the non-functionality of a product they produced and shipped.
I sent the defective strop back with a tracking number, emailed Shave Nation with an expected date of delivery, and received no response. It was delivered on time, and 4 days later, my credit card still had not been refunded. I sent another email stating the package had been signed for and no refund had been supplied, and asking them to confirm receipt. Again, no response was received so I called. I was told that returned packages are delivered to a different location, they would pick up that day, and I should receive my refund in another 2 days after they confirmed the strop return was received. 4 days later, I received my refund with an additional $7, presumably to defray the $10 in shipping costs I incurred in sending the product back.
I dont blame Shave Nation for postal delays; similarly, I can understand occasional lapses in customer service, or occasional issues with quality control of products, but not both. To this date none of my emails have been responded to, and I was not impressed with Shave Nations resolution once I called and forced the issue namely, wait longer, followed by falsely saying they would ship a replacement and never doing so. I could understand the steadfast desire to force a customer to allow more time for the shipment delay and hesitation to send a replacement if the order were something expensive like an actual straight razor, but this was over a $30 strop. Given the excessive delays for a first time customer buying a gift for another potential future customer, I would have liked to see Shave Nation ship another one and take it on faith that I would have returned the original had it ever arrived. Even if I hadnt, theyd be out one nonfunctional $30 strop, I would have been impressed with their customer service, and consequently made future purchases from them to say nothing of recommending Shave Nation to others. Instead, the process of dealing with Shave Nation turned so bad so quickly that it inspired me to begin documenting my experience with them as it unfolded at gruesome length.
By contrast, the one time I had a problem with a Straight Razor Designs order was a scuttle that arrived broken; I emailed them a picture, and they immediately offered either a full refund or store credit. I didnt have to ship back the broken scuttle for them to physically hold it and ascertain its uselessness, and I certainly didnt have to do so after it was delayed in the mail, my emails went consistently unanswered, and I was told to wait longer before theyd ship another one. Nor did they lie to me by saying they would ship a replacement that day, then wait another 3 days before claiming they cancelled the shipment without notifying me because they saw the original had gotten delivered.
Mercifully, Straight Razor Designs got paddle strops back in stock around the time that Shave Nation was holding my credit card refund hostage for the return of a nonfunctional strop. I ordered a Straight Razor Designs strop for my friend; it shipped within 12 hours, and arrived 2 days later. Had it been delayed or arrived in substandard condition, I feel confident that Straight Razor Designs would have been responsive to my emails, resolved the issue to my satisfaction, and done so in a time period less than the multiple weeks it took Shave Nation to do so.
Had I seen a Shave Nation review like mine, I would never have placed the order and in doing so been spared the 5 unanswered emails and 4 phone calls to financially break even from the first and last order I will ever place with Shave Nation, provided I dont consider the uncompensated $3 difference in shipping costs that I had to pay to return a nonfunctional product in order to be graced with a refund.
As a final note on my experience, I sent the above review in its entirety to Shave Nation. I stated that although they had never responded to an email I had ever sent, I was hoping they would address the issue as I believed in first allowing a merchant to rectify the situation before complaining to others. I also asked if there was anything I was not taking into account, or if my discontent with their business was in any way unjustified.
9 days later, I had not received a response. I called Shave Nation for the final time. After asking if they had received the review I sent, they responded that they had. Then they said they already provided a refund, and asked what else I would like them to do. When I asked why none of my emails were responded to over the past month, they said, Well Im talking to you right now, arent I?
At that point I thanked them and they hung up on me.
I am sorry for the negative first post; so far I have been a lurker and thats the way I like it. However Id be remiss if I didnt share a bad experience reflecting business practices that I wish Id known about before placing an order with a company I hadnt used before. Below is the picture I sent Shave Nation of the strop resting on a flat surface, in case anyone suspects I am exaggerating about the state of construction.
I have only been on the straight razor path for a few months now, but Im completely hooked and will be at this for life. Thanks to all for the great information on this site, and to Straight Razor Designs for the wonderful service that I will continue to utilize for all my wet shaving needs (and no, Im not being paid to say that).
Thanks
Jason
5 days later the tracking number showed my package had never left the state it shipped from. I emailed Shave Nation, explaining the situation and asking if they could re-route the package directly to my friend or otherwise check to make sure it had not been lost. Another day passed with no response, so I called. By now the package was 4 days past its projected delivery, and instead of offering to ship another one, Shave Nation told me to first wait another 3 days, and then call them back again if it still hadnt arrived before they would ship.
Those 3 additional days passed with no shipping updates to my order, and I called Shave Nation to request a replacement strop be mailed directly to my friend as my out-of-state trip had occurred during the shipping delays. They said no problem, took the new address down, and said they would ship that day.
3 days later, the original paddle strop unexpectedly arrived at my house. The wood of the strop was visibly bowed, to the extent that it was completely unusable. I emailed Shave Nation with a photograph of the bowed wood, showing that it was unsuitable for stropping, and said that while I would ordinarily request a refund or store credit, hopefully the replacement strop sent directly to my friend would be suitable and we could leave it at that. I also said that if they wanted me to ship the original strop back, I would do so because I couldnt put a razor to it.
Again, I received no response to my email, and additional days passed without my out-of-state friend receiving the strop that Shave Nation supposedly shipped. After waiting over a week, I called Shave Nation to inform them that the replacement strop was never received. They responded that they never mailed it because they saw the original order arrived at [my] house. This claim overlooked the 3-day delay between when they said they would ship a replacement and the tracking information updating to show delivery. I responded that as per my email, the strop I received was completely unusable anyway and asked for a refund. I was told that to get refunded, I would first have to ship the useless strop back to them, even though I had sent them a photograph clearly showing that the wood was bowed to the point that it was completely unusable. Why they would demand I pay to ship it back before offering a refund after a now weeks-long process of discontent for a first time customer is beyond me. No apology or surprise was offered at the non-functionality of a product they produced and shipped.
I sent the defective strop back with a tracking number, emailed Shave Nation with an expected date of delivery, and received no response. It was delivered on time, and 4 days later, my credit card still had not been refunded. I sent another email stating the package had been signed for and no refund had been supplied, and asking them to confirm receipt. Again, no response was received so I called. I was told that returned packages are delivered to a different location, they would pick up that day, and I should receive my refund in another 2 days after they confirmed the strop return was received. 4 days later, I received my refund with an additional $7, presumably to defray the $10 in shipping costs I incurred in sending the product back.
I dont blame Shave Nation for postal delays; similarly, I can understand occasional lapses in customer service, or occasional issues with quality control of products, but not both. To this date none of my emails have been responded to, and I was not impressed with Shave Nations resolution once I called and forced the issue namely, wait longer, followed by falsely saying they would ship a replacement and never doing so. I could understand the steadfast desire to force a customer to allow more time for the shipment delay and hesitation to send a replacement if the order were something expensive like an actual straight razor, but this was over a $30 strop. Given the excessive delays for a first time customer buying a gift for another potential future customer, I would have liked to see Shave Nation ship another one and take it on faith that I would have returned the original had it ever arrived. Even if I hadnt, theyd be out one nonfunctional $30 strop, I would have been impressed with their customer service, and consequently made future purchases from them to say nothing of recommending Shave Nation to others. Instead, the process of dealing with Shave Nation turned so bad so quickly that it inspired me to begin documenting my experience with them as it unfolded at gruesome length.
By contrast, the one time I had a problem with a Straight Razor Designs order was a scuttle that arrived broken; I emailed them a picture, and they immediately offered either a full refund or store credit. I didnt have to ship back the broken scuttle for them to physically hold it and ascertain its uselessness, and I certainly didnt have to do so after it was delayed in the mail, my emails went consistently unanswered, and I was told to wait longer before theyd ship another one. Nor did they lie to me by saying they would ship a replacement that day, then wait another 3 days before claiming they cancelled the shipment without notifying me because they saw the original had gotten delivered.
Mercifully, Straight Razor Designs got paddle strops back in stock around the time that Shave Nation was holding my credit card refund hostage for the return of a nonfunctional strop. I ordered a Straight Razor Designs strop for my friend; it shipped within 12 hours, and arrived 2 days later. Had it been delayed or arrived in substandard condition, I feel confident that Straight Razor Designs would have been responsive to my emails, resolved the issue to my satisfaction, and done so in a time period less than the multiple weeks it took Shave Nation to do so.
Had I seen a Shave Nation review like mine, I would never have placed the order and in doing so been spared the 5 unanswered emails and 4 phone calls to financially break even from the first and last order I will ever place with Shave Nation, provided I dont consider the uncompensated $3 difference in shipping costs that I had to pay to return a nonfunctional product in order to be graced with a refund.
As a final note on my experience, I sent the above review in its entirety to Shave Nation. I stated that although they had never responded to an email I had ever sent, I was hoping they would address the issue as I believed in first allowing a merchant to rectify the situation before complaining to others. I also asked if there was anything I was not taking into account, or if my discontent with their business was in any way unjustified.
9 days later, I had not received a response. I called Shave Nation for the final time. After asking if they had received the review I sent, they responded that they had. Then they said they already provided a refund, and asked what else I would like them to do. When I asked why none of my emails were responded to over the past month, they said, Well Im talking to you right now, arent I?
At that point I thanked them and they hung up on me.
I am sorry for the negative first post; so far I have been a lurker and thats the way I like it. However Id be remiss if I didnt share a bad experience reflecting business practices that I wish Id known about before placing an order with a company I hadnt used before. Below is the picture I sent Shave Nation of the strop resting on a flat surface, in case anyone suspects I am exaggerating about the state of construction.
I have only been on the straight razor path for a few months now, but Im completely hooked and will be at this for life. Thanks to all for the great information on this site, and to Straight Razor Designs for the wonderful service that I will continue to utilize for all my wet shaving needs (and no, Im not being paid to say that).
Thanks
Jason
