What's up with the Scottish Lion Import Shop?

[jeremy j starche]

As another vendor (but not kilt related) I too have to stand in defense of having some things drop shipped instead of keeping the entire product line in stock.

In our case, we try to keep all of the repair parts in stock, things that are small enough to fit in a bin (or in a few cases a large box).

I simply cannot afford to keep every single body panel in every single color in stock. I only sell a few a year and they would chew up a large amount of warehouse space for very little return -- some colors might sit on a shelf for years before there is a call for them.

That said, I won't charge a customer until I've contacted the importer and made sure the item was in stock and available to ship right now.

(I'd love to be able to sync up to the distributors and get their inventory levels so that I could reflect them -- but they are almost in the electronic dark ages.)

My feeling is this:
If it is your 'bread and butter' then yes, you should have the items in stock and be ready to ship them immediately. If it is an extra item that you wouldn't be able to carry otherwise, drop-shipping is fine -- but let the customer know.

[Tobus]

Unfortunately, it wasn't actually me that ordered this. My wife ordered it, using my credit card and name (with my permission, of course) as a gift for my birthday. It's to go with a custom kilt belt she's making. The item and vendor were her choice.

That said, I appreciate the advice on vendors in general, but I'm wondering if anybody has had recent similar experiences with them, and whether it got resolved. Basically, I'm wondering if I should call my credit card company and pursue a claim on this charge.

[Kilted-Marine]

Raising prices at shows all depends on how high they are raised.

If you have to pack your merchandise, drive several hundred miles, stay a few nights in a hotel and pay a vendor fee of $500 (or more) then adding 10%+- is reasonable.

If I can pick up an item at an event and pay the same as it would have cost me online PLUS shipping, I am a happy camper because I got to see it before buying and it is going home with me.

As to being a captive audience...most shows have several kilt vendors, and t-shirt vendors, and food vendors...

[RockyR]

I wouldn't automatically consider it 'unscrupulous' to raise prices when at a road event over the price found on the vendor's web site. There are costs associated with taking one's business 'on the road' and the convenience and immediate gratification of buying it off the table can come with a premium without taking advantage of the consumer.

Maybe "unscrupulous" was too strong of a word. Perhaps I should have said "Questionable".

Yes, there are costs associated with taking your business on the road (as we do 3 or 4 times a year), BUT the idea is that you have 10 X the normal amt of customers in front of you to offset those costs.

As a vendor, if I raised the prices at an event, I would be afraid of having to explain to people that look up our website and say "But it's THIS price on your website... why is it more in person when you don't have to pick it, pack it and ship it?" Luckily, I only know of 1 kilt company that does that and they only sell 'low end' kilts.

It's something that I'm not comfortable doing b/c I'd be ticked if someone did it to me and I found out. That's all I was trying to say.

[Riverkilt]

Duncan, and others curious. Shoulda/coulda been clearer.

The reason I mentioned I prefer to deal with middlemen at highland games was nothing to do with price....it was because the product I may want is there for me to view and handle in person rather than a catalog or screen image. And - it is there for me to buy right then, rather than order and wait for a drop ship etc.

Cash and carry...simple.

I understand why middlemen have to drop ship and order to the orders they receive....and that is precisely why I choose not to order from them whenever possible.

And I too worked many years as a salesman for a wholesaler.

[L&M Highland]

If I'm not much mistaken, the current incarnation of the Scottish Lion is connected in some way with the L&M company that manufactures sporrans, belts and bagpipe pipe bags.

My experience with the previous incarnation of the same firm was not good. They offered a certain model of sporran that was especially nice and expensive at an unbeatable clearance price. The actual sporrans I received were NOT the model pictured, but were a cheaper more basic model. The price I paid was the current going rate of that cheaper model that I could've purchased anywhere.

Mark - Ohio

Mark:

You are mistaken, there is NO CONNECTION BETWEEN SCOTTISH LION AND L&M.

Here is the history, back in 1999 We (L&M) set up a retail store called scottishfactory.com. It was brick and mortar as well as online, and it was our local retail outlet. In 1992 it was sold to a local gentaleman. It changed its name to Little Scotland and then aquired the Scottish Lion in New Hampshire and changed its name to Scottish Lion. In the earlier years they did purchase items from L&M, but for the past several years they have not bought anything from us. At no time did L&M own any of Little Scotland or Scottish Lion.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact either myself, Joe MacLean, or my wife Peggie.

Regards,
Joe.

[BLHS209]

Basically, I'm wondering if I should call my credit card company and pursue a claim on this charge.

Given the time lapse for the wait and now posting's I wouldn't wait any longer. Call the CC Company and get the ball rolling. Also, send another e-mail to "Lion" stating your intentions to cancel the order. maybe that will be the wake up call(?).

Chris

[CMcG]

<snip> Basically, I'm wondering if I should call my credit card company and pursue a claim on this charge.

I'd say wait a bit. Too bad they haven't answered your emails but, in regards to shipping times and delays, they have a webpage that answers your question:
http://www.scottishlion.com/Shipping-Delivery

If we assume the item you ordered was not in stock, they say it takes 2-4 weeks for shipping. It has been a bit over 2 weeks since you ordered (July 24th is a Sat, so I'm counting from the 26th), which is well within their stated times. Unless you ordered it "rush?"

Too bad not everyone has "lightspeed" shipping like Stillwater!

[Tobus]

Thanks, CMcG. I'll give it the requisite 4 weeks from the Monday following my order, just to be fair.

Seems like poor customer service, though, not to bother responding to my inquiries to at least let me know what's going on.

[Tobus]

Just to put some closure on this subject, my buckle came in today. I was totally not expecting it, since they never bothered to answer any of my requests for shipping info. I have what I paid for, though, which is all I really wanted. But I won't buy from them again, thanks to their non-existent customer service. Lesson learned.