What's up with the Scottish Lion Import Shop?

[Riverkilt]

Didn't they just have a reincarnation of sorts last year?

The above is one reason I endeavor to AVOID middlemen. So many just reorder themselves to fill your order - even have the goods drop shipped direct to you from the maker rather than tie up money in ready to ship inventory.

The webpages and catalogs of such vendors may seem to indicate they have impressive warehouses of goods ready to ship to us - but they don't....they too are at the mercy of the maker of the products.

As tanatlizing as some of the offerings may seem on a webpage or in a catalog I've learned the hard way to only purchase from a middleman vendor when I can lay my hands on the goods at a highland games, pay, and take the product with me in my own hands.

Doesn't seem an accident to me that most of the "no communication" posts over the years on this board involve middleman vendors.

Just my opinion and experience. Yes, some folks do well with some middleman vendors. I prefer to deal direct whenever possible - with trusted or recommended manufacturers.

Not fair to the current Scottish Lion, but one of my sad experiences was with the last version of the Scottish Lion. They offered a book I thought would be a great present for my nephew's birthday. It arrived many months past the July birthday in time to be a belated Christmas gift. Again - the middleman vendor offered something they had to go get after I ordered it and the manufacturer of the book had run out and I had to wait for the next press run. There wasn't really a stack of the books in the Scottish Lion warehouse waiting for me to buy one. Their ads never said there were....I implied that from their advertising....why would someone send me a catalog of goods and not have the goods to send me? Because they're middlemen...jobbers....

And I don't think such vendors intend to market to experienced kilties...my belief is they are hoping for orders from inexperienced, "Oh that looks nice!" folks with an interest in things Scottish.

[Mark E.]

I dealt with them a long while back, and given the quality of what I purchased, it seemed they were selling "seconds". I have had their buckles break, their brogues fall apart-literally(I have photos), and their belts are of miserable quality. This could be the standard of the manufacturer, too-I do not know. I have since begun making my own stuff.

Mark