I've not dealt with the shop actually but I purchased a sporran from one of their affiliates off ebay. My issue was they took forever to refund the payment on a cheap damaged sporran. Communication was poor to non-existent. This was over a year ago so things may have changed. I know others have had success with them though.
I had a bad experience a few years ago. I bid on a sporran on ebay that looked really good in the pic, however what arrived was totally differant, nothing like the one in the photo. They did offer to exchange it but I decided it wasn't worth the hassel (plus the expense of sending the wrong one back). Of course this was a few years ago and things may be differant now, however that bad experience has put me off buying from them again.
In fact since I wrote this I have bought a pair of tan gillie brogues and a 5 button waistcoat from them through ebay and I have nothing but praise. The waistcoat I ordered came through a bit small but they exchanged it for a bigger size (and better quality) without a quibble. They certainly seem to have improved their oporation and I'll certainly be using them again in the future.
I met them at the trade show in Glasgow and spoke to some of my Scottish suppliers about them. They do NOT have a good reputation. I can say that they had lots of Pakistani stuff at their booth and their kilts appeared to be of "pakistani quality" wool. Not the high quality stuff you're used to out of Scotland. They SAY that their kilts are made in Scotland, but I wouldn't bet on it.
Keep in mind that Scotland and the UK do not have the same standards for "made in ____" that the US does. Here, if you have a "made in the USA" tag and it's not, you can be heavily fined. To my understanding, it's not as big of a deal over there (maybe someone from the UK can clarify if they know the facts).
Their shops on the royal mile are "tourist trap" type shops. To echo someone else's comments... you get what you pay for.
Rocky...it is true we, in the UK are not as litigious(sp) as the States, but I think you will find there be consequences for mis-attribution of country of origin!
Keep in mind that Scotland and the UK do not have the same standards for "made in ____" that the US does.
If you start looking at how products are marked, the words 'Designed in Scotland' end up appearing a lot. I suppose that is handy to know, but it's a touch misleading, as well.
Originally Posted by RockyR
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