Over the past year or so I have complained about the fact that there are no good clothing stores left in Canada. The reason I stated this is because all our stores now carry exclusively clothing made overseas in countries like China, India, Bangladesh, Korea and so on. Most of them are poorly and cheaply made, they don’t fit, hang or wear well. I used to and still do shop at Eddie Bauer for my clothing as they had good quality at higher prices but they fit, hung and wore better too. When you calculate the number of wearings in the price it was more economical. But today they have fallen into the same trap as all the rest.
So I’ve taken to ordering some shirts online that profess to be the end all of dress shirts (casual too) for men.
I tried first a shop that seemed too good to be true. I found them on Groupon. Neumodo personalized fashion store. I purchase my Groupon (which by the way they failed to honour fully) and placed my order. Well it wasn’t so simple. First their website failed to accept my Groupon. After many failed attempts over a month or so I ordered over the phone. I did not ever receive my $20 coupon for my second purchase.
After waiting the prescribed three to four weeks I left a message on their online message thingy. They didn’t respond. I went to their Facebook page and left a note and they finally contacted me. After 2 months my one shirt arrived. I must admit, the quality is second to none. But the service is non existent. The packaging was a plastic bag. Not something I would ship a $100 custom dress shirt in. Shipping was free over $100, not 100, but over 100 so I added a monogram for $5.
I was told that they were sorry about the delay and had worked out all the kinks. So I gave them a second chance. I ordered 2 shirts this time on May 18, 2011. I put the year in because it could be relevant when and if I actually do receive this order. Today is July 5, 2011 and still nothing. I’ve emailed and they replied saying it was now in Canada but due to the postal strike it would be delayed. Well… the postal strike was over a week ago. All my other online orders arrived within four days of the strike ending.
Now the next company I found again professed to have great quality shirts for men. So I took another try, even though I still hadn’t received anything from Neumodo.
I placed an order with Spier & MacKay fine shirtmakers. I ordered 2 shirts, both casual wear. I received these three days after the postal strike was over in a box not a plastic bag. Shipping was free too by the way even under $100. Oh and also FREE returns if you’re not happy.
The quality was splendid as well and the service made me feel somewhat special. They actually contacted me and said that one of the shirts that I bought was on sale and the last one. Unfortunately it had a flaw so they offered to let me change my order before shipping them. I am very happy with this purchase and will most likely be placing another order in the future.
The winner by unanimous decision … Spier & MacKay for high quality and excellent service. 5 Stars.
UPDATE:
I received my shirts from Neumodo last week (July 11th or so). They are nice shirts, but the hassle isn’t worth it and frankly being told three weeks and then waiting 8 weeks is just rude, not once but twice.
