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Is Vass quality control slipping?

Omega Man

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I gather from the board that Vass in general, is top notch.
But have you had any problems with their MTO?

I realize my MTO is not in their standard offering and this may only be an oversight specific to my order. I hesitated in bringing this issue to the forum, but I need the collective wisdom of the forum in terms of how to deal with this situation. Have I done anything wrong? What could I do to make this a win-win for everyone?

Here is the situation:
Took part in a fellow member's offer on a group buy in Feb, 2009.
Placed an order on a MTO U last with double Rendenbach sole. Pictures were sent accompanying the order and they are the exact same shoe as one of our member (a la von Rothbart) has pictured here http://www.styleforum.net/showthread...14906&page=553.
Shoes were finished but the perforated counters were "missing" (i.e. not punched) which made the shoes IMHO looked unbalanced (April, 2009). They were subsequently put on sale (not by me) on the forum (but I can't find that thread anymore).
Vass reworked the order (April, 2009).
Shoes were finished, but I was told they did not use the Rendenbach soles as specified.
I was willing to accept that, naively believing everything else on the shoes was ok.
Much to my dismay, these are 1/2 size too small (from my specified size) when I finally got them.
That's three count against Vass! With the last one (i.e. wrong size) most serious!
Stretching them is not an option. Don't want to sell them on my own (and why should I?), as they are clearly not what I had ordered.
I am basically sitting on a pair of shoes (which I paid promptly and waited a fair bit given that it is not their standard offering) that are basically useless to me.

What should I do? Request to ship back (at seller's expense) and rework again?
Contact Vass directly with this complaint (mind you the order went through a fellow member)?

For quality control purposes, one would think Vass review the MTO specs before they make the shoes and do it again before they send the completed product out, no?
Perhaps the craftsmen are overworked due to a flood of MTO?

I want to stress that the member has been excellent in his communication in seeing this order through so far. But he has not been active on the board lately nor replying to my emails (in the middle of a job hunt, I think).
But this experience has left me wonder whether I should order from Vass again in the future, despite the brand's excellent reputation.

Please note I have no (read zero) intention to tarnish Vass' reputation in any way and perhaps I am way over-reacting, but I just needed to vent.
For those who may have had any sub-par experience, please feel free to bring it here and let us know how it turned out.
As usual, your comments and suggestions are welcome. Thanks for reading.
 

Amar ezzahi

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I think you better contact Ms Eva Vass with your complain. I had a problem with a pair with a pattern which was different from one shoe to another. I sent the shoes back and Vass started crafting another pair without turning a hair.
But I can confirm that they have a problem with their quality control.
 

voxsartoria

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Honestly, this doesn't sound like a Vass issue at all. AFAIK, they are set up so that you go to a retail store...either theirs or an official distributor...and buy shoes in person.

You assume risks when you "Internet gray market" acquire shoes, whether from Vass or elsewhere.


- B
 

gdl203

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The answer to the OP question is yes. You're not alone - no grey market either, direct from the store. Blame the rise in popularity.
 

SirSuturesALot

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Originally Posted by Calypso
It has got nothing to do with vass

It would be nice if you elaborated
smile.gif
 

ThinkDerm

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Originally Posted by gdl203
The answer to the OP question is yes. You're not alone - no grey market either, direct from the store. Blame the rise in popularity.

I do not know if it is "rise in popularity" or simply they've lost a lot of their old people... who have left working at Vass (i've heard that along the way).

to Billy- what retail store (besides their own in Pest - which is limited (AT BEST - they don't stock F lasts in store? they have limited U-lasts, heck, superlimited everything?) - are Vass shoes designed to be purchased in person in? None in America or Europe that I know (unless Ugolini's shop - spelling, I know, in italy that supposedly stocks some F and U lasts due to the Vass and Ugo collabo). B, Vass is a MTO operation, as you know, with a small storefront (3 shoppers fit comfortably in there, American sized to be sure) - their main business is MTO - maybe MTO from catologue without variation, but MTO regardless...
 

voxsartoria

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Originally Posted by ThinkDerm
B, Vass is a MTO operation, as you know, with a small storefront (3 shoppers fit comfortably in there, American sized to be sure) - their main business is MTO - maybe MTO from catologue without variation, but MTO regardless...

I bought my first pair of Vass at Louis in Boston when they stock them...you can still special order through Louis, although I have not done so. And doesn't Bergdorf carry Vass?

I would think that if you buy them, either stock shoes or MTO, in person from a store and you go to pick up the MTO, and you open the box, and it is not what you wanted...I would assume that you would be made whole.

If, on the other hand, you are relying on an informal third party to order the shoes for you, and you are an ocean away...well, I don't think that Vass is really set up to handle your problems. It seems to me that such a process is inherently frought with issues unless the business is built ground up around the concept of remote buyers, which Vass assuredly is not, or you work through a third party who has a history of getting special orders right.

It's not just a Vass issue. Tom Park at Leathersoul is well regarded for getting EG MTOs ordered perfectly in a way that even going directly to EG seems not to match.

- B
 

Tomasso

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Shooey recently had a few issues with Vass.
 

sho'nuff

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same with me. ive ordered vass multiple times through various middlemen, and while they were all very professional, ive had at least 3 or 4 times had the shoes come to me completely different from what i wanted. i didnt even think some of them were difficult to comprehend in terms of what i wanted.
i dont know where the blame lied, with the middlemen or with vass themselves or both. but that is why you saw lot of vass sales from me here in the past couple of years.
 

Baron

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If you ordered from Tom in Budapest, I don't know why he wouldn't correct the issue. Or whoever you ordered from, assuming they did it for a fee and not as a favor, I'd expect that they'd take care of it for you.
 

the.chikor

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Originally Posted by sho'nuff
same with me. ive ordered vass multiple times through various middlemen, and while they were all very professional, ive had at least 3 or 4 times had the shoes come to me completely different from what i wanted. i didnt even think some of them were difficult to comprehend in terms of what i wanted.
i dont know where the blame lied, with the middlemen or with vass themselves or both. but that is why you saw lot of vass sales from me here in the past couple of years.


+1
 

Axelman 17

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Originally Posted by voxsartoria

I would think that if you buy them, either stock shoes or MTO, in person from a store and you go to pick up the MTO, and you open the box, and it is not what you wanted...I would assume that you would be made whole.

It's not just a Vass issue. Tom Park at Leathersoul is well regarded for getting EG MTOs ordered perfectly in a way that even going directly to EG seems not to match.

- B


I bought a pair of Vass shoes directly from Eva. When I opened the box, the following things were incorrect:

1. They were not italian polish
2. Medallion was not correct
3. No bevelled contrasting waist

Eva's response to the email pointing out these differences was: "We cannot change those shoes now but we will make it up to you at your next order, will this be fine?"

Of course, the answer was yes, the shoes are still great and I love wearing them. I would also classify these mistakes as minor, the color and design was largely correct. I would not expect to send back a pair of shoes across the Atlantic for a return nor would I want to wait another 4-6 weeks due to this error. While I do not know what "make it up to you at your next order" entails, it certainly was not an offer to exchange them.
 

mr monty

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Originally Posted by Axelman 17
:

While I do not know what "make it up to you at your next order" entails, it certainly was not an offer to exchange them.


60% off your next pair was offered to shooey?
 

SirSuturesALot

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Sounds like the issue isn't that Vass quality is slipping, it's that Vass is pumping out shoes that don't match the orders.
 

BrooklynWeGoHard

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Originally Posted by voxsartoria
I bought my first pair of Vass at Louis in Boston when they stock them...you can still special order through Louis, although I have not done so. And doesn't Bergdorf carry Vass?

I would think that if you buy them, either stock shoes or MTO, in person from a store and you go to pick up the MTO, and you open the box, and it is not what you wanted...I would assume that you would be made whole.

If, on the other hand, you are relying on an informal third party to order the shoes for you, and you are an ocean away...well, I don't think that Vass is really set up to handle your problems. It seems to me that such a process is inherently frought with issues unless the business is built ground up around the concept of remote buyers, which Vass assuredly is not, or you work through a third party who has a history of getting special orders right.

It's not just a Vass issue. Tom Park at Leathersoul is well regarded for getting EG MTOs ordered perfectly in a way that even going directly to EG seems not to match.

- B


Vass at BG is several years defunct bro'ham.
 

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